Location

CSU 253

Start Date

21-4-2014 11:05 AM

End Date

21-4-2014 12:05 PM

Student's Major

Psychology

Student's College

Science, Engineering and Technology

Mentor's Name

Dawn Albertson

Mentor's Email Address

dawn.albertson@mnsu.edu

Mentor's Department

Psychology

Mentor's College

Science, Engineering and Technology

Description

This year, the worldwide web celebrates twenty-five years of existence. Its popularity has grown tremendously and we now see a majority of the population utilizing the Internet’s various outlets to achieve greater amounts of knowledge in lesser amounts of time. The broad spectrum of media sources enables a greater access of information to all people, increasingly impacting their level of science knowledge. The current study looked to explore the relationship between level of science knowledge, preferred media source and frequency of exposure. One hundred thirty-five participants were surveyed. Questions from the Pew Research Center’s “Science and Technology Knowledge Quiz” were utilized as well as additional questions covering multiple aspects of science ranging from genetics and medical research to literacy and degree of trust in various sources. Participants’ science knowledge will be compared to the national averages, as reported by Pew, and organized into high, medium and low knowledge groups. Groups will further be assessed for differences on knowledge confidence, preferred media source, and frequency of science media exposure. Similarities and differences between local and national populations, as well as differences amongst science knowledge groups, will be discussed.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Share

COinS
 
Apr 21st, 11:05 AM Apr 21st, 12:05 PM

Media Impact on Science Knowledge

CSU 253

This year, the worldwide web celebrates twenty-five years of existence. Its popularity has grown tremendously and we now see a majority of the population utilizing the Internet’s various outlets to achieve greater amounts of knowledge in lesser amounts of time. The broad spectrum of media sources enables a greater access of information to all people, increasingly impacting their level of science knowledge. The current study looked to explore the relationship between level of science knowledge, preferred media source and frequency of exposure. One hundred thirty-five participants were surveyed. Questions from the Pew Research Center’s “Science and Technology Knowledge Quiz” were utilized as well as additional questions covering multiple aspects of science ranging from genetics and medical research to literacy and degree of trust in various sources. Participants’ science knowledge will be compared to the national averages, as reported by Pew, and organized into high, medium and low knowledge groups. Groups will further be assessed for differences on knowledge confidence, preferred media source, and frequency of science media exposure. Similarities and differences between local and national populations, as well as differences amongst science knowledge groups, will be discussed.

Recommended Citation

Richardson, Joanna. "Media Impact on Science Knowledge." Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mankato, MN, April 21, 2014.
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/urs/2014/oral_session_06/1