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Information Sources, Interest, and Perceived Knowledge
S&T Information Sources: Television Leads Worldwide- The Internet: An Increasingly Popular Source of S&T Information
- Public Interest in S&T
- Feeling Well Informed About S&T Issues
People get news and information about S&T from a variety of
sources. However, television is where most adults throughout
the world find out about the latest S&T developments. Although
the Internet is not the leading source of news for Americans,
it is the only medium that has been gaining viewers in recent years,
and it is now the first place people go to get information about
specific S&T subjects (figure 
; appendix tables 
, 7-2 ,
and 7-3 ).
Although most Americans claim to be at least moderately interested in S&T, few science-related news stories attract much public interest. In addition, few people feel well informed about new scientific discoveries and the use of new inventions and technologies.
This section takes a detailed look at the various sources of news and information about S&T in the United States and other countries, focusing on television as the longstanding leading source and the Internet as a powerful competitor. The section also examines indicators of both the public's interest in S&T and how well informed people feel about S&T.
S&T Information Sources: Television Leads Worldwide
For decades now, television has been the top source of news and information in most U.S. households. (See sidebar, "Television and Other Forms of Popular Culture Influence What Adults Know and Think About Science.") The same holds true for other countries. However, the Internet has been gaining ground as a competing source of news and information for an increasing number of people throughout the world.
In the United States, in 2004, about half (51%) of those responding to an NSF-sponsored survey named television as their leading source of news about current events in general, about the same as the number (53%) recorded in 2001. In both years, newspapers and the Internet ranked second and third, respectively. However, the percentage of respondents naming newspapers as their main source of news about current events in general declined from 29% in 2001 to 22% in 2004. At the same time, those citing the Internet increased, from 7% to 12%. In fact, the Internet has been the only news medium to grow in popularity in recent years (Pew Research Center for the People and the Press 2004).
When survey respondents were asked about
their leading source of news about S&T, television once again
came in first, with 41% naming it in 2004. (The comparable statistic
for 2001 was 44%.) The Internet was a distant second (18%), followed
by newspapers (14%) and magazines (also 14%).[2] Between 2001 and 2004, the Internet went from being the fourth most
popular source of news about S&T
to being the second (figure ).
When people get information
about science from television, they tend to do so inadvertently.
That is, they pick up tidbits about science and science-related issues
from watching the news or other programs that are not specifically
about science (the exception would be viewers who purposefully seek
out science programs such as Nova). In contrast, obtaining science
information from the Internet is more likely to be purposive.[3] For
example, the number of people naming the Internet as the place they
would go to learn more about a scientific issue such as global warming
or biotechnology rose from 44% in 2001 to 52% in 2004. Most of the
gain apparently came at the expense of books. In 2001, nearly a quarter
of those surveyed named books as their main source of information
about a specific scientific issue. That percentage was cut in half
(12%) in 2004, an indication that print materials, such as encyclopedias
and other reference and technical books, are now taking a back seat
to the Internet as research tools for the general public.[4] At the same time, the number naming television increased from 6%
in 2001 to 13% in 2004. In both 2001 and 2004, magazines and newspapers
were identified by less than 10% of those surveyed (figure ).
One reason the Internet is supplanting traditional media such as print encyclopedias is that these sources are available on the Internet, where search engines have replaced thumbing through pages. For example, the Encyclopedia Britannica and Encarta are accessible online. Buying an online encyclopedia subscription has several advantages over visiting a library or purchasing the volumes. The online subscription is cheaper, more convenient, and less prone to obsolescence, and it requires no storage space. Current issues of major newspapers and newsmagazines are also available online. Arguably, it is easier to access the New York Times or Washington Post online than to read stories interspersed with page after page of advertisements.
According to the NSF survey data, people with more education and those with more income are less likely to rely on television as the chief source of both news in general and S&T information and more likely to use the Internet to get news and information. Also, men are more likely than women to rely on the Internet for news and S&T information. It is not surprising to find that reliance on the Internet is higher among these groups, given that they were the first to use the Internet extensively.
