Public Perceptions of Nanotechnology and Trust in Government - Appendix Of Raw Survey Data

Sep 11 2005

Topics Covered

Background

Data Tables

Initial Knowledge of Nanotechnology

Knowledge Re “Next Industrial Revolution”

Sources Of Knowledge On Nanotechnology

Attitudes In Pre and Post-Test

Expectations: Will Benefits Exceed Risks?

Should Nanotechnology Products Be Banned Until Further Study?

Trust In Regulatory Agencies and Political Entities

Post-Test Summary Percentages, Trust in Regulatory Agencies and Political Entities

Can Industry Self-Regulation Be Sufficient?

Preferred Ways Government Could Increase Public Trust

Preferred Ways Industry Could Increase Public Trust

Background

In just a few short years, nanotechnology has catapulted from being a specialty of a few physicists and chemists to a worldwide scientific and industrial enterprise. But little is known about the technology’s possible health and environmental implications.

At this critical juncture, it is important that leaders from industry, government, the science and engineering community, and other sectors develop a better understanding of what the public wants and expects in terms of the oversight of these new and emerging technologies.

This article contains raw survey data extracted from a report, “Informed Public Perceptions of Nanotechnology and Trust in Government,” that provides an in-depth look at what Americans know and do not know about nanotechnology. It offers a view of the nano applications and products people think are most important. It examines who Americans trust most to manage nanotechnology’s potential risks. And it highlights what particular concerns citizens may have about nanotechnology’s use.

Data Tables

Initial Knowledge of Nanotechnology

Table 1. Initial Knowledge of Nanotechnology

How Much Would You Say You Know About Technology?	Pre-Test
A Lot	2.8
Some	16.9
A Little	26.0
Nothing	54.2
Total	100

Knowledge Re “Next Industrial Revolution”

Table 2. Knowledge Re “Next Industrial Revolution”

“Nanotechnology is predicted to be the next industrial revolution”	Pre-Test
True	24.3
Don’t Know	75.1
Not True	0.6
Total	100

Sources Of Knowledge On Nanotechnology

Table 3. Sources Of Knowledge On Nanotechnology

	All Sources	Info From 1 Source	Info From 2 Sources	Info From 3 Sources
Ads	2.9	4.1		3.6
Children’s TV	2.9	2.0	5.6	2.4
Specials Public TV or Radio	17.6	22.4	11.1	17.9
Commercial TV or Radio News	11.2	14.3	5.6	11.9
Magazines	17.1	8.2	27.8	17.9
Newspaper Articles	10.0	8.2	8.3	11.9
Trade or Professional Journals	8.2	6.1	11.1	8.3
Science Fiction Books or Stories	12.4	10.2	13.9	13.1
Talk With Another Person	16.5	20.4	16.7	13.1
Internet	0.6	2.0
School	0.6	2.0
Total	100	100	100	100

Note. Respondents were allowed to identify all relevant sources of learning about nanotechnology. The frequency with which each source type was mentioned is classified above in relation to three classes of informed respondents.

Attitudes In Pre and Post-Test

Table 4. Attitudes In Pre and Post-Test

	Pre-Study	Post-Test
Quite Positive	7.9	9.6
Mostly Positive	13.0	40.1
Neutral	37.9	32.2
Mostly Negative	0.6	9.6
Don’t Know	40.7	2.8
Missing Data		0.6
Total	100	97.7

Significant change: Pearson Chi-Square=84.092, df = 24, p = .000

Expectations: Will Benefits Exceed Risks?

Table 5. Expectations: Will Benefits Exceed Risks?

	Pre-Study	Post-Test
Benefits Will Exceed Risks	15.8	40.7
Risks Will Exceed Benefits	5.1	15.3
Risks & Benefits Equal	13.6	29.9
Don’t Know	65	14.1
Total	100	100

Should Nanotechnology Products Be Banned Until Further Study?

Table 6. Should Nanotechnology Products Be Banned Until Further Study?

