Since 2022, Dr. Viktoria Cologna and I are leading the global research project TISP (“Trust in Science and Science-Related Populism”).
TISP involves a preregistered online population survey of ca. 72,000 respondents in 68 countries and provides nationally representative estimates of public attitudes and behavior for several highly relevant issues – such as public trust in science, science-related populism, science communication, and public perceptions of climate change. The project is designed as a Many Labs study including 241 researchers from 169 institutions across all continents, thus addressing a “Western bias” of extant research and avoiding “parachute science” practices. Viktoria Cologna and I set up this large consortium in 2022 along with an international advisory board of nine experts in the field and managed an overall project budget of 140’000 USD.
The first peer-reviewed publications resulting from this project have been released; most importantly, the main publication “Trust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries” (Nature Human Behaviour). We have also published the complete dataset and survey materials along with a comprehensive documenting summary in Scientific Data.
Publications
Trust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries
Viktoria Cologna, Niels G. Mede, Sebastian Berger, John C. Besley, Cameron Brick, Marina Joubert, Edward W. Maibach, Sabina Mihelj, Naomi Oreskes, Mike S. Schäfer, Sander van der Linden, Nor Izzatina Abdul Aziz, Suleiman Abdulsalam, Shamsi Shamsi, Balazs Aczel, Indro Adinugroho, Eleonora Alabrese, Alaa Aldoh, Mark Alfano, . . ., Rolf A. Zwaan
Nature Human Behaviour, 2025
A positive picture of Africans' trust in scientists
Marina Joubert, Niels G. Mede, Viktoria Cologna, Patrick O. Ansah
Nature Africa, 2025
Niels G. Mede, Viktoria Cologna, Sebastian Berger, John C. Besley, Cameron Brick, Marina Joubert, Edward W. Maibach, Sabina Mihelj, Naomi Oreskes, Mike S. Schäfer, Sander van der Linden, Nor Izzatina Abdul Aziz, Suleiman Abdulsalam, Shamsi Shamsi, Balazs Aczel, Indro Adinugroho, Eleonora Alabrese, Alaa Aldoh, Mark Alfano, . . ., Rolf A. Zwaan
Scientific Data, vol. 12(1), 2025, p. 114
Samantha K. Stanley, Omid Ghasemi, Robert M. Ross, John R. Kerr, Mathew D. Marques, Niels G. Mede, Sebastian Berger, Mark Alfano, Neil Levy, Marinus Ferreira, Viktoria Cologna
The Journal of Climate Change and Health, vol. 23, 2025
How scientists' collective climate advocacy affects public trust in scientists and voting behavior
Viktoria Cologna, Jana Freundt, Niels G. Mede, Lauren Howe, Eri Bertsou, Jamie Gloor, Naomi Oreskes, Reto Knutti, Mike S. Schäfer
Environmental Research Letters, vol. 20, 2024