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Factors affecting engagement with science and technology by the general public

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 The European Commission (2013) coordinated a special Eurobarometer (public opinion survey) on Responsible research and Innovation (RRI), Science and Technology. This survey gives a complementary perspective from the public’s side to the studies described above. Carried out in spring 2013, the survey involved face-to-face interviews of 27,563 respondents in the European Union and Croatia. It should be noted that interview questions were focused on science and technology, which - according to instructions in the survey - means “the natural sciences, like physics, chemistry, biology, and their application in technology and engineering, for instance computer technology, biotechnology and medical applications.” The survey results are therefore not representative for the social sciences, humanities, and the arts.

Full Citation

European Commission (2013). Special Eurobarometer 401 - Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), Science and Technology. http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_401_en.pdf

Summary

The European Commission (2013) coordinated a special Eurobarometer (public opinion survey) on Responsible research and Innovation (RRI), Science and Technology. This survey gives a complementary perspective from the public’s side to the studies described above. Carried out in spring 2013, the survey involved face-to-face interviews of 27,563 respondents in the European Union and Croatia. It should be noted that interview questions were focused on science and technology, which - according to instructions in the survey - means “the natural sciences, like physics, chemistry, biology, and their application in technology and engineering, for instance computer technology, biotechnology and medical applications.” The survey results are therefore not representative for the social sciences, humanities, and the arts.
The survey results show that there is an information gap: 53% of all Europeans are interested in developments in science and technology, although only 40% say they feel informed about them. This means that almost one in five Europeans are interested in developments in science and technology, but do not feel informed about them (18%). There is a strong correlation between interest and information: the higher the levels of interest in developments in science and technology, the higher the levels of feeling informed about such developments.
On the flipside, the survey shows that 40% of Europeans are neither interested nor informed. Furthermore, there is a divide between the North and East/South, between genders and education/occupation. Men are more likely to be interested in and feel informed about developments in science and technology than women are (64% vs. 44%). It is also more likely that they have studied any of these subjects at any education level (51% vs. 43%). This can be explained by the strict definition of science as natural sciences in the survey.
Television is the most mentioned source of information about developments in science and technology (65%), followed by the internet (35%) and newspapers (33%). Social media and blogs were mentioned by 10% as an information source. This is an interesting finding and may be attributed to the fact that the study was carried out four years ago. If the selection of information sources with regards to news was of any indication, we could see the following trends: over the last years, we have seen that those who prefer to read news have migrated online (Gottfried et al. 2016). When it comes to 18-24-year-olds, social media has overtaken television as the main news source (Newman et al. 2016).
Overall, more than half of Europeans believe that when it comes to decisions made about science and technology public dialogue is required (55%). Most think their government is doing too little to stimulate young people’s interest in science (65%). Most agree that science has a positive impact on society (77%), and the majority of respondents in each country think this way. However, Europeans are concerned about the speed of change science and technology have, and their potential for negative consequences: 62% think science makes their way of life change too quickly.

Figure. Level of information and level of interest regarding science and technology in Europe

Source: European Commission (2013). © European Commission.

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http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_401_en.pdf

 

Additional Info

  • I am a: Young scholar, Researcher, Project manager
  • Domain: Scholarly Dissemination, Open Science
  • Type of resource: Papers
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