Television is also the leading source of news about S&T in other countries. For example, 60% of respondents to the 2001 Eurobarometer ranked television as either their first or second most important source of information on scientific developments, followed by the written press (37%), radio (27%), school or university (22%), scientific journals (20%), and the Internet (17%). In general, these preferences varied little across countries (European Commission 2001).
Similar statistics were also collected in Russia (Gokhberg and Shuvalova 2004). Once again, television was by far the leading source of news and information about S&T. (One reason television is such a dominant news source in Russia is that Internet access is relatively limited there, as in many other countries.)
In 2003, 87% of those surveyed in Russia named television as a source, compared with 82% in 1996. Newspapers and magazines also showed a gain between 1996 and 2003, from 45% to 50%. Radio ranked third (44% in 2003), followed by conversations with colleagues, friends, and family members (29%); advertising (17%); and scientific and popular science journals and books (13%). Only 6% named the Internet, and 2% named museums and S&T exhibitions. In 2003, 5% of Russians responded that they "have no concern about S&T news."
Statistics from several Asian countries show a similar pattern.[5] In Japan, 91% of those surveyed in 2001 said they obtained S&T information by watching television news. Newspaper articles ranked second, at 70%, followed by television documentary programs (53%), articles in magazines and weekly journals (35%), and conversations with friends and family (20%). Only 12% identified the Internet as a current method of obtaining S&T information, and only 2% said they read S&T magazines often. Another 16% said they read S&T magazines occasionally.
In South Korea, half of those surveyed in 2004 named television or radio as their leading means of gathering S&T information, followed by newspapers (21%), the Internet (13%), books and other publications (4%), and magazines (3%).[6]
Television is also the leading source of S&T information in China, with 83% of survey participants providing that response in 2001. Newspapers and magazines were second (52%), followed by "chatting with relatives or colleagues" (20%). Only 2% identified the Internet as a source of S&T information. Men, urban residents, and individuals with high levels of formal education were more likely than others to say they got information about S&T from books, newspapers, and magazines, and from the Internet. (See sidebar, "Internet Use Growing Rapidly in China.")
The Internet: An Increasingly Popular Source of S&T Information
According to an ongoing media consumption study, the Internet
has established a foothold during the past decade as an important
source of news, although "going online for the news has
yet to become part of the daily routine for most Americans, in
the same way as watching television news, reading the newspaper,
or listening to radio news" (Pew
Research Center for the People and the Press 2004).[7] In
2004, nearly three-quarters (73%) of survey respondents had a
computer at home (Pew Research Center
for the People and the Press 2004), up from about one-third
(31%) a decade earlier (table 
).[8] According
to NSF survey data, 70% of adults had access to the Internet
at home in 2004, up from 59% in 2001. More men (74%) than women
(66%) were online. In addition, 90% of college graduates had
access to the Internet from home in 2004, compared with 65% of
those with only a high school education and 29% of those who
did not graduate from high school. Also, the higher the family
income, the more likely a person was to be online in 2004.[9] (See appendix
table and
sidebar, "Broadband
Changes Everything.")
Trends in the Internet as a News Source
The number of people going online for news at least 3 days per
week rose dramatically in the late 1990s, from 2% in 1995 to 23%
in 2000, and has continued to increase during the early part of
this decade, although at a much slower pace (Pew Research Center
for the People and the Press 2004). In 2004, 29% of those surveyed
said that they went online for news at least 3 times per week (figure ). In addition, online newspaper readership has been rising
steadily since 2001 (Cole 2004).
Characteristics of Internet News Users
Internet news audiences tend to be younger, more affluent, and better educated than the population as a whole. They are also more likely to be male, although the gender gap has narrowed in recent years, as has the racial divide. Between 2002 and 2004, the proportion of African Americans going online for news at least 3 days per week increased from 15% to 25%. The increase was similar in the Hispanic community, from 22% in 2002 to 32% in 2004 (Pew Research Center for the People and the Press 2004).
