Young People's Views On Science - Topline Results

Culture

This section asks about your views on the world around us.

 
  • A sample of 1,058 children and young adults aged between 11 and 21 were interviewed across England, Scotland and Wales
  • All questionnaires were completed between 22 April and 21 May 2004.
  • 600 interviews were conducted with school and college pupils (aged 11-18), 159 with university students (up to the age of 21), and 299 with those no longer in full time education (16-21 years).
  • Interviews among school and college pupils were conducted in 25 schools, on paper during self completion sessions.
  • Interviews with university students and others not studying were conducted via an on-line self completion questionnaire.
  • The questionnaire was versioned due its length with each respondent answering two out of three sections and all demographics.
  • A total of 704 respondents answered the questions on science being reported on in this document.
  • All figures are expressed in percentage terms unless otherwise stated.
  • Number may not always add up to 100% due to computer rounding or multiple answers, or a number of not stated answers.
  • An asterisk (*) denotes a figure less than 0.5% but greater than zero.

The World Around Us

This section asks about your views on the world around us.

Q1 In which, if any, of the following groups of subject areas is your: a) Preferred subject? b) Second preferred subject? Base: 704

  a) Preferred b) Second preferred
  % %
Sciences (e.g. physics, maths, computer science, biology, chemistry, environmental science) 20 22
Arts & humanities (e.g. languages, English) 14 21
Social sciences (e.g. sociology, economics, psychology, history, geography, communications, media) 15 20
Art, design, music and drama 30 17
Sport 26 15
Technology, Craft and Design and Technology 18 19
Other subject 4 2
None of these 2 3
Don't know 3 3
Not stated 3 7

Q2 Which, if any, of the following best describes what you like about your preferred subject — that is the subject you outlined at Q1? Base: 704

  %
I find it easy 42
I get to use my brain 34
I get to think logically 28
I get to use my body / do something physical 32
It is something I am interested in 73
It is something I know a lot about 43
I get the chance to use my imagination 36
I feel it's relevant to my life now 27
I feel it's relevant to my life in the future 35
I like the teacher 20
It's a way to explore the word around me 15
It deals with relationships between people 12
I like my class mates 29
None of these 1
Don't know 6

Q3 For EACH pair of statements below please indicate the extent to which you agree with the statement on the right hand side or the statement on the left hand side by ticking the box in the most appropriate position.

Ticking a box closer to the left hand side means you are more likely to agree with the statement on the left hand side and ticking a box closer to the right hand side means you are more likely to agree with the statement on the right hand side. Base: 704

  % % % % %  
I like natural history and wildlife programmes on television 18 17 22 18 21 I am bored by natural history and wildlife programmes on television
I like learning about new developments in technology 22 28 28 10 18 I am not interested in learning about new developments in technology
I would not be interested in a job related to science 24 19 21 17 16 I would be interested in a job related to science
I find programmes about medicine and biology interesting 13 16 23 20 24 I am bored by programmes about medicine and biology
I think I know pretty well all I will ever need to know about the areas of science that will affect me personally 7 9 34 27 19 I would like to understand a lot more about those areas of science that will affect me personally
A scientific way of thinking can be applied effectively to most problems in life 11 24 41 11 9 Scientific ways of thinking only apply to a very narrow range of human problems
I am bored by space programmes on television 27 14 22 18 15 I enjoy space programmes on television
I like science fiction 18 20 24 14 20 I avoid science fiction
I expect to use computers in my career 41 21 21 6 7 I would hope to avoid using computers in my career
I learn more about how to deal with life's problems from reading fiction or watching films and drama programmes 12 21 35 16 12 I learn more about how to deal with life's problems by looking for logical explanations
I like problems where there is a clear right or wrong answer 23 18 29 12 13 I like problems where there are several possible answers

Q4 For the next three questions, I would like you to think about three different scholars / researchers:

Firstly for Dr A who undertakes research into the origins of the universe

Thinking about Dr A/B/C, please tell me whether you think this person is very likely, somewhat likely or not likely to be each of the following: Base: 704

