The public

We conduct annual attitude surveys to learn how the Swedish public views science, research and researchers.

The attitude surveys are conducted in two different ways:

  • Telephone interviews with a sample of individuals representing the Swedish public aged 16-74, in cooperation with Exquiro market research. (The VA Barometer has been conducted annually since 2002).
  • Postal questionnaires sent to a representative sample of 3,000 Swedish individuals aged 15 and older, in cooperation with the SOM Institute at Gothenburg University. (The Science in Society-survey has been conducted annually since 2002).

 

In the following articles and summaries you will find summarised results from the surveys:

| Av Vetenskap & Allmänhet

New VA report: record high confidence in Swedish universities

Press release 21 June 2018

Concepts like ”post truth” and ”alternative facts” are being increasingly used, mainly in American politics, but also in debate internationally. Does this indicate a crisis of confidence in research? Not in Sweden anyway. A new report shows that the Swedes’ confidence in universities is greater than ever before.

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| Av Vetenskap & Allmänhet

VA Barometer 2018 – Swedish women’s confidence in researchers falls sharply

Press release 5 March 2018

Almost half of young men in Sweden would consider a career as a researcher. Among young Swedish women, only a fifth can see themselves as researchers in the future. At the same time, Swedish women’s confidence in researchers has fallen sharply, while men’s confidence remains at the same level as last year. These are some of the findings from this year’s annual VA Barometer conducted by Swedish civil society organisation VA (Public & Science). The VA Barometer is now available in English.

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| Av Vetenskap & Allmänhet

VA Barometer 2016: Swedish public’s confidence in medical research falls due to Macchiarini scandal

Press release 6 March 2017

The scandal surrounding the surgeon Paolo Macchiarini has led to a fall in confidence in medical research among one third of the Swedish public, who are familiar with the incidents. However, public confidence in researchers in Sweden in general has increased, although it has also weakened. These are the results of the annual VA Barometer conducted by the Swedish non-profit organisation VA (Public & Science).

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| Av Helen Garrison

Swedes’ trust in research on the rise again

The Swedish public’s trust in researchers at universities is rising. 84 percent say that they have fairly or very high trust, compared with 74 percent in the previous year. Nine out of ten Swedes believe it is important for the public to be involved in research and more than half would like personally to get involved, particularly in health research. These are some of the findings from the annual VA Barometer conducted by Swedish non-profit organisation VA (Public & Science).

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