Gu Chao, Feng Yi
Department of History of Science, Technology and Medicine, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Mental Health Center, Central University of Finance and Economics, No.39 South College Road, Haidian District, 100081 Beijing, China.
Sci Educ (Dordr). 2022;31(3):619-633. doi: 10.1007/s11191-021-00261-8. Epub 2021 Aug 30.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we are fighting not only the novel coronavirus, but also the "infodemic" induced by the pandemic. Therefore, it is urgent to explore approaches for enhancing individual immunity against science-related misinformation. We conducted a cross-sectional study to examine the relationship between public engagement with science (PES) and scientific information literacy (SIL) during the COVID-19 pandemic from college students ( = 8075) in China. The results showed that there was a significant difference between attitudes toward and activities of PES. More importantly, both PES activities and PES attitudes were found positively associated with SIL, especially the PES attitudes. The empirical study is significant in demonstrating the predictive effect of PES on individual ability to recognize science-related misinformation, which is crucial for mitigating harm from the "infodemic." Our study indicated that other than a science communication model in order to restore public trust in science, PES is promising to be incorporated into informal science education to facilitate individual SIL.
在新冠疫情期间，我们不仅要与新型冠状病毒作斗争，还要应对疫情引发的“信息疫情”。因此，迫切需要探索提高个人抵御与科学相关错误信息能力的方法。我们进行了一项横断面研究，以考察中国大学生（n = 8075）在新冠疫情期间公众科学参与（PES）与科学信息素养（SIL）之间的关系。结果表明，对PES的态度和活动之间存在显著差异。更重要的是，发现PES活动和PES态度均与SIL呈正相关，尤其是PES态度。该实证研究对于证明PES对个人识别与科学相关错误信息能力的预测作用具有重要意义，这对于减轻“信息疫情”造成的危害至关重要。我们的研究表明，除了一种科学传播模式以恢复公众对科学的信任外，PES有望纳入非正式科学教育以促进个人的SIL。
