Swiss population trusts science
The Swiss population has a positive attitude toward science and research: They trust the statements of scientists to a high degree and are very interested in scientific topics. This is shown by the first "Swiss Science Barometer" surveyed by researchers at the University of Zurich.
Scientific knowledge is important in many areas of life. It influences decisions made by individuals - on health, nutrition or child rearing, for example - as well as political and economic decisions. This is particularly true for Switzerland - a knowledge society with high spending on science and research and one of the most innovative countries in the world.
"The Swiss population is aware of this importance of science and has a generally positive attitude toward it," explains Mike S. Schäfer, professor at the University of Zurich. Together with Julia Metag, professor at the University of Fribourg, he has published the first "Science Barometer Switzerland" raised.
Strong support for research
"Three quarters of the Swiss population consider scientific research to be necessary, even if no immediate benefit is derived from it," says Mike S. Schäfer. An equally large number of respondents believe that science and research should be supported by the state.
This is also reflected in their attitudes: The Swiss population is very interested in science and research. More than half of them are strongly or very strongly interested in these topics, more than in business and finance or sports. Only politics interests more respondents.
The population's trust in science is also pronounced. For 57 percent of the population, trust is strong to very strong. For only 5 percent is it low or very low. Scientists at universities enjoy particular trust. The majority of respondents believe that science and research improve their lives, even if they think there should be limits to research. Only a few, however, are interested in participating in scientific projects themselves.
Information via newspapers and internet
The Science Barometer also shows where the Swiss population obtains information about science and research: Primarily via the traditional mass media such as daily and weekly newspapers and weekly magazines. The Internet is now the second most important source of information.
Online, Wikipedia and websites of public institutions are most frequently used for information on scientific topics. Science and research are also an interpersonal topic: More than one-third of respondents frequently talk to friends and acquaintances about scientific findings and results from research.
Project background
The long-term project "Science Barometer Switzerland" surveys what the Swiss population thinks about scientific topics and how different sources of information, from mass media to Facebook and Twitter, to family and friends, influence the perception of
influence scientific topics.
By means of a representative telephone survey of the Swiss population conducted every three years, current processes of change in science communication and its audience are traced. The focus is on the interrelationships between science communication,
their use and reactions on the part of the audience. With these data, international comparisons with similar surveys on science communication in other countries are possible. 1051 people - 651 in German-speaking Switzerland, 200 in French-speaking Switzerland and 200 in Ticino - were surveyed by the Adligenswil-based DemosCope Institute.
The first survey took place in June 2016. The next surveys will take place in 2019 and 2022. The project is funded by the Gebert Rüf Foundation, the Mercator Switzerland Foundation and the Institute of Mass Communication and Media Research (IPMZ) at the University of Zurich.
It is conducted by Prof. Mike S. Schäfer and his department "Science Communication" of the IPMZ and Prof. Julia Metag of the University of Fribourg.
Source: University of Zurich
