Studying Science Inequities: How to Use Surveys to Study Diverse Populations

• Author: Robin Bayes,Alauna C. Safarpour,James N. Druckman
• Published date: 01 March 2022
• DOI: 10.1177/00027162221093970
• Date: 01 March 2022
• Subject Matter: Inequalities

220 ANNALS, AAPSS, 700, March 2022

DOI: 10.1177/00027162221093970

Studying

Science

Inequities: How

to Use Surveys

to Study

Diverse

Populations

By

ROBIN BAYES,

JAMES N. DRUCKMAN,

and

ALAUNA C. SAFARPOUR

1093970ANN THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMYSTUDYING SCIENCE INEQUITIES

research-article2022

Scholars have long documented unequal access to the

benefits of science among different groups in the

United States. Particular populations, such as low-

income, non–white people, and Indigenous people,

fare worse when it comes to health care, infectious

diseases, climate change, and access to technology.

These types of inequities can be partially addressed

with targeted interventions aimed at facilitating access

to scientific information. Doing so requires knowledge

about what different groups think when it comes to

relevant scientific topics. Yet data collection efforts for

the study of most science-based issues do not include

enough respondents from these populations. We dis-

cuss this gap and offer an overview of pertinent sam-

pling and administrative considerations in studying

underserved populations. A sustained effort to study

diverse populations, including through community

partnerships, can help to address extant inequities.

Keywords: inequality; survey research; sampling;

racial disparities; COVID-19; climate

change; science communication

Scientists in the United States have made

transformative discoveries that have

improved societal well-being. Yet the United

States also has a long, unsettling history of

unequal access to these advances. This une-

qual access exacerbates disparate impacts of

Robin Bayes is a PhD candidate in political science at

Northwestern University. Her research centers on sci-

ence communication and the science beliefs and atti-

tudes of the U.S. public.

James N. Druckman is the Payson S. Wild Professor of

Political Science and a faculty fellow at the Institute for

Policy Research at Northwestern University. He is also

an honorary professor of political science at Aarhus

University in Denmark.

Alauna C. Safarpour is a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard

Kennedy School. Her research focuses on prejudice

reduction, public opinion of racial and ethnic minori-

ties, and American racial attitudes.

Correspondence: druckman@northwestern.edu