#ECIL2023 What Shapes Our Trust in Scientific Information? A Review of Factors Influencing Perceived Scientificness and Credibility

 Armin Jacob and Lennert Perrey from ZBW Leibniz information centre for economics spoke about the importance in developing science information literacy, especially in the context of the pandemic. They were interested in understanding the factors that can mislead people into thinking that information is “scientific” when it is pseudo-science or not of good quality. They undertook a comprehensive search of journal databases to identify journal papers that wee perceived as credible science. The use of scientific formulas makes people believe that the source is scientific. The inclusion of tables and pictures increases credibility. The use of language such as the passive voice contributes to the perception that it is genuine science, and the use of overly positive language was seen to reduce credibility. The way that a text is formatted was also important e.g. two column format was sen to be more credible than one-column format. Where the title and qualifications of authors were used, this increased credibility,  and the inclusion of references. Communicators of science information need to be aware of these cognitive biases when writing journal papers. There are ethical concerns that pseudo science writers deliberately include these strategies to make their writing more credible and mislead people.