Ideology, knowledge, and the assessment of science policy agencies

Kathryn Haglin, Arnold Vedlitz

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

In the USA, politics often dominates the conversation surrounding science and related technologies. We also live in times of high political polarization, leading to political debate over scientific discoveries and subsequent policy implications. Given these dynamics, there is much to be learned about the politicization of science, individuals' policy views, and the public's relationship with the communication and interpretation of scientific findings. Agencies are often responsible for facilitating scientific research and framing its policy relevance for decision makers and the public. This paper uses data from a large national public opinion survey to investigate citizen attitudes about government science agencies. We theorize that disparities between objective and self-assessed scientific knowledge coupled with ideological cues help frame citizen evaluations of agencies. We find that individuals' political ideologies and disparities between knowledge types shape citizen assessments of energy-related scientific agencies. These findings have important implications for our understanding of public acceptance of the work of government science agencies.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)707-718
Number of pages12
JournalScience and Public Policy
Volume50
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 1 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by an internal grant award from the Crisman Institute in the Department of Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&M University.

Funding Information:
Science and its policy implications are a key function of many federal government agencies. Agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DOE), are often responsible for funding scientific and technological research, conducting such research themselves, and framing its policy relevance for decision makers and the public. Government agencies have an important role to play in linking science and technological information to problem identification and appropriate policy solutions. Much of their effectiveness depends on how their efforts are viewed by the public and trusted by them and policy makers (; ).

Funding Information:
The material herein is based upon research conducted by the Institute for Science, Technology and Public Policy in The Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University. The energy survey was done in cooperation with the Texas A&M Energy Institute and was supported by Texas A&M University’s Crisman Institute for Petroleum Research in the Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering, the Institute for Science, Technology and Public Policy, and the Texas A&M University Office of the Vice President for Research. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are solely those of the authors.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s).

Keywords

  • agency
  • ideology
  • knowledge
  • public opinion
  • science
  • science policy

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