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HomeProject SummariesPublic Attitudes to Science 2008

Public Attitudes to Science 2008: Research Councils UK and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (conducted in partnership with TNS.)

Introduction

This survey of public attitudes to science was commissioned by the Research Councils UK (RCUK) and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS).  It is the third survey in a series; the first survey was reported in 2000 as “Science and the Public”  and the second in 2005 as “Science in Society” .  This is the first time that a booster sample of young people has been included to enable the views of those aged 16-24 to be looked at in detail and the first time social science has been included.

Public attitudes towards science encompass a very wide range of issues. The content of this survey was developed in conjunction with a Project Steering Group  and the main issues selected for inclusion were:

• Public interest in science
• Public involvement in science
• Public consultation
• Communication of science
• Regulation of science
• Public attitudes towards social science

Method

The project comprised five elements:

1. An omnibus survey of c.1,000 members of the UK public including two questions about scientific issues people were most concerned about
2. A literature review of relevant research in the UK, Europe and Worldwide
3. Six discussion groups with a cross section of the general public – specifically to explore knowledge and familiarity with social science among the general public
4. A quantitative survey of c.2,000 members of the UK public (including boost samples of young people and ethnic minorities)
5. Six qualitative workshops with a cross section of the public – to explore issues arising from the main quantitative survey

Key Findings

The results from the research point to a number of positive changes since 2005 and 2000. The UK population seem more positive about science in terms of their interest in and support for science and engineering. As in previous years attitudes towards science were linked with sex, age and social grade.

Overall, visits to scientific attractions and participation in public events and meetings related to science were at similar levels to those seen in 2000, but down on 2005. However this trend was also seen across non-science related attractions.

The findings show the population feels better informed compared with three years ago and that the level of information available about science is better.

Six out of ten members of the public believed ‘it is important to know about science in my daily life’, however, a similar proportion believed ‘there is so much conflicting information about science it is difficult to know what to do’ and this had not changed since 2000.

The proportion of people who said they were very well informed about science and scientific developments had increased significantly since 2005. However, a sizable minority admitted that they just do not understand what is going on in science and this had remained unchanged over the last seven years.

In general, more people are comfortable with science and the speed of its development than in 2000. Younger people also appeared more comfortable with the speed of scientific development and the complexity of science.  However, while younger people were amazed by the achievements of science, science education was perceived to be much less fascinating.

The UK population believes that communication between those who are involved in science and the general public could be improved. People also felt the way that science was communicated often made it inaccessible to the general public.

Awareness and understanding of what public consultation means is limited. Despite this, people felt that there should be greater public involvement in science and science policy decisions, although there was a belief that not everyone will want to be involved.  Many people were sceptical about the impact public consultation could make on policy.

Knowledge of how science and engineering are regulated was limited, although the majority of the population appear confident that both sectors are regulated properly.

Trust in scientists has gone up since 2000. Experience and academic credentials were by far the most important factors that lead people to trust scientists and engineers.

Attitudinal Groups

Statistical techniques were used to examine the 52 attitude statements which were reduced to 12 factors by combining the statements based on how respondents answered them.  Cluster analysis was then used to assign each respondent to a ‘cluster’.  This was done based on their score on each of the 12 factors.  The five cluster solution produced five clear attitudinal groups distinct in terms of the demographic profiles and their answers to the whole range of statements about science.

• The Confident: Compared to the other attitudinal groups this group was most interested in science, most positive about science, most informed about science and the most highly educated. They make up around a quarter of the British public.
• The Sceptical Enthusiasts: They had a very positive outlook on life, liked learning new skills and had a wide range of interests. They were positive about science but sceptical about authority. They are the smallest group making up around an eighth of the population.
• The Less Confident: This group tended to be concerned about change and that science and scientific development was out of control. They also felt poorly informed about science. Nearly half of this group were aged over 60, they had the lowest level of education and social grade. They are the largest group making up around a quarter of the population.
• The Distrustful: This group showed a lack of trust towards Government and authority in general.  They were not very interested in science and did not see it as particularly beneficial. They were also worried about certain scientific developments.  They were younger than the general population and a significant proportion were women.  This group accounted for less than a fifth of the population.
• The Indifferent: This group had limited understanding of science and were not concerned about its control. This group contained the highest proportion of parents with children under 16, had the second highest proportion of women and had a high proportion of social grades DE and a small proportion of people educated to degree level or higher. This group accounted for a fifth of the population.

Conclusions

This research shows that in general the UK population has a positive view of science and engineering and sees both as benefiting society.  The results suggest that the UK population see science as more important compared with 2000 and 2005. 

Not everyone wants to engage with science themselves but in general people feel that they know how to find information if they want it, the main driver for information being personal circumstances.  The Internet is an increasingly important source for those actively seeking information. 

There is a demand for more consultation and communication with the public on scientific issues and many see benefits to themselves personally, as well as to the consulting organisation, from taking part in public consultations. 

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