Scientific concepts and core ideas are fundamental for scientific inquiry and research.
However, they are not always understood by non-scientists who encounter science in the media, in conversations with friends and other daily contexts. To assess how non-scientists reason with science in daily life, we extend the work described by Drummond
and Fischhoff (2017) by developing an everyday scientific reasoning scale and demonstrating its ability to predict the use and application of daily scientific
information. This paper features three studies describing the development, validation and use of the everyday scientific reasoning scale. Findings demonstrate an association between respondents’ scores on the everyday science reasoning scale and their level of education and suggest that using daily scenarios for framing science, facilitates the process of understanding scientific concepts. These results have important implication for communicating science in society and engaging diverse populations with science.
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What is the Everyday Science Reasoning Scale?
A validated set of 11 true/false questions that can be used as an independent research tool or as part of a larger questionnaire. The scale measures scientific reasoning by presenting respondents with several scientific concepts (such as Causality, Construct validity, Random assignment to groups, Reliability, Control group, etc.) framed within a daily dilemma in the context of choosing an effective, scientifically supported diet for weight loss.
What can you do with it?
You can use it in your research! You can embed the scale in a questionnaire or a survey as a validated construct to measure your respondents’ acquaintance with scientific concepts and their scientific reasoning skills.
You can also use the scale as a stand-alone tool if it contributes to your research and work.
Don’t forget to share with us what you found 🙂
Read more about our scale:
- In the full article: Establishing an everyday scientific reasoning scale to learn how non-scientists reason with science. https://doi.org/10.1177/09636625221098539 (contact us for an open access version)
- Download our “How to Guide” – A walkthrough on how to use the Everyday Scientific Reasoning Scale in your research (found in this link).
- Read more about this work in our blog post: https://sagepus.blogspot.com/2022/06/reasoning-with-science-in-everyday-life.html
Don’t forget to cite us 🙂
Golumbic, Y.N., Dalyot, K., Barel-Ben David, Y. & Keller, M. (2022). Establishing an everyday scientific reasoning scale to learn how non-scientists reason with science. Public Understanding of Science. 1-16