University of Göttingen, Germany.
Public Underst Sci. 2021 Jul;30(5):496-514. doi: 10.1177/09636625211005334. Epub 2021 Apr 10.
The coronavirus pandemic created a situation in which virological and epidemiological science became highly politically relevant but was uncertain and fragmented. This raises the question as to how science could inform policymaking and public debate on societal crisis management. Based on an online survey of Germans ( = 1513) representative for age, gender, education, and place of residence, we investigate citizens' prescriptive views of the relationships between science, policymaking, and the media. Views differ depending on their informational needs and epistemic beliefs. People with a need for definite information and a view of scientific knowledge as static wanted scientists to dominate policymaking and journalists to deliver definite information about the coronavirus. People with an informational need to construct their own opinions wanted journalists to question policy and scientific advice. Furthermore, they rejected the idea of scientists dominating policymaking. Results are discussed with reference to theories of science and democracy.
冠状病毒大流行使病毒学和流行病学科学成为高度政治相关的学科，但同时也具有不确定性和碎片化的特点。这就提出了一个问题，即科学如何为社会危机管理的决策制定和公共辩论提供信息。本研究基于对德国人的在线调查（ = 1513），在年龄、性别、教育和居住地方面具有代表性，我们调查了公民对科学、决策制定和媒体之间关系的规范性看法。观点因信息需求和认识论信念而异。那些需要明确信息和将科学知识视为静态的人希望科学家主导决策制定，希望记者提供关于冠状病毒的明确信息。那些需要构建自己观点的人希望记者对政策和科学建议提出质疑。此外，他们反对科学家主导决策制定的想法。研究结果参考科学和民主理论进行了讨论。