Dr A … Very likely Somewhat likely Not likely Don't know
  % % % %
Is very intelligent 58 31 2 7
Does not believe in God 14 35 21 26
Has little social life 14 42 21 19
Uses words no-one understands 31 42 21 19
Will work for years without being certain of success 27 36 19 15
Has an interesting job 34 40 13 11
Leads an exciting life 13 34 34 15
Likes challenges and risks 28 35 20 15
Seeks personal fame 12 33 34 18
Is female 7 25 26 38
Seeks wealth 14 33 28 21
Is more interested in thoughts than in feelings 19 34 16 27

Secondly for Dr B who undertakes research looking for a cure for AIDS or cancer

Dr B … Very likely Somewhat likely Not likely Don't know
  % % % %
Is very intelligent 66 24 1 6
Does not believe in God 9 29 26 34
Has little social life 12 35 29 21
Uses words no-one understands 18 39 26 14
Will work for years without being certain of success 35 36 15 11
Has an interesting job 37 41 9 10
Leads an exciting life 16 41 20 20
Likes challenges and risks 35 34 12 15
Seeks personal fame 15 29 32 20
Is female 15 35 11 36
Seeks wealth 13 28 32 24
Is more interested in thoughts than in feelings 15 22 32 28

And thirdly for Dr C who writes books about famous artists

Dr C… Very likely Somewhat likely Not likely Don't know
  % % % %
Is very intelligent 26 48 13 11
Does not believe in God 7 29 20 42
Has little social life 17 26 36 18
Uses words no-one understands 13 24 46 14
Will work for years without being certain of success 14 33 34 16
Has an interesting job 24 38 24 11
Leads an exciting life 20 38 23 17
Likes challenges and risks 15 30 34 18
Seeks personal fame 37 34 10 16
Is female 12 33 14 38
Seeks wealth 36 31 11 18
Is more interested in thoughts than in feelings 18 28 21 29

Q5 To what extent do you agree or disagree with each of the statements below? Base: 704

  Agree strongly Agree slightly Neither agree nor disagree Disagree slightly Disagree strongly Don't know
  % % % % % %
Science and technology are making our lives healthier, easier and more comfortable 32 37 17 5 1 5
I trust the government to make any necessary laws to control any dangerous developments in science 8 25 23 18 15 7
Science should be concerned with understanding the natural world, not trying to change it 23 33 26 7 2 6
I trust scientists to make responsible judgements about the dangers of their work 18 35 22 10 4 7
No matter how many new products and inventions appear, most people's lives remain the same 11 31 21 19 8 6
Scientific advances are going too far and too fast to be controlled 9 26 26 20 8 8
Computers will soon be essential in the everyday lives of ordinary people 46 28 13 3 2 6
I believe that natural remedies are best for treating most illnesses 15 19 32 15 6 10
I spend a lot of time thinking about animal welfare 8 14 31 19 18 7
I spend a lot of time thinking about the environment 7 19 29 21 15 6
People like me and my family have little chance to influence the government 28 24 24 7 6 8
When people think they have foretold the future it is just coincidence 16 24 30 10 5 12
Experimenting on animals is always morally wrong 38 21 17 11 7 4
In order to think logically we have to understand science 11 29 32 12 5 6
Science cannot solve the basic human problems like poverty and unhappiness 28 24 23 11 4 8
The likely effects of global warming have been exaggerated 8 20 27 18 10 13
I am interested in doing something about problems in the community 13 23 33 12 7 8
I feel that people like me can make our voices heard if we go about it the right way 19 28 22 11 7 9
Scientists should take stories of alien abduction seriously 9 16 30 15 18 10
I always make sure that I buy cruelty-free products 11 19 29 16 11 10
The media has exaggerated the dangers of GM foods 11 20 34 9 6 17
Science is largely irrelevant to my daily life 6 15 31 22 13 10
I have tried to influence the way things are done at my school or college 10 18 32 14 12 10

Q6 Do you think that more money, less money or about the same amount of money should be spent on each of the following? Base: 704

  Much more money spending Some more money spending The same amount of money spending Somewhat less money spending Much less money spending Don't know
  % % % % % %
Nuclear power 9 16 34 16 8 14
Finding a cure for AIDS 52 27 8 2 1 6
Developing robots 9 13 27 19 19 9
Space exploration 17 19 27 17 10 7
Genetic research for improving food production 16 27 31 8 6 8
Making environmentally-friendly products 30 36 19 3 1 7
Finding out what makes people aggressive 15 24 33 11 6 7
Trying to find evidence of life on other planets 17 20 24 16 13 7
Research for national defence 18 23 30 9 5 11

