A former student works in a lab in Galvin Life Science Center at the University of Notre Dame. Credit: Photo by Barbara Johnston/ University of Notre Dame.

A global majority trusts scientists and wants them to have a greater role in policymaking, according to a new study.

In what is considered the most comprehensive post-pandemic survey of trust in scientists, researchers have found a majority of people around the world carry widespread trust in scientists — believing them to be honest, competent, qualified and concerned with public wellbeing.

Researchers surveyed more than 72,000 individuals across 68 countries on perceptions of scientists’ trustworthiness, competence, openness and research priorities.

The results also showed the general public’s desire for more engagement from scientists through communication and policymaking.

Tim Weninger, the Frank M. Freimann Collegiate Professor of Engineering and director of graduate studies in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Notre Dame, said: “This was a major collaborative study, involving dozens of labs from across the world, all of them asking the same questions to specific audiences, in their specific languages according to their own customs.

“This is the first time I have seen such a distributed and collaborative effort in the social sciences. Our results show that, generally, denizens worldwide do indeed trust scientists.”

Weninger is an expert in disinformation and fake news and one of 241 researchers who contributed to the study as part of the Trust in Scientists and Science-Related Populism (TISP) Many Labs project, an international, multidisciplinary consortium of researchers at 179 institutions around the world.

Researchers sought to identify levels of trust in scientists, how demographic and country-level factors impact trust and vary between countries, perceptions of scientists in societal roles and policymaking, and which issues people believe scientists should prioritise.

A challenge

The study challenges a “popular, dominant narrative claiming a crisis of trust in science and scientists,” the authors said.

Building on previous studies, primarily focused on attitudes in the United States and Europe, the survey also includes individuals and countries long under-represented in research.

An overwhelming majority of respondents (83%) believe scientists should communicate scientific concepts and research findings with the public.

More than half (52%) believe scientists should be more involved in policymaking.

According to the study, “higher levels of trust were found among women, older people, residents of urban (versus rural) regions”. Education also positively correlated with trust.

In most countries, however, political orientation is unrelated to trust in scientists, the study found — one of several results that provided insight into global views.

Additionally, whereas some people might assume religion and science to be at odds, the TISP study found a positive association between trust and science and religious identity.

Weninger said: “That was the most surprising thing to me. Religiosity positively and significantly correlated with trust in science.

“Science and religion are often seen as being at odds with one another. This global study shows that religiosity and trust in science are commonly held in tandem by people across the world.”

The desire for more engagement

Overall, attitudes reveal a desire among the public to see scientists engage in science communication and policymaking — advocating for policies that address specific issues such as climate change and communicating research findings to government officials and politicians.

People also want to see scientists prioritise improving public health, solving energy problems and reducing poverty.

The survey showed that people generally believe the scientific community prioritises defence and military technology above all other research goals, which was found to be a lesser priority for most respondents.

Previous studies have shown trust in science and scientists as critical to managing global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Weninger and the study’s authors said the results of the TISP survey “can help scientists and science communicators better tailor their communication to different audiences” and stressed the need for international research that includes underrepresented and understudied populations.

Challenges and recommendations

While the results of the TISP study strongly challenge current narratives, the consortium noted their findings reveal some areas for concern.

Though 57% of global respondents believed scientists are honest, and 56% believed scientists are concerned with public wellbeing, only 42% believe scientists are receptive to feedback or pay attention to others’ views.

The authors stated: “Anti-science attitudes, even if held by only a minority of people, raise concerns about a potential crisis of trust in science, which could challenge the epistemic authority of science and the role of scientists in supporting evidence-based policymaking.”

The study is published in Nature Human Behavior.