"Talk of the Nation: Science Friday" Summative Evaluation Study 1

Talk of the Nation: Science Friday is a weekly two-hour listener call-in talk radio show devoted to the understanding of complex scientific topics and methods. The series is hosted by science correspondent Ira Flatow. With support from the National Science Foundation, Multimedia Research presents the first study of a two-part summative evaluation on the impact of Science Friday on public radio listeners, focusing on the series’ future increased emphasis on public understanding of basic research. The evaluation assessed what demographic or background characteristics relate to whether or not one listens to SF and to frequency of listening; what effects the series has on listeners and what kind of actions the series has prompted in listeners. Questionnaires were mailed to random names drawn from member subscriber lists of public radio stations serving the areas surrounding Denver, CO, San Antonio, TX and Boston, MA. Of the 1189 questionnaires that adult public radio members received, 740 or 62% were returned for analysis. A large majority (70%) of our public radio members listen to Science Friday and 58% tune in once a month or more often. Radio is identified as a significant major source of science news by listeners of Science Friday as compared to non-listeners. Listeners rate the series as highly appealing and understandable and indicate a high comprehension of science research issues. Additionally, the series prompts listeners to carry out a variety of actions outside of the two-hour program. Listeners are more likely than non-listeners to feel that it is important for them to understand the process of scientific discovery. However, currently there are no other differences between listeners and non-listeners with respect to learning goals that the new NSF grant supports. Science Friday’s programs will emphasize these areas of interest in the next few years, and the next round of summative evaluation in 2006 will compare again listeners and non-listeners.

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