Education has always been the most important determinant of online news use. At least half of college graduates use the Internet for news on a regular basis, compared with less than one-fifth of high school graduates and less than one-tenth of those who did not finish high school. Little growth has occurred in Internet news use among those without a college degree, regardless of age or sex (Pew Research Center for the People and the Press 2004).
Categories of News Sought Online
Weather has been the most popular category of news sought online
since 2000, with more than three-fourths (76%) of those surveyed
in 2004 saying that they sought that kind of information (table ).[10] Science
and health has been the second most popular category in every
year of the survey except 1998 (when it led the other groups).[11] The types of science-related information sought online seem to
be of a practical, personally relevant nature. People do not
seem to be very curious about scientific research or policy-related
issues.
In 1996, when data collection on Internet news began, technology was the most popular topic: 64% of those surveyed in 1996 said that they sought news about technology. However, as more people go online for news, technology has slipped in ranking: in 2004, it ranked fifth. Since the 2000 survey, the number of people going online for international and political news has grown. The 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, the events of September 11, 2001, and the subsequent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq generated increased interest in political and international news (Pew Research Center for the People and the Press 2004).
Internet users and nonusers have different news interests. In 2004,
Internet users were more likely than nonusers to be interested
in news about political figures and events in Washington, international
affairs, S&T, and culture and the arts, and they were less
likely than nonusers to be interested in news about weather, crime,
health, local government, and religion. Among Internet users, 18%
said they followed news about S&T very closely, compared with
13% of nonusers (table 7-4 ).
Public Interest in S&T
Most Americans say they are interested in S&T. When asked in a survey about their interest in S&T issues, very few adults admit to not being interested in these subjects. That was the usual pattern in NSF surveys conducted between 1979 and 2001. Similar surveys conducted in other countries indicate that the overall level of public interest in S&T is less than that in the United States. However, Americans may not be as interested in S&T as they claim. Indicators from other surveys point to relatively little interest in S&T topics and news.
Interest in S&T Around the World
Surveys conducted by NSF and other organizations consistently show that Americans are interested in issues related to S&T. In 2001, about 45% of NSF survey respondents said they were very interested in new scientific discoveries and the use of new inventions and technologies. About the same number said they were moderately interested in these subjects. Only about 10% were not interested at all.[12]
In Europe in 2005, 30% of survey respondents said they were very interested in new scientific discoveries and new inventions and technologies, about half (48%) said they were moderately interested in these subjects, and one-fifth said they were not at all interested. There was considerable variation in interest across countries, and the overall level of interest was down somewhat from 1992, the last time these questions were asked. The reasons cited most often for disinterest in S&T were lack of understanding and lack of concern (European Commission 2005a).
U.S. and European findings coincided in two areas: more men than women expressed an interest in S&T, and respondents were more interested in medicine and the environment than in S&T in general. However, the number of Europeans claiming to be very interested in new medical discoveries and environmental pollution declined significantly between 1992 and 2005 (European Commission 2005a).
Like Americans, Russians are more interested in "achievements in medicine" than in any other issue. In a group of 13 items in a 2003 survey of public interests, scientific discoveries and new inventions and technologies ranked seventh and ninth, respectively, after international affairs, the economy and business, environmental issues, education, and problems of age and life expectancy. However, interest in both issues increased between 1996 and 2003 (Gokhberg and Shuvalova 2004).
Citizens in several
Asian countries seem to express less interest than Americans
and Europeans in S&T (the Chinese are a notable
exception). In 2001, the average levels of U.S. public interest
in new scientific discoveries and the use of new inventions and
technologies were, on a scale of 0-100, 69 and 66, respectively.
The comparable numbers were much lower for Japan, South Korea,
and Malaysia. However, the levels for China were about the same
as those for the United States (figure ; appendix table ).
Interest in new medical discoveries seems to be much lower in Asian countries than in the West. In the United States in particular, nearly everyone is interested in new medical discoveries. Year after year, more people expressed interest in this subject than in any other. For example, in 2001, about two-thirds of the NSF survey respondents reported they were "very interested" in new medical discoveries. (None of the other survey items, except local school issues, received such a high percentage of "very interested" responses.)[13] In the U.S. survey, new medical discoveries is the only item that has consistently produced interest index scores in the 80s. In contrast, it yielded much lower scores in the four Asian countries.