	Pre-Study	Post-Test
Agree To Total Ban	6.2	8.5
Ban Is Overreacting	35.6	75.7
Don’t Know	57.1	15.8
Missing Data	0.1
Total	100	100

Trust In Regulatory Agencies and Political Entities

Table 7. Trust In Regulatory Agencies and Political Entities, Pre and Post-Test

%	CDC	EPA	CPSC	OSHA	FDA	USDA	White House	Congress
Strongly Agree	9.6	7.9	6.8	6.2	6.8	6.8	5.6	7.3
	(9.6)	(6.2)	(6.2)	(9.0)	(6.2)	(6.2)	(4.5)	(2.8)
Agree	29.4	23.2	29.4	30.5	24.3	23.7	23.2	18.1
	(40.1)	(39.0)	(40.1)	(36.7)	(36.7)	(32.8)	(26.6)	(23.7)
Don’t Know	42.4	41.8	43.5	40.1	42.4	45.8	32.8	35.0
	(14.1)	(14.1)	(15.3)	(14.0)	(13.0)	(16.4)	(12.4)	(10.2)
Disagree	14.7	19.8	15.3	19.2	19.8	18.1	26.0	27.1
	(27.1)	(29.4)	(27.7)	(29.9)	(32.8)	(33.3)	(34.5)	(41.2)
Strongly Disagree	3.4	6.8	4.5	3.4	6.2	5.1	11.9	12.4
	(9.0)	(10.2)	(9.6)	(10.2)	(11.3)	(11.3)	(21.5)	(21.5)
Missing Data	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6
	(0)	(1.2)	(1.2)	(0)	(0)	(0)	(0.6)	(0.6)
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

Note. Pre-test percentages are given first in each column; directly below are percentages of the post-test answers, in brackets (FDA 6.8% strongly agree in pre-test, 6.2%, etc.).

Post-Test Summary Percentages, Trust in Regulatory Agencies and Political Entities

Table 8. Post-Test Summary Percentages, Trust in Regulatory Agencies and Political Entities

%	CDC	EPA	CPSC	OSHA	FDA	USDA	White House	Congress
Strongly Agree or Agree	50	46	46	46	43	39	31	27
Don’t Know	14	14	15	14	13	16	12	10
Disagree or Strongly Disagree	36	39	38	40	44	45	56	63
Total	100	99	99	100	100	100	99	100

All percentages are rounded. *The designated percentages do not round to 100 due to a higher percentage of missing data for that entity.

Can Industry Self-Regulation Be Sufficient?

Table 9. Can Industry Self-Regulation Be Sufficient?

Answer Choices	% Agreement
I feel government control beyond voluntary standards is necessary	55.4
Not sure	32.8
I feel voluntary standards would be adequate	10.7
Missing Data	1.1
Total	100

Note. This was a post-test question only, assuming that only an informed public could give a useful answer to the question.

Preferred Ways Government Could Increase Public Trust

Table 10. Preferred Ways Government Could Increase Public Trust

	%
Increase safety tests before market	34.5
Supply more product information so people can choose	24.9
Show how regulatory practices are sufficient	11.9
Track better the product risks in market	9.6
Allow industry to be more self regulating	8.5
No top choice (multiple answers)	3.4
Other (write in answers)	3.4
Nothing needs to be done	2.3
Be more hands off in regulating industry	1.7
Total	100

Note. The same answer choices were available for both industry and government, with the exception of the “hands off” answer; the opportunity to write in any other answers was also available in both cases.

Preferred Ways Industry Could Increase Public Trust

Table 11. Preferred Ways Industry Could Increase Public Trust

	%
Increase safety tests before market	28.2
Supply more product information so people can choose	28.2
Voluntarily use higher safety standards	19.2
Track risks in market better	13.0
Show how current reg practices are sufficient	6.8
Nothing needs to be done	1.7
Missing data	1.7
Other (write in answers)	1.1
Total	100

Note. The same answer choices were available for both industry and government, with the exception of the “hands off” answer shown in Table 10; the opportunity to write in any other answers was also available in both cases.

Primary author: Jane Macoubrie

Source: “Informed Public Perceptions of Nanotechnology and Trust in Government” report. Please see original report for reference sources.

For more information on this source please visit Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars