Study Highlights Flaw In Common Approach Of Public Opinion Surveys About Science
A North Carolina State University study concludes that the use of a single survey question to assess public opinion on science issues is flawed as people who say that the risks posed by new science fields outweigh the benefits, actually perceive more benefits than risks when asked more detailed questions.
Researchers developed two surveys, one on nanotechnology and the other on biofuels. On each survey, respondents were asked if the risks associated with nanotechnology/biofuels outweigh the benefits, do the benefits outweigh the risks, or are they equal? Researchers then followed up by asking a series of questions about the specific risks and benefits associated with each. By comparing each participant’s responses to the broader question, researchers found that among those who said the risks outweighed the benefits, when asked additional questions, these same people perceived more benefits than risks when evaluating the attributes separately. For example, with respect to nanotechnology, half of respondents initially said that the risks outweighed the benefits, but subsequently, only 35% of these people actually calculated more risks than benefits when asked about the attributes separately. This same phenomenon occurred for those who broadly thought that the benefits outweighed the risks.
http://news.ncsu.edu/releases/wmsbindersurveys/