Workshop on Lay Public Knowledge of Science

University South Carolina Research Foundation, Columbia SC

Investigators

Abstract

Project Description: This proposal requests support for a workshop to review and suggest improvements in the instrumentation used in the Surveys of Public Attitudes Toward and Understanding of Science and Technology. The proposed workshop will bring together survey methodologists, polling and public opinion experts, and scientific subject matter experts at NSF headquarters in Arlington. The participants will discuss and evaluate the conceptual framework underlying the Public Knowledge of Science (PKS) questions that are routinely part of the Science and Engineering Indicators (SEI) bi-annual report. The goal of the workshop will be to assess the content of the PKS question set with an eye toward making sure that the question set more adequately reflects public knowledge of science and to correct any errors and reduce any biases in the existing PKS questions. In addition to brief presentations by NSF personnel and invited scientific experts, the workshop will include discussion groups that focus on specific challenges. The two-day workshop will ultimately lead to the production of a focused report that will be delivered to NSF and to the National Science Board (NSB). Broader Impact: The results from the Surveys of Public Attitudes Toward and Understanding of Science and Technology have long been included in the NSB's biannual Science and Engineering Indicators, a report which goes directly to the White House and informs public debate about science education and public support of science in the United States. It is vital that the reported survey results be based on sound, tested survey questions that ask about the right issues and measure the key concepts that reveal public understanding of science--or the lack thereof. The proposed workshop will review and improve key items on the survey and align these instruments more closely with the relevant concepts. These improvements will allow for a more revealing and more robust assessment of public understanding in future editions of the Science Indicators report and serve as a more reliable guide for future science policy in the United States.