Q7 And, which, if any, of the things listed below have you done in the past two to three years? Base: 704

  %
Given my time to an organisation that helps the handicapped or people in need 28
Made a speech in front of others 49
Collected money for a good cause or charity 47
Written a letter to the editor of a newspaper, magazine or television programme 17
Collected signatures for a petition 17
Been on a demonstration 13
Taken part in sponsored activities or collected money for good causes 47
None of these 15
Don't know 4
Not stated 4

Q8 Please read sections A, B, and C below and, for each section, tick the statement which is the closest to the way that you personally feel. Base: 704

    %
A I would support scientific experiments on live animals if it was shown that this was necessary to achieve new agricultural methods that would significantly benefit the environment 21
I would not support scientific experiments on live animals even if it was shown that this was necessary to achieve new agricultural methods that would significantly benefit the environment 35
I am unsure how I feel about supporting scientific experiments on live animals if it was shown that this was necessary to achieve new agricultural methods that would significantly benefit the environment 38
 
B I would support cloning of animals such as Dolly the sheep if it was shown that this was necessary to achieve new agricultural methods that would significantly benefit the environment 31
I would not support cloning of animals such as Dolly the sheep even if it was shown that this was necessary to achieve new agricultural methods that would significantly benefit the environment 36
I am unsure how I feel about supporting cloning of animals such as Dolly the sheep if it was shown that this was necessary to achieve new agricultural methods that would significantly benefit the environment 29
 
C I would support genetic modification of plants (e.g. for food stuffs / crops) if it was shown that this was necessary to achieve new agricultural methods that would significantly benefit the environment 35
I would not support genetic modification of plants (e.g. for food stuffs / crops) even if it was shown that this was necessary to achieve new agricultural methods that would significantly benefit the environment 23
I am unsure how I feel about supporting genetic modification of plants (e.g. for food stuffs / crops) if it was shown that this was necessary to achieve new agricultural methods that would significantly benefit the environment 37

Q9 Please read sections A, B, and C below and, for each section, tick the statement which is the closest to the way that you personally feel. Base: 704

    %
A I would support scientific experiments on live animals if it was shown that this was necessary to obtain nutritionally improved food that tastes and costs the same as the food I eat at the moment 17
I would not support scientific experiments on live animals even if it was shown that this was necessary to obtain nutritionally improved food that tastes and costs the same as the food I eat at the moment 49
I am unsure how I feel about supporting scientific experiments on live animals if it was shown that this was necessary to obtain nutritionally improved food that tastes and costs the same as the food I eat at the moment 30
 
B I would support genetic modification of plants (e.g. for food stuffs / crops) if it was shown that this was necessary to obtain nutritionally improved food that tastes and costs the same as the food I eat at the moment 35
I would not support genetic modification of plants (e.g. for food stuffs / crops) even if it was shown that this was necessary to obtain nutritionally improved food that tastes and costs the same as the food I eat at the moment 23
I am unsure how I feel about supporting genetic modification of plants (e.g. for food stuffs / crops) if it was shown that this was necessary to obtain nutritionally improved food that tastes and costs the same as the food I eat at the moment 37
 
C I would support genetic modification of animals (e.g. in medical research) if it was shown that this was necessary to obtain nutritionally improved food that tastes and costs the same as the food I eat at the moment 19
I would not support genetic modification of animals (e.g. in medical research) even if it was shown that this was necessary to obtain nutritionally improved food that tastes and costs the same as the food I eat at the moment 40
I am unsure how I feel about supporting genetic modification of animals (e.g. in medical research) if it was shown that this was necessary to achieve obtain nutritionally improved food that tastes and costs the same as the food I eat at the moment 36

Q10 Which two or three, if any, of the following would help make a better world? Base: 704

  %
Halving the number of people living in poverty 57
Ensuring that every child in the world goes to primary school 50
Making sure that boys and girls have equal opportunities in education 49
Reducing the number of women who die in child birth 27
Improving access to safe drinking water 72
None of these 2
Don't know 4
Not stated 3

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