Via online by keyword search. Open access., Counsel from a biology teacher about the dilemma of helping students and other "non-experts" assess complex subjects. "The citizen must assess the evidence - not the scientific evidence, but the social evidence for credibility. First, can one trust the source of information? ... If that is relatively secure, one can then take the next step 'backwards' to assess the credibility of the expert or person making the claims. Known experts and media with confirmed track records are ideal, of course. But frequently we must settle for indirect evidence. ... For the consumer interested in reliable knowledge, one must find the thread that one can trust. Robust agreement, when available, helps."
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 188 Document Number: D01266
Notes:
Findings based on research conducted by Sullivan Higdon and Sink FoodThink., Sullivan Higdon & Sink, Kansas City, Missouri, via AgriMarketing Weekly. 1 page.
Online from publication. 5 pages., Summary of a survey among U.S. consumers, performed by Aimpoint Research for The Packer. Findings suggested that the lack of a concrete definition of sustainability points to the need to earn consumers' trust regarding the food industry.
20 pages., via online journal., This article analyses whether different institutional sources of scientific information have an impact on its credibility. Through a population-based survey experiment of a national representative sample of the Spanish public, we measure the credibility that citizens attribute to scientific information on the evolution of CO2 emissions disclosed by different institutional sources (business associations, government, non-government environmental organisations, international bodies and national research institutions). The findings show that an institutional credibility gap exists in science communication. We also investigate the factors accounting for the credibility of the different institutional sources by examining variables related to knowledge, interest, trust, reputation, deference, attitudes, values and personal characteristics. Exploratory regression analyses reveal that identical variables can produce different effects on the credibility of scientific information, depending on the institutional source to which it is attributed.
Rutsaert, Pieter (author), Regan, Aine (author), Pieniak, Zuzanna (author), McConnon, Aine (author), Moss, Adrian (author), Wall, Patrick (author), and Verbeke, Wim (author)
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2013
Published:
International
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 139 Document Number: D05816
