I want to measure societal impacts of my initiative…
...by assessing its impact on scientific knowledge and attitude change

Scientific knowledge and attitude change 

Change in scientific knowledge, as well as attitude toward science and the environment 

Society

Quantitative & qualitative

Primary data

Participants

Yes, ex ante and ex post 

Absolute values 

Project

Outcome, impact

N/A

Pre-test survey with a random control group of 400 members and a post-test survey with a non-random group of 300 participants 

Response choices ‘agree’ or ‘disagree’. The value of agree=1 and disagree=0.

Attitude toward science scale items:

• Science and technology are making our lives healthier, easier, and more comfortable.
• The benefits of science are greater than any harmful effects.
• Science makes our way of life move too fast.
• We depend too much of science and not enough on faith.

NEP/humans-with nature subscale items:

• Humans were created to rule over the rest of nature.
• People have the right to modify the natural environment to suit their needs.
• Plants and animals exist primarily to be used by people.
• People need not to adapt to the natural environment because they can remake it to suit their needs.

Understanding of the scientific process items:

• When you hear or read the term ‘scientific study’ do you have (please check one):
• A clear understanding of what it means
• A general sense of what it means
• Little understanding of what it means
• If you checked a) or b) for the previous question, please tell us in your own words what it means to study something scientifically:

Bird knowledge scale items:

• Most songbirds lay one egg per day during the breeding season.
• Clutch size refers to the number of eggs a female bird can fit in her nest.
• All birds line their nest with feathers. - Humans can handle nestlings with little fear of the nest being abandoned by the adult birds.
• The age of a female bird can influence the number of eggs she lays.
• Some birds need supplemental calcium to produce eggs.
• Most cavity-nesting birds eat primarily seeds.
• Cavity-nesting species that use nest boxes are safe from predators.
• Some species of warblers use nest boxes.
• Nest boxes should never be made of pressure-treated wood.

• Change in scientific knowledge of community members
• Understanding of community members about scientific processes
• Attitude towards science
• Attitude towards the environment

Low

Moderately resource demanding

Brossard et al. (2005)