New Collaborative Project Explores Trust in Research

Trust and attitudes towards research

The project “Trust and Attitudes Toward Research: Causes and Changes Over Time” explores the population’s views on research and how trust in research has evolved. Research plays a crucial role in political decision-making and in shaping people’s opinions on political issues. Recent experiences have shown that high trust in research cannot be taken for granted, especially with the increasing politicization of research knowledge. Lack of trust can lead to disagreements about what is true and false in society. Simultaneously, uncritical high trust can result in decisions based on flawed foundations.

The project will investigate two overarching questions:

1. What perceptions and aspects of research are emphasized when people express trust or mistrust?
2. What explains people’s attitudes, trust, or mistrust toward research? 

The project’s findings will provide insights into trust in research in Norway compared to other countries. While Norwegian trust research has primarily focused on interpersonal trust and trust in political institutions, trust in research has received less attention. This project contributes to filling this gap and enhances our understanding of trust in research in a Norwegian context.

Norwegian Research Collaboration 

The project is led by Signe Bock Segaard at the Institute for Social Research and is funded by the Norwegian Research Council. Professor Hallvard Moe from the University of Bergen is also participating, serving in the scientific reference group.

Learn more about the project on the ISF website (in norwegian).