Interest in environmental pollution is high in most countries, including the United States, where the index score for this item was 70 in 2001. However, more recent data seem to indicate that interest may have waned during the first part of this decade (see "Environmental Issues" section in this chapter). In both South Korea and Japan, where pollution is an increasingly serious problem, environmental pollution issues attract more public interest than other S&T issues. China also had a relatively high index score for environmental issues. However, in Russia, interest in environmental issues declined between 1996 and 2003 (Gokhberg and Shuvalova 2004).
Despite all the newsworthy events taking place in space during the past few years, interest in issues related to space exploration is relatively low in all of the countries surveyed. The topic ranked at or near the bottom in the United States, Europe (in 2001), Russia, China, and Japan.
Attention to S&T News
Despite the American public's professed interest in S&T issues, there is reason to believe that interest may not be as strong as the NSF survey data indicate. Since 1986, the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press has maintained a news interest index. For a story to be included in the list of top news items, at least 1% of those surveyed had to say that they were following the story "very closely." Relatively few S&T-related stories have made the list. (See sidebar, "Few Science-Related News Stories Attract Public Interest.")
A Pew Research Center survey also
shows that weather is by far the most popular type of news followed
by most Americans.[14] The
other types of news tracked most closely by Americans in 2004
were crime, community affairs, health, and sports.[15] S&T ranked
tenth, lower than all other categories except entertainment,
business and finance, consumer news, and culture and arts. Only
16% of those surveyed said that they followed news about S&T
very closely. (See table )
However, S&T ranked higher
(fifth) among college graduates, after weather, international
affairs, national political news, and health. In contrast, the
top categories among those who did not graduate from college
were weather, crime, community, health, and sports.
Men and adults ages 30-64 were more likely than others to say that they followed S&T news very closely. The breakdown by race and ethnicity is similar to that for all respondents, with one exception: Asian Americans were disproportionately more likely than others to say that they followed S&T news very closely (Pew Research Center for the People and the Press 2004).
Visits to Museums, Zoos, and Libraries
Interest in news about S&T is only part of the story. The millions of people who visit science museums every year are also demonstrating interest in science without necessarily being interested in science news.
Surveys show that S&T museums are more popular in the United States than in other countries. In 2001, 30% of NSF survey respondents said they had visited such a museum in the last 12 months, compared with 16% of Europeans (in 2005), 13% of Japanese, 14% of Chinese, and 1% of Russians (2003).
Although
the rate of S&T museum attendance in Europe seems
to be about half that in the United States, the 2005 rate for
Europe was about 50 percent higher than that recorded in 2001 (European
Commission 2005a). When Europeans who had not visited an S&T
museum were asked their reasons, about one-third said they "don't
understand" S&T, and an approximately equal number said
they "did not care" about S&T (European
Commission 2005a). Within Europe, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Luxembourg,
and Iceland have the highest rates of S&T museum attendance
(appendix table ).
S&T museums are not the only public attractions that are less popular in other countries than in the United States. More than half (58%) of Americans reported that they had visited a zoo or an aquarium during the past 12 months, compared with 43% of the Japanese respondents, 32% of Chinese, 27% of Europeans, and 9% of Russians.
Americans also go to libraries more often than the citizens of other countries and are more likely than Europeans (other than citizens of Iceland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, and Finland) to visit an art gallery. Finally, only 14% of the Americans surveyed said they had not visited any of the establishments included in the survey, compared with 4 of 10 Europeans (41%) and 7 of 10 Russians (71%) (European Commission 2005a; Gokhberg and Shuvalova 2004).
Feeling Well Informed About S&T Issues
Despite the public's expression of interest in S&T, few people
feel well informed about these subjects. In 2004, only about
15% of NSF survey respondents described themselves as very well informed
about new scientific discoveries and the use of new inventions
and technologies. About one-third of those surveyed considered
themselves poorly informed about these topics (appendix
table ).[16]
Among the issues included in the survey, Americans feel the
most informed about local school issues and the economy and business
conditions. In 2004, the index scores for these two topics (on
a scale of 0-100) were 56 and 51, respectively. Five items (new
medical discoveries, environmental pollution, military and defense
policy, new scientific discoveries, and the use of new inventions
and technologies) had index scores between 40 and 46. Space exploration
had the second lowest index score (36) in 2004 (appendix table ).
