Brazilians are interested in science but lack in-depth information

Government publishes findings of fourth survey conducted to gauge public awareness of science, technology and innovation in Brazil

By Elton Alisson in São Carlos  |  Agência FAPESP – Brazilians display positive attitudes toward science and technology (S&T) and express a strong interest in related activities.

However, access to information about S&T is still very limited, especially among social groups with lower levels of schooling and income. 

These are some of the key findings of the 2015 edition of “Public perceptions of science, technology and innovation in Brazil,” the fourth such survey performed by the Center for Strategic Studies & Management in Science, Technology & Innovation (CGEE) and the Ministry of Science, Technology & Innovation (MCTI).

The survey’s results were presented on July 13 during the 67th Annual Meeting of the Brazilian Society for the Advancement of Science (SBPC), which took place on July 12-18 at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) in São Paulo State.

“The survey provides a statistically robust measure of public awareness of S&T in Brazil,” said CGEE President Mariano Laplane. “Brazilians express curiosity about and respect for S&T, as well as a vigorous expectation that S&T can improve their lives. In addition to this curiosity, however, it’s important for the public to become more knowledgeable about the progress and success of Brazilian science.”

The survey interviewed 1,962 Brazilians in all regions of the country. Interviewees were aged 16 years and above and were stratified by gender, age group, level of schooling, and income.

The results show that 61% of the interviewees are interested or very interested in S&T. This is similar to the proportion found in other countries that have performed comparable surveys of public awareness or understanding of S&T, say the authors of the survey.

In the European Union, for example, 53% of the sample interviewed in a 2013 survey said that they were interested in topics relating to S&T.

In Brazil, S&T (61%) ranks fifth among subjects that attract the most public attention, behind medicine and health (78%), the environment (78%), religion (75%) and the economy (68%) but ahead of arts and culture (57%), sports (56%), fashion (34%) and politics (27%).

Despite the predominance of a positive attitude toward and a high level of interest in S&T, access to information is low, according to the survey.

Television is the main source of information on S&T for 21% of the sample. By contrast, the majority of interviewees say that they never glean information on S&T from other sources, such as newspapers, magazines, books, radio, or even conversations with friends. 

However, according to the 2013 survey, use of the internet and social networks as sources of information about S&T more than doubled since the last survey, especially among young people, jumping to 48% from 23% in 2006, and approaching the frequency of the use of television.

The interviewees say that they mainly use the websites of research institutions to learn about S&T, followed by the websites of newspapers and magazines, as well as Facebook, Wikipedia and blogs.

“The low level of information about S&T in Brazilian society is a challenge for the scientific community, for the government, and also for the media,” Laplane said.

“It’s alarming to observe how much the size of S&T sections in the leading Brazilian newspapers has shrunk in recent years. In some cases, these sections have simply disappeared. Furthermore, the small amount of content that is being transmitted to society about major scientific achievements mostly refers to advances in other parts of the world and only rarely to Brazilian examples.”

Only a small proportion of the survey sample is able to recall the name of an important Brazilian scientist or research institution.

Ignorance among young people is especially significant, but even among people with a university degree, only a very small percentage can name a Brazilian scientist.

“We should unashamedly publicize the prizes won by Brazilian scientists and their achievements. We need more science ‘celebrities’ such as Artur Ávila, the first mathematician educated in the southern hemisphere to win a Fields Medal, the world’s most prestigious mathematics prize,” said Jacob Palis, President of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC).

“This kind of publicity is important for the diffusion of Brazilian science and for attracting the attention of children and young adults to science.”

Positive attitudes

The survey also showed that Brazilians believe that science produces results applicable to their lives and can solve problems such as disease and climate change, for example. 

The large majority (73%) say that S&T offers the public more benefits than drawbacks, is essential to industry, and helps to reduce social inequality. 

A comparison with similar surveys conducted in other countries shows that Brazil is relatively optimistic about the benefits of research and development, according to the authors of the survey.

China has the same proportion as Brazil (73%), whereas the United States lags, with 67%, as do Spain, with 64%; Italy, with 46%; and France, with 43%.

Despite their optimism, Brazilians take a critical stance toward S&T, according to the survey. Most interviewees express concern about ethical and political aspects as well as social control of S&T.

The majority say that research should be subject to ethical standards, that scientists should be open about the risks that their work involves, and that the public should participate more in important decisions about the direction taken by S&T in Brazil.

“The survey shows that Brazilians aren’t ignorant of science and technology. They lack information but take a critical stance and realize that science alone can’t solve every problem,” Ildeu Moreira, a consultant for the survey, told Agência FAPESP. Moreira is a professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ).

The substantial majority (78%) also support the idea that there should be more public investment in S&T in Brazil, with only 3% saying that there should be less. 

In Argentina, 63% advocate for more funding for S&T. The proportion in Sweden, Spain and France is 40%, whereas in Germany and the United Kingdom, it is 25%, according to the authors of the survey.

“The survey points to the strengths and weaknesses of science diffusion and communication in Brazil,” said José Aldo Rebelo, Brazil’s Minister of Science, Technology & Innovation. “We need a science popularization policy to disseminate a scientific mentality, which is a condition for exercising democracy.” 

According to the survey authors, the survey methodology followed the same standards as those used in similar studies conducted not only in developed countries and regions such as the United States and European Union but also in Latin America.

In Brazil, besides MCTI, FAPESP and FAPEMIG, the Minas Gerais State Research Foundation, have recently commissioned similar surveys. 

“These surveys enable us to obtain a wealth of information with which to gauge Brazil’s position in terms of public awareness of S&T in comparison with other countries, as well as the changes in people’s attitudes and perceptions over time,” Laplane said.

For more details of the survey findings in Portuguese, visit http://percepcaocti.cgee.org.br/.