Navigation auf uzh.ch

Suche

Institut für Kommunikationswissenschaft und Medienforschung

Results of 68-country project published in Nature Human Behaviour – UZH Postdoc Team Award for project leads Viktoria Cologna and Niels G. Mede

Viktoria Cologna (previously IKMZ, now Collegium Helveticum) and Niels G. Mede (IKMZ), led a global consortium of 241 researchers to study global levels of trust in scientists. The first peer-reviewed publication of their global survey project “Trust in Science and Science-Related Populism” (TISP) has now been published in Nature Human Behaviour. It shows that most people in 68 countries worldwide trust scientists and support an active role of scientists in society and policy-making – despite oft-repeated claims of a crisis of trust in science.

Trust in scientists relatively high across 68 countries

The paper, available open access in Nature Human Behaviour, is based on survey data from 71,922 respondents in 68 countries on all continents – the largest dataset on public perceptions of science collected after the COVID-19 pandemic. Further results show that majorities of respondents perceive scientists as qualified (78%), honest (57%), and concerned about people’s well-being (56%). Majorities also desire public engagement of scientists: 83% of participants think that scientists should communicate about science with the general public, while only 23% believe that they should not actively advocate for specific policies. However, the findings also highlight challenges: Only 42% of participants think that scientists pay attention to others’ views. Moreover, the perceived priorities of science do not always align well with people’s own priorities. A more detailed summary of the findings can be found in the media release of the University of Zurich and the ETH Zurich. Country-level results can also be explored in the associated data visualization dashboard.

Project leads Cologna and Mede receive UZH Postdoc Team Award

The TISP project has been highly acclaimed: After winning the prestigious award “Best Data Collection: Quantitative” at the 10th annual MRS Operations Awards, project leads Viktoria Cologna and Niels G. Mede have now received the 2024 Postdoc Team Award of the University of Zurich for their work on the TISP project. The award recognizes interdisciplinary postdoctoral teams for outstanding and independent scientific achievements, with a focus on research projects that stand out for their societal relevance and/or impact. It is funded by a donation of Peter R. Isler to the President’s Fund of the UZH Foundation. Carole Scheidegger interviewed Niels Mede and Viktoria Cologna for UZH News about the award and their work (see here for the English version).

Unterseiten