What is TISP?
we are a consortium of 241 researchers at 169 institutions STUDYING PUBLIC OPINION ABOUT SCIENCE around the world.
Our story
In 2021, Viktoria Cologna was awarded funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation to study trust in science and science-related populism in a cross-cultural setting at Harvard University. Given Niels Mede's expertise on public perceptions of science and science-related populism, the two teamed up to expand the scale of the project. They formed an advisory board of 9 renowned experts and built a global consortium of 239 collaborators across the world. They launched TISP on 29 June 2022.
The project structure
To collect data in as many countries as possible, this project takes the form of a Many Labs study: Research teams around the world collect data with the same questionnaire translated into 37 languages. This allows to compare research findings across countries. All collaborators of the project are co-authors on the main publications and provide expertise that is key to the interpretation of research findings.
Impact
TISP provides the largest dataset on public trust in scientists and science-related populism post COVID-19 pandemic. As such, it makes an important contribution to the investigation of current concerns of a "crisis of expertise" and a loss of public trust in scientists. Moreover, we provide important results on correlates of trust and populism, such as science communication behavior, public perceptions of the role of science in politics, and climate change emotions, and enable comparative analysis across 67 countries worldwide. These findings and their implications are relevant for policy-makers, journalists, science communication professionals, and follow-up research.
