Development of a novel methodology for ascertaining scientific opinion and extent of agreement

We take up the challenge of developing an international network with capacity to survey the world's scientists on an ongoing basis, providing rich datasets regarding the opinions of scientists and scientific sub-communities, both at a time and also over time. The novel methodology employed sees local coordinators, at each institution in the network, sending survey invitation emails internally to scientists at their home institution. The emails link to a '10 second survey', where the participant is presented with a single statement to consider, and a standard five-point Likert scale. In June 2023, a group of 30 philosophers and social scientists invited 20,085 scientists across 30 institutions in 12 countries to participate, gathering 6,807 responses to the statement Science has put it beyond reasonable doubt that COVID-19 is caused by a virus. The study demonstrates that it is possible to establish a global network to quickly ascertain scientific opinion on a large international scale, with high response rate, low opt-out rate, and in a way that allows for significant (perhaps indefinite) repeatability. Measuring scientific opinion in this new way would be a valuable complement to currently available approaches, potentially informing policy decisions and public understanding across diverse fields.

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Publication Details

Journal
PLoS ONE
Published
2024-12-06
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0313541
Citations
5
Primary Topic
Misinformation and Its Impacts
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
5.66

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article

Development of a novel methodology for ascertaining scientific opinion and extent of agreement

Haixin Dang, Mark Alfano, Seán Muller, N. K. Shinod et al.
5 citations
PLoS ONE
Misinformation and Its Impacts
5.66
article

Development of a novel methodology for ascertaining scientific opinion and extent of agreement

Haixin Dang, Mark Alfano, Seán Muller, N. K. Shinod, J. Sheppard, Asheley R. Landrum, Jacob Stegenga, Mariann Hardey, David Sweet, Samantha Mitchell Finnigan, Jesse Hamilton, Peter Vickers, Connie J. Clark, Neil Levy, Henry Taylor, Paula Helm, Michael T. Stuart, Ufuk Tasdan, Matthew H. Slater, Édouard Machery, Harald A. Wiltsche, Eleonora Cresto, Rebecca Wallbank, Finnur Dellsén, Dana Tulodziecki, Heidi Tworek, Laura Gradowski, Simon Graf, Alicia Guevara, Ludovica Adamo, Mark Hallap, Sarah Mills, Henning Strandin, Owen Towler, He Cui, Nathalie Dupin
article en
5 citations

Abstract

We take up the challenge of developing an international network with capacity to survey the world's scientists on an ongoing basis, providing rich datasets regarding the opinions of scientists and scientific sub-communities, both at a time and also over time. The novel methodology employed sees local coordinators, at each institution in the network, sending survey invitation emails internally to scientists at their home institution. The emails link to a '10 second survey', where the participant is presented with a single statement to consider, and a standard five-point Likert scale. In June 2023, a group of 30 philosophers and social scientists invited 20,085 scientists across 30 institutions in 12 countries to participate, gathering 6,807 responses to the statement Science has put it beyond reasonable doubt that COVID-19 is caused by a virus. The study demonstrates that it is possible to establish a global network to quickly ascertain scientific opinion on a large international scale, with high response rate, low opt-out rate, and in a way that allows for significant (perhaps indefinite) repeatability. Measuring scientific opinion in this new way would be a valuable complement to currently available approaches, potentially informing policy decisions and public understanding across diverse fields.

PLoS ONEVol. 19(12)
Linköping University (SE), University of Nebraska at Omaha (US), Uppsala University (SE), University of Leeds (GB), Bucknell University (US), Howard Hughes Medical Institute (US), University of British Columbia (CA), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (AR), Stockholm University (SE), University of Iceland (IS), University of Pittsburgh (US), Nanyang Technological University (SG), University of Oslo (NO), University of Toronto (CA), Durham University (GB), Janelia Research Campus (US), Purdue University West Lafayette (US), University of Johannesburg (ZA), University of Cambridge (GB), Leverhulme Trust (GB), University of Hyderabad (IN), University of Oxford (GB), Institute of Scientific and Technical Research for Defense (AR), University of Inland Norway (NO), University of York (GB), Arizona State University (US), University of Pennsylvania (US), University of Birmingham (GB), University of Amsterdam (NL), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (MX), University of Edinburgh (GB), Macquarie University (AU)
John Templeton Foundation, Helsingin Yliopisto, British Society for the Philosophy of Science, University College London, University of Birmingham, Durham University, Universität Wien, Arts and Humanities Research Council
Partnerships for the goals
Openalex Percentile: Top 4%
Misinformation and Its Impacts
5.66
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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