AU researcher has examined Danes’ views on science

Simon Fuglsang is a postdoctoral researcher at the Danish Centre for Studies in Research and Research Policy at the Department of Political Science at Aarhus University. He has been involved in researching how Danes view science.

“The project aims to explore the relationship between scientific knowledge and the democratic process,” says Simon Fuglsang.

The method involves surveys, and the result is a barometer (In Danish, ed.), a concept familiar from other countries as well, with the Eurobarometer perhaps being the best-known example. For several years, other countries have used a barometer to gauge public opinion on the role of science in society. 

In Denmark, a barometer was first conducted in 2023 and repeated last year. And the results have just been published.

Danes are really positive

“We find, as we expected, that Danes are generally very, very positive about science. They also take a positive view of the social and political role of science, and generally feel that science should have a greater influence. And we also find that, overall, there is a fair amount of consensus and very little difference in what people think about science in Danish society,” notes Simon Fuglsang, who specialises in researching the relationship between science and society.

77 percent of the respondents say that they trust research, whilst only 3 percent say the opposite. That sums up the main points of the barometer very well.

But why is it interesting to know what the average Dane thinks about research?

“On the one hand, it is important for science to have the support of the public, both in terms of continuing to carry out research that serves a purpose. On the other hand, there is a democratic ideal in ensuring that people have a say in the role science plays. Both as an authority on knowledge and as a political authority. That is why we are keen to find out what the public thinks about the role science should play in politics, but also about the extent to which citizens should be allowed to decide what research should be carried out,” explains Simon Fuglsang, noting that the close relationship between science and society is one of the distinctive features of the Danish barometer.

Only one mentions the universities

The 1,000 participants in the survey were asked to describe, in a single sentence, what they perceive science to be. That led to a wide range of answers. And only one respondent mentioned the universities, Simon Fuglsang notes, sounding a little surprised.

“I had definitely expected that people would refer to institutions of knowledge, such as the universities.” But they specifically do not. Of course, this is just concerning a single sentence containing empirical data, so it can be difficult to say anything about what people were thinking when they formulated it. “But off the top of their heads, people mainly tend to talk about substance and purpose when explaining what science is,” says Simon Fuglsang, continuing:

“Most people describe science as something abstract - as the act of investigating and understanding the world and how it works. Similarly, they are also able to provide a sensible answer to the questions we ask, based on their individual circumstances, even though some of the survey questions are also somewhat abstract,” says Simon Fuglsang, emphasising that people are asked to consider science in the broadest sense. Not in terms of the content, quality, or subject matter of the science.

“The Danes are very much in favour of science as a method, an idea and an institution. And, overall, Danes have a great deal of trust in science,” continues Simon Fuglsang.

So, what can we use this for?

“Well, that’s a good question. A couple of things, actually. Firstly, it dispels the myth that trust in science is declining, because that is not what we find when we ask people.  And there is no evidence to suggest that there is deep polarisation in Denmark regarding views on science as such,” explains Simon Fuglsang.

Inclusion within limits

According to the barometer, Danes would like to be involved in the debate on science. They would also like researchers to contribute their findings to the debate to a greater extent than is currently the case. On the other hand, most people also accept that there is no direct public influence on what research is carried out.

“If we want a society where science plays a major role in our democratic process, it is important that we understand how the public perceives the influence of science,” says Simon Fuglsang, but he emphasises that when conducting research into attitude formation, it’s important to not be too categorical, as the boundary between attitudes and knowledge is not necessarily so clear-cut. 

“What we know, or what we think we know, is influenced by the views we hold. In some cases, the way we ask the questions is a bit abstract. But in many ways, that is also how we, as human beings, approach most things in our daily lives. I’m very optimistic about people’s ability to respond,” says Simon Fuglsang.

But doesn’t the study simply show what you want to know?

“I think we’re asking a great many questions in many different directions and finding the same pattern. The barometer is also designed to identify fluctuations over time, but it’s always a challenge to survey people, as their responses are inevitably influenced by the way the questions are phrased,” replies Simon Fuglsang, continuing:

“We specifically ask about technologies that represent potential conflicts. Vaccines and stem cell research are heavily debated around the world, but not so much in Denmark. On the other hand, it is really interesting to note that nuclear power, which historically has been associated with conflict and disagreement, is an example of a scientific development that once got people’s blood boiling but doesn’t really do so anymore,” says Simon Fuglsang.

The barometer also shows that Danes believe science plays an important role in Danish and international security, and that the vast majority primarily use the major TV channels DR and TV 2 as sources of scientific information, whilst the number of those using artificial intelligence to find scientific information has risen from 5 percent in 2023 to 14 percent in 2025.

This text is machine translated and post-edited by Mie Skov Jeppesen.