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Conceptions of university students on microplastics in Germany
Microplastics are a global challenge and a frequently studied environmental issue. Hence, the knowledge body about microplastics within the scientific community is growing fast and challenges an elaborated knowledge transfer from science to the general public. Just as well-informed people are the ba...
Autores principales: | , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Public Library of Science
2021
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8459972/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34555098 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0257734 |
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author | Raab, Patricia Bogner, Franz X. |
author_facet | Raab, Patricia Bogner, Franz X. |
author_sort | Raab, Patricia |
collection | PubMed |
description | Microplastics are a global challenge and a frequently studied environmental issue. Hence, the knowledge body about microplastics within the scientific community is growing fast and challenges an elaborated knowledge transfer from science to the general public. Just as well-informed people are the basis for reducing microplastics’ impact on the environment, knowledge of the audience’s conceptions is the basis for an accurate and successful dissemination of scientific findings. However, insights into the publics’ perceptions of microplastics are still rare. The present study aimed to capture students’ conceptions about microplastics based on their individual experiences following qualitative inductive, exploratory research. Therefore, 267 students of a state university in Germany responded to a paper-and-pencil questionnaire containing open and closed questions on microplastic-related conceptual understanding, risk perception, information behavior, sources, and sinks. The inductive classifying of all responses by a qualitative content analysis revealed six basic concepts: 1) Microplastics are mainly understood as small plastic particles. 2) Microplastics are closely associated with its negative consequences. 3) The most labeled source in households is plastic packaging. 4) Compared to other water bodies, microplastics are rarely suspected in groundwater. 5) A high threat awareness exists in classifying microplastics as very dangerous and dangerous. 6) Media such as TV or the Internet are the most crucial information sources while the school has less importance in acquiring information. It is precisely this pattern that indicates the need for profound science communication to establish a joint and scientifically sound knowledge base in society. Knowledge about conceptions of potential “customers” allows tailor-made scientific knowledge transfers to shape public awareness, initiate changes in thoughts and prepare the field for collaborative behavior. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-8459972 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2021 |
publisher | Public Library of Science |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-84599722021-09-24 Conceptions of university students on microplastics in Germany Raab, Patricia Bogner, Franz X. PLoS One Research Article Microplastics are a global challenge and a frequently studied environmental issue. Hence, the knowledge body about microplastics within the scientific community is growing fast and challenges an elaborated knowledge transfer from science to the general public. Just as well-informed people are the basis for reducing microplastics’ impact on the environment, knowledge of the audience’s conceptions is the basis for an accurate and successful dissemination of scientific findings. However, insights into the publics’ perceptions of microplastics are still rare. The present study aimed to capture students’ conceptions about microplastics based on their individual experiences following qualitative inductive, exploratory research. Therefore, 267 students of a state university in Germany responded to a paper-and-pencil questionnaire containing open and closed questions on microplastic-related conceptual understanding, risk perception, information behavior, sources, and sinks. The inductive classifying of all responses by a qualitative content analysis revealed six basic concepts: 1) Microplastics are mainly understood as small plastic particles. 2) Microplastics are closely associated with its negative consequences. 3) The most labeled source in households is plastic packaging. 4) Compared to other water bodies, microplastics are rarely suspected in groundwater. 5) A high threat awareness exists in classifying microplastics as very dangerous and dangerous. 6) Media such as TV or the Internet are the most crucial information sources while the school has less importance in acquiring information. It is precisely this pattern that indicates the need for profound science communication to establish a joint and scientifically sound knowledge base in society. Knowledge about conceptions of potential “customers” allows tailor-made scientific knowledge transfers to shape public awareness, initiate changes in thoughts and prepare the field for collaborative behavior. Public Library of Science 2021-09-23 /pmc/articles/PMC8459972/ /pubmed/34555098 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0257734 Text en © 2021 Raab, Bogner https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. |
spellingShingle | Research Article Raab, Patricia Bogner, Franz X. Conceptions of university students on microplastics in Germany |
title | Conceptions of university students on microplastics in Germany |
title_full | Conceptions of university students on microplastics in Germany |
title_fullStr | Conceptions of university students on microplastics in Germany |
title_full_unstemmed | Conceptions of university students on microplastics in Germany |
title_short | Conceptions of university students on microplastics in Germany |
title_sort | conceptions of university students on microplastics in germany |
topic | Research Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8459972/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34555098 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0257734 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT raabpatricia conceptionsofuniversitystudentsonmicroplasticsingermany AT bognerfranzx conceptionsofuniversitystudentsonmicroplasticsingermany |