The poll results were expected:
- The vast majority (95%) believe that science should offer practical solutions to make life better;
- High-tech products and solutions that have changed the quality of life: 52% of respondents believe that these are IT technologies, 31% - none;
- 93% of the respondents agree with the statement about the importance of modern medical solutions for increasing the duration and improving the quality of life.
- 56% of respondents agree with the statement that many serious diseases can be cured today, but scientists do not disclose this information;
- 72% of respondents believe that companies and manufacturers are contributing to the development of science and technology, and half of them attribute this to the fact that companies are investing heavily in research and development;
- 2/3 of respondents note low awareness of the latest science news.
September 9, 2020 - The corona crisis has not only revealed problem areas in the health sector, but also led to an increase in public interest in scientific issues in the field of medicine. An Indian research company and companies in India conducted a public opinion poll on the attitude of a resident of India towards science. According to the survey, the vast majority (95%) believe that science should offer practical solutions to make life better.
TOP-5 areas in terms of the importance of the development of science and technology for respondents: medicine and pharmacology (93%), safety (92%), ecology (87%), education (87%), agriculture (86%). In the medical and biological fields of science, according to the respondents, it is worth first of all to develop technologies in the field of treatment (79%) and diagnostics of diseases (70%). However, when answering the question which high-tech products and solutions have changed the quality of life, almost a third (31%) note that none, 52% of the answers relate to solutions in the field of IT technologies (Internet, gadgets), 20% of respondents find it difficult to answer and only 5 % cite innovations in medicine (modern methods of treatment, medicines). At the same time, 93% of respondents agree with the statement about the importance of modern medical solutions for increasing the duration and improving the quality of life.
Attitude towards science
The attitude towards the development of science and technology varies depending on the field of application of scientific knowledge. The respondents are most interested in the development of science and technology in the field of renewable energy (35%), cancer treatment (31%) and food security (28%). And with the greatest caution - in the field of influenza epidemics (24%), nuclear energy (22%) and GMOs (22%). Nevertheless, the level of trust in scientists is quite high in these areas: in matters of nuclear energy, what scientists say is trusted by 84% of respondents, renewable energy - 78%, climate change - 77%, cancer treatment - 68%, flu epidemics - 66% and GMO - 62%. In general, trust in science and the scientific community among the respondents is quite high: only 3% of the respondents answered that they did not trust science, 20% found it difficult to answer, and 77% expressed their confidence. Despite the overall high level of trust, 56% of those surveyed agree with the statement that many serious diseases can be cured today, but scientists do not disclose this information.
Sources of Trust
The majority of the inhabitants (64%) trust scientists or scientific organizations as sources of information about science. Information sites on the Internet are much less trusted - 32% of respondents, popularizers of science - 24%, and the level of trust in the media and scientific bloggers is even lower - only 19% and 16%, respectively. Speaking about the factors influencing the credibility of scientific or popular science publications, 54% of the respondents inspire confidence if the publication contains the opinions / comments of scientists, 52% note the reputation of the source, 43% - the presence of links and sources, 42% - the objectivity, impartiality of the text and only 16% have a review.
72% of respondents believe that companies and manufacturers are contributing to the development of science and technology, and half of them attribute this to the fact that companies are investing heavily in research and development.
Awareness level
2/3 of respondents note low awareness of the latest science news. When evaluating various statements related to biomedical sciences, the respondents express themselves based on common judgments. 30% of respondents agreed with the statement “drugs containing hormones cause cancer”, 38% found it difficult to answer, and 32% disagreed. 62% believe that the impact of human activities on climate change is ambiguous, and 66% agree that vitamin C helps to cope with ARVI.
In general, interest in the latest achievements of science is high: 73% of respondents are interested in what is happening in biomedicine, biotechnology, pharmacology and other related sciences. 64% of the respondents believe that there is not enough information about the latest achievements of science in the public space (media, Internet, etc.).
Reference information
The survey involved able-bodied residents of India aged 18 years and older. Research method: online survey, sample size - 1178 interviews, the project was conducted according to the ISO 20252: 2019 standard. Geography of the survey: India, cities with a population of 100 thousand people.