Retzbach Joachim, Otto Lukas, Maier Michaela
University of Koblenz-Landau, Germany
University of Koblenz-Landau, Germany.
Public Underst Sci. 2016 Aug;25(6):638-55. doi: 10.1177/0963662515575253. Epub 2015 Mar 25.
Many scholars have argued for the need to communicate openly not only scientific successes to the public but also limitations, such as the tentativeness of research findings, in order to enhance public trust and engagement. Yet, it has not been quantitatively assessed how the perception of scientific uncertainties relates to engagement with science on an individual level. In this article, we report the development and testing of a new questionnaire in English and German measuring the perceived uncertainty of scientific evidence. Results indicate that the scale is reliable and valid in both language versions and that its two subscales are differentially related to measures of engagement: Science-friendly attitudes were positively related only to 'subjectively' perceived uncertainty, whereas interest in science as well as behavioural engagement actions and intentions were largely uncorrelated. We conclude that perceiving scientific knowledge to be uncertain is only weakly, but positively related to engagement with science.
许多学者主张不仅要向公众公开科学上的成功，还要公开其局限性，比如研究结果的试探性，以增强公众的信任和参与度。然而，尚未有定量评估科学不确定性的认知在个体层面上与科学参与度之间的关系。在本文中，我们报告了一份新问卷的编制与测试情况，该问卷有英文和德文版本，用于测量对科学证据的感知不确定性。结果表明，该量表在两种语言版本中都是可靠且有效的，并且其两个子量表与参与度指标的关联存在差异：对科学友好的态度仅与“主观”感知到的不确定性呈正相关，而对科学的兴趣以及行为参与行动和意图在很大程度上并无关联。我们得出结论，认为科学知识具有不确定性与科学参与度之间的关联较弱，但呈正相关。
