TY - JOUR
T1 - The Development and Validation of the Social Enterprise of Science Index (SESI)
T2 - An Instrument to Measure Grasp of the Social-Institutional Aspects of Science
AU - Huxster, Joanna K.
AU - Slater, Matthew H.
AU - Landrum, Asheley R.
N1 - Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article: This research was funded by the Forney Family Foundation, Bucknell University, and the National Science Foundation (SES-1734616).
Funding Information:
The authors would like to acknowledge the contributions of the Forney Family Foundation and Bucknell University to this research. They would also like to thank the expert panel participants at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the biennial meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association and the History of Science Society. MHS acknowledges the financial support of NSF (SES-1734616) for teaching relief and research assistance in 2018?19. The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article: This research was funded by the Forney Family Foundation, Bucknell University, and the National Science Foundation (SES-1734616).
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2021.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Significant gaps remain between public opinion and the scientific consensus on many issues. We present the results of three studies (N = 722 in total) for the development and testing of a novel instrument to measure a largely unmeasured aspect of scientific literacy: the enterprise of science, particularly in the context of its social structures. We posit that this understanding of the scientific enterprise is an important source for the public’s trust in science. Our results indicate that the Social Enterprise of Science Index (SESI) is a reliable and valid instrument that correlates positively with trust in science (r =.256, p <.001), and level of education (r =.245, p <.001). We also develop and validate a six question short version of the SESI for ease of use in longer surveys.
AB - Significant gaps remain between public opinion and the scientific consensus on many issues. We present the results of three studies (N = 722 in total) for the development and testing of a novel instrument to measure a largely unmeasured aspect of scientific literacy: the enterprise of science, particularly in the context of its social structures. We posit that this understanding of the scientific enterprise is an important source for the public’s trust in science. Our results indicate that the Social Enterprise of Science Index (SESI) is a reliable and valid instrument that correlates positively with trust in science (r =.256, p <.001), and level of education (r =.245, p <.001). We also develop and validate a six question short version of the SESI for ease of use in longer surveys.
KW - instrument development
KW - public understanding of science
KW - scientific community
KW - scientific enterprise
KW - scientific literacy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85106960042&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/21582440211016411
DO - 10.1177/21582440211016411
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85106960042
SN - 2158-2440
VL - 11
JO - SAGE Open
JF - SAGE Open
IS - 2
ER -