For 8 of the 10 issues included in the NSF survey, men were
more likely than women to feel well informed. Among the science-related
issues, the widest gender gap (14 points) was for space exploration;
the gap for the use of new inventions and technologies, new scientific
discoveries, and environmental pollution was 10, 5, and 3 points,
respectively. In contrast, women were more likely than men to feel
well informed about new medical discoveries (appendix table ).
With
few exceptions, the NSF survey data show a strong, positive relationship
between education (both level of formal education and number of math
and science courses completed) and feeling well informed about public
policy issues. This is particularly true for four of the five science-related
issues in the survey (the relationship between education and feeling
well informed about new medical discoveries was not as strong as
that for the other four issues). In contrast, the relationship between
family income and feeling well informed about science-related public
policy issues is either much weaker (than that for education) or
nonexistent (appendix table ).
Survey data from several Asian countries, Europe, and the United States indicate that, compared with the citizens of Japan, Malaysia, and South Korea, Americans and Europeans consistently feel better informed about science-related issues, with one exception: environmental pollution. However, it is difficult to draw definitive conclusions from these data because the citizens of other countries may have different reference points for describing their level of knowledge.
Analysis of data from the United States, Europe, and four Asian countries (China, Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia) revealed similar relationships between interest in S&T and feeling informed. In all of these countries, the level of feeling informed about S&T is considerably lower than the level of professed interest in S&T issues, although the level of feeling informed about a specific issue is positively related to the level of interest in the same issue (Park 2005).
Information about science is communicated to the U.S. public through several types of television programs. Educational and nonfiction shows promote science and aim to be both informative and entertaining. News programs, including national and local morning and nightly newscasts and newsmagazines, devote segments to science-related subjects and issues. In addition, entertainment programs occasionally include information about science. For example, a February 2005 episode of The West Wing featured storylines on stem cell research, Mad Cow Disease, and the field of economics.
A broad range of science-content programs is available on U.S. television, including Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) series (such as Nova) and programs for children. The vast majority of U.S. households now have cable or satellite television and therefore have access to the Discovery Channel and a growing array of options made possible by advances in digital technology. These include an increasing number of channels that devote considerable attention to science and technology and health (e.g., Discovery Health, the National Geographic Channel, the History Channel) and niche market channels (e.g., the Research Channel, the University Channel, NASA TV).
Table is a comprehensive list of prime-time
science programs on television in 2005. None of these 29 shows are
on the broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, UPN, or WB) and only
3 are on PBS, the networks received by nearly all households.[*] The
other 26 shows are all on the Science Channel, National Geographic,
the History Channel, NASA TV, the Discovery Channel, Discovery Kids
Network, or History International, where the number of viewers is
far smaller than that of the broadcast networks. Therefore, most
of the news and information the majority of adults receive about
science comes from network news programs; network magazine shows
such as 60 Minutes, CBS Sunday Morning,[†] and 20/20; and the
occasional network documentary.
Although television newsmagazines can be a leading source of news about science for the public, the regular audience for these shows has been declining since 1993. In that year, more than half (52%) of those surveyed by the Pew Research Center said they regularly watched "newsmagazine shows such as 60 Minutes, 20/20, or Dateline." In 2004, only 22% gave that response (Pew Research Center for the People and the Press 2004).
Local newscasts contain a relatively large number of segments about health and medicine and spend more time on the weather than any other topic. According to one report, "TV weathercasters are often the most visible representatives of science in U.S. households" (NIST 2002). They have educated the public about jet streams, fronts, barometric pressure, and environmental issues such as global climate change.
