Public Attitudes to Science 2008

Dear List members

Public Attitudes to Science 2008

Yesterday saw the launch of Public Attitudes to Science 2008, a national survey commissioned by the Research Councils UK and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills. It's the third survey in a series - the first survey (Science and the Public) was reported in 2000 and the second (Science in Society) in 2005.

The aims of the survey are to:

Provide information about what the public thinks about science, scientists and science policy in the UK and explore why the public hold these views;
Find out about public confidence in, and understanding of, the regulation of science and science policy-making, and how the public engages with science;
Identify the purposes and impacts of some specific scientific topics;
Identify public concerns and aspirations for science in the future;
Identify whether public attitudes to science have changed since 2000/2005 and if so, identify how and why these changes might have occurred;
Compare attitudes to science in the UK with those in other scientifically developed countries.

To accompany the main survey report, RCUK have commissioned a survey Guide.

The Guide is designed to provide an overview of the key survey findings, draw out the main implications, and provide those in the worlds of science communication, the media, science education, science policymaking and scientific research with a quick reference to relevant sections in the main survey report. The Guide also describes the five attitudinal groups identified through the survey research, each with its own perspective on science.

Both the full survey report and the survey Guide can be found at http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/sis/pas.htm

Kind regards

Saffron

Dr Saffron Townsend
Principal Science in Society Manager
RCUK Science in Society Unit

Polaris House, North Star Avenue
Swindon, SN2 1UJ
Tel: +44(0)1793 442825
Fax: +44(0)1793 413001
www.rcuk.ac.uk

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