Do They Know What They Read? Building a Scientific Literacy Measurement Instrument Based on Science Media Coverage

The authors tested a novel approach to the conceptualization and measurement of a dimension of scientific literacy, the understanding of scientific and technical terms. Through an analysis of the media’s use of scientific and technical terms randomly selected from a scientific dictionary, the authors identified the thirty-one terms most often used in the media. The authors argue that these terms represent what an individual is expected to know within the bounds of normal civic discourse. The measure that was developed therefore represents a conceptualization of a “civically literate” scientific vocabulary that avoids the possible biases that could be associated with a selection of terms based solely on experts’ views. Scientific literacy results obtained through the use of the instrument at the pilot-test level are discussed and contrasted with those obtained when using the National Science Foundation’s scale, which is the most widely cited public scientific literacy measurement instrument based on a more conventional approach to scientific literacy.