Television entertainment programs occasionally dispense information about science to the public. Because shows such as CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) reach relatively large audiences, many people may be educated or become aware of science and science-related issues by watching them. At the 2005 AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) annual meeting, a symposium was devoted to "The CSI Effect: Forensic Science in the Public Imagination." According to the forensic scientists who participated in the event, CSI has sparked public interest in and respect for how science can be applied to catching criminals. In addition, universities have seen a significant increase in the numbers of students pursuing degrees in forensic sciences (Houck 2005).
Studies have also documented that young adults get much of their news from late night talk shows (Pew Research Center for the People and the Press 2004). Exposure to science takes place when these shows mention the latest scientific breakthroughs and science-related public policy issues (e.g., climate change), when scientists make occasional appearances to talk about their work, and when comedy segments revolve around science-related themes.
Entertainment television can also distort or mischaracterize science, cultivating among frequent viewers reservations about the impact of science on society, while displacing other activities (such as reading newspapers) that are valid ways of learning about science informally (Nisbet et al. 2002). For example, programs such as Medium that feature characters who claim to possess psychic abilities can foster or reinforce pseudoscientific beliefs (James Randi Educational Foundation 2005). Some scientists view such programs as harmful because "a misinformed public...is as worrisome as an uninformed public" (Chism 2002). In 2004, Showtime began running a series in which entertainers Penn and Teller debunk pseudoscientific beliefs. Topics covered have included mediums, alien abductions, and "even a relatively mainstream practice like feng shui" (Janzen 2004).
Other forms of popular culture, such as books and movies, also can affect what people know about science and shape their attitudes toward science-related issues. In a national survey, for example, about half of the respondents who had seen the movie The Day After Tomorrow said it made them more worried about global warming, although almost as many said it had had no effect on their view. However, national surveys taken before and after the movie's release did not find a significant shift in overall national opinion about global warming. One likely reason is that even very popular movies reach only a fraction of the population (Leiserowitz 2004).
[*] A recent study found that CBS's coverage of
biotechnology was three times as extensive as that of any other network
(Kubey and Nucci 2004).
[†] The long-running series Sunday Morning almost always contains at least
one segment aimed at informing the public about science. Recent topics have
included nanotechnology and the controversy over the number of women who become
scientists.
The most notable finding of recent surveys on Internet use is the large gain in the number of households with broadband connections. In 2002, less than one-fourth (22%) of adults who went online had broadband. By late 2003, the proportion had grown to 37%. In mid-2004, the statistic was approaching one-half (44%) (Harris Interactive 2004c). Similarly, data from the Pew Research Center show that 49% of those surveyed in 2004 had a high-speed connection from home.
Another
survey has been tracking Internet use since 2000 (Cole
2004). The
survey has produced statistics documenting the increase in the
number of households with broadband connections (figure ).
According to one expert, "broadband changes everything" (Cole 2004). The differences between people with broadband and those with dial-up connections are greater than the differences between those with dial-up connections and those who do not use the Internet at all. How often people log on, how long they stay on, what they do online, and where they log on from are all related to whether or not they have a broadband connection. On average, broadband users are online 17.3 hours a week, compared with 10.6 hours for dial-up users. They do more of everything online, except seeking medical information and participating in distance learning. In particular, broadband users are more likely than telephone modem users to say that the Internet is a very important or extremely important source of information. For young people especially, online media usage is very high (Cole 2004).
For nearly two decades, the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press has been tracking news stories that attract public interest. Of the approximately 1,100 most closely followed news stories of 1986-2004, not many had anything to do with science and/or technology. And, of the few that did, most were about weather and other types of natural disasters (such as earthquakes) and health-related subjects-not about scientific breakthroughs and technological advances. It should be noted, however, that an engineering/technology story actually does top the list. In July 1986, 80% of those surveyed said they were closely following news about the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger, not a natural disaster, but a manmade one. Similarly, the loss of the space shuttle Columbia was one of the most closely followed news stories of 2003.
Table lists
the most closely followed S&T-related stories of 2000-2004 (Pew
Research Center for the People and the Press 2005). Weather and health-related
news dominate the list. In fact, hurricane news was the leading science-related
news story in both 2002 and 2003.
