In science we trust: Confidence in America’s scientists still high

Despite waning confidence since the pandemic, Americans still have more faith in the scientific community than in many other civic, cultural and governmental institutions, according to a University of Michigan researcher. An analysis led by Arthur Lupia , U-M professor of political science, shows that 73% of Americans have "a fair amount- or "a great deal- of confidence in scientists to act in the best interest of the public-a figure higher yet for medical scientists (77%), specifically. By comparison, those levels of confidence are similar to those of the military (74%) and police officers (69%), but are higher than confidence levels for journalists (42%), business leaders (35%) and elected officials (24%). Lupia, U-M associate vice president for research for large-scale strategies and executive director of the university's Bold Challenges Initiative, led an effort by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Strategic Council for Excellence, Integrity and Trust to evaluate changes in public confidence in science in recent years and identify potential ways for the scientific community to earn higher levels of trust from the American public. "Our analysis found that the scientific community's commitment to practices such as basing conclusions on the best available evidence and disclosing potential conflicts of interest can help give the public more confidence in trusting scientific findings,- said Lupia, the Gerald R. Ford Distinguished University Professor.