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Thank you for choosing to participate in this survey. Please answer all questions to the best of your ability. No question is written to trick you. Every question is independent from one to the next, and your answer on one should not impact the following question.
This survey should take roughly 15-20 minutes of your time.
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EXPLANATION OF RESEARCH -- TERMS AND AGREEMENT
Title of Project: Media Sensationalism and its Effects on Public Understanding of Science
Principal Investigator: Joshua Colwell
Other Investigators: Christopher Barsoum
Faculty Supervisor: Joshua Colwell
You are being invited to take part in a research study. Whether you take part is up to you.
• The intention of this research is to investigate the relationship, if any, between one’s exposure to sensationalized media and their ability to dictate science from pseudoscience
• You must complete the survey included in the link, where further instructions are listed. Answering any specific question is not mandatory, however your information will be discarded if the appropriate questions are not answered.
• The survey takes roughly 15-20 minutes of your time, and no further time commitments following will be needed.
You must be 18 years of age or older to take part in this research study.
Study contact for questions about the study or to report a problem: If you have questions, concerns, or complaints, please contact Christopher Barsoum at [email protected].
IRB contact about your rights in the study or to report a complaint: Research at the University of Central Florida involving human participants is carried out under the oversight of the Institutional Review Board (UCF IRB). This research has been reviewed and approved by the IRB. For information about the rights of people who take part in research, please contact: Institutional Review Board, University of Central Florida, Office of Research & Commercialization, 12201 Research Parkway, Suite 501, Orlando, FL 32826-3246 or by telephone at (407) 823-2901.
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| Please provide a bit of information about yourself. If you wish not to provide any of this information, you can choose "prefer not to answer" for any question. |
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| * Select your current age: |
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| What is your highest attained level of education? |
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| What would you consider your primary areas of study to be? (choose up to two) |
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| In a given week, how much time (in hours) do you devote to religious or spiritual activity? |
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| Biology, chemistry, astronomy, physics, and environmental sciences are common educational science courses. How many of these subjects have you taken a course on during or after high school? |
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| Biology, chemistry, astronomy, physics, and environmental sciences are common educational science courses. When was the last time you have taken an educational course on one of these subjects? |
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| What level of news media do you encounter most, whether it be TV, internet, or radio? |
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| What type or medium of news media do you encounter the most? |
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| II. BACKGROUND ON SCIENCE AND THE MEDIA |
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| Please rate the following series of statements. They are intended to gauge your perception of yourself, and therefore there is not necessarily a correct answer. |
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| I watch/read scientific outlets of media. (i.e. Popular Science, IFLS, Discovery, NatGeo, etc.) |
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| I keep informed of some form of science or research routinely. |
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| I see science as an important part of my life. |
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| Science is accurately displayed in the news media and outlets. |
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| Science is accurately displayed in TV and movie media. |
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| Social media encourages hysteria and sensationalism. |
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| Social media serves as a good means of exchanging scientific information to the masses. |
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| Media outlets take accountability for misrepresentation or inaccurate reporting. |
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| Please answer the following true/false questions. No question is intended to trick you, and each question is independent from one to the next. |
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| An atom is smaller than an electron. |
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| Man has set foot on the moon. |
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| Glass is an ultra-slow moving liquid. |
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| Man has set foot on Mars. |
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| All radioactivity is man-made. |
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| The Earth is thousands of years old. |
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| The Earth is billions of years old. |
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| The Earth is trillions of years old. |
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| The most abundant gas in the Earth's atmosphere is oxygen. |
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| Seasons on Earth are caused by Earth's axial tilt. |
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| Humans use around 10% of their brain capacity. |
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| Please consider each of the following statements. Rate them based upon how true or false you believe them to be. |
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| The Earth's climate is changing due to human influence. |
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| Vaccinations cause a higher incidence of autism. |
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| Medications, when taken as prescribed, cause more harm than they do good. |
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| Vaccines can cause adverse effects. |
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| The brain is inefficient, and studies towards improving efficiency can help increase brain usage. |
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| Smoking marijuana can affect motor skills and hinder knowledge retention. |
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| The popular recreational drug, LSD, can burn holes in your brain. |
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| The popular recreational drug, LSD, is permanently stored in the body once consumed. At any point in the consumer's life, it can be released into the blood stream, triggering an uncontrollable trip/reaction. |
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| Caffeine can make kids jittery or hyperactive. |
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The following news article titles were chosen at random from major national news media outlets. All stories made some form of page headline.
For questions 1-12 corresponding to each article title listed, rate your level of excitement, interest, usefulness, and how informative you perceive the report to be.
Less stars indicate lack of excitement/interest/usefulness/informativeness, while more stars indicates more excitement/interest/usefulness/informativeness. |
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| 1. "US, Europe prepare sanctions after Crimea votes to join Russia"
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| Exciting | |
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| Interesting | |
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| Informative | |
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| 2. "Rapper severs penis, jumps off building"
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| Exciting | |
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| Interesting | |
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| Informative | |
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| 3. "Restaurant says it saw ghost on camera"
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| Exciting | |
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| Interesting | |
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| Informative | |
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| 4. "Malaysia plane crash: what do we know?"
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| Exciting | |
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| Interesting | |
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| Informative | |
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| 5. "Jet dropped nearly 600 feet in 1 minute"
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| Exciting | |
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| Interesting | |
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| Informative | |
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| 6. "Will New York City legalize THIS?"
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| Exciting | |
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| Interesting | |
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| Informative | |
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| 7. "Meet the terrorists who scare al-Qaeda"
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| Exciting | |
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| Interesting | |
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| Informative | |
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| 8. "Diplomatic talks in Ukraine last until dawn"
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| Exciting | |
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| Interesting | |
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| Informative | |
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| 9. "Police: girl stabbed 19 times by friends"
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| Exciting | |
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| Interesting | |
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| Informative | |
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| 10. "Gunman kills 3 officers, still at large"
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| Exciting | |
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| Interesting | |
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| Informative | |
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| 11. "US soccer's horrible mistake"
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| Exciting | |
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| Interesting | |
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| Informative | |
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| 12. "White supremacist ID'd as gunman in deadly shootings at Jewish centers"
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| Exciting | |
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| Interesting | |
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| Informative | |
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The following movies contain science related themes. For questions 13-22, assuming the required technology is achieved for some of these movies to be possible in real life, rate how realistic you perceive the sciences (general physics, chemistry, and life sciences) are in these movies.
Less stars indicate lack of belief of the science within the film, whereas more stars indicate more belief of the science within the film.
If you have not seen the film, leave the question blank. |
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| 13. The Day After Tomorrow
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