In addition to the relatively small number of S&T news stories on the Pew list, interest in S&T news may have declined after 2001: only 4 stories were added to the list in 2002, 6 in 2003, and 4 in 2004 (3 of those occurred in late 2003), compared with 10 in 2000 and 12 in 2001.
[2] In a recent survey, 67% of respondents said that they "would like to see more information in newspapers, magazines, or on television about scientific and medical research," 25% said "about the same amount," and 5% said "less information" (Research!America 2005).
[3] However, with increasing fragmentation of television audiences, it seems likely that exposures to science-relevant information from both media are increasingly intentional, even if those exposures are not always for a specific purpose.
[4] In a survey on Americans' attitudes toward genetically modified food, most (88%) said that they had never looked for information about the subject. However, when "asked to speculate where they would turn for information about genetically modified food if they were so inclined...57% said they would search the Internet for information;...10% said they would go to the library for information" (Hallman et al. 2004).
[5] In this chapter, all data for Asia (unless otherwise specified) were collected by the following: the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology; the Korea Science Foundation; the Malaysian Science and Technology Information Centre (MASTIC) of the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment; and the National Institute of Science and Technology Policy of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan. For more information, see sidebar, "Data Sources."
[6] Among Asians surveyed, South Koreans were most likely to say information on the Internet is reliable and accurate, and Japanese citizens were least likely to say that (Cole 2004).
[7] For example, when people were queried about their news habits on a typical day ("yesterday"), only about a quarter (24%) said they got news online, whereas 60% watched the news on television, 42% read a daily newspaper, and 40% listened to the news on a radio. In addition, the survey revealed that people spend far less time per day obtaining news online than getting news from other sources (Pew Research Center for the People and the Press 2004).
[8] In the Pew Research Center survey, 8% of those with a home computer did not have access to the Internet.
[9] A study of data collected with the NSF surveys revealed that the most important predictor of home computer ownership was labor force participation (Losh 2004).
[10] In the Pew Research Center survey, those respondents who reported that they go online for news were then asked if they looked for particular types of news online.
[11] According to Harris Interactive polls, the most popular categories of online news are weather (sought by 60% of respondents in 2004), national news (56%), international news (44%), and local news (36%). (S&T was not among the choices given the respondents.) The Harris polls also found that the number of people who went online often or very often to obtain information about health or diseases rose from 15 to 21% between December 2003 and December 2004 (Harris Interactive 2004d).
Another survey conducted in 2004 found that 58% of respondents had used the Internet to look for information on specific diseases, 33% had looked for information on nutrition, and 32% had looked up information on prescription drugs. In 2004, most Americans thought that health information on the Internet was either strongly helpful (31%) or somewhat helpful (38%) and either very useful (23%) or somewhat useful (42%). Only 19% thought it was harmful, and 21% thought it was not useful (Research!America 2005).
[12] Other surveys had similar findings (VCU Center for Public Policy 2004). When asked about their interest in scientific discoveries, only 10% of respondents said they were "not much interested," and only 5% said they were "not at all" interested; 42% said they had "a lot" of interest, and 42% reported "some" interest. (These numbers have changed little since 2001.)
[13] The VCU surveys also show a high level of interest in new medical discoveries (VCU Center for Public Policy 2004). In the 2004 survey, 46% of respondents answered "a lot" when asked how much they were personally interested in new medical discoveries; 44% answered "some"; 7%, "not much"; and 2%, "not at all." (These numbers also have shown little variation since 2001.)
[14] The Pew Research Center question was: "Now I'm going to read you a list of different types of news. Please tell me how closely you follow this type of news either in the newspaper, on television, or on radio...very closely, somewhat closely, not very closely, or not at all closely?" Note that the question did not include online news consumption.
[15] Although the number of Americans who follow hard news-especially international news-has increased in recent years, interest in most news topics has remained stable (Pew Research Center for the People and the Press 2004).
[16] An examination of the NSF data revealed a positive relationship between feeling well informed about S&T and providing correct answers to science literacy questions; however, the relationship was statistically weak (Losh et al. 2003).
