Background
August 2013 – oral bite, vicephec 2013 (Liverpool)
May 2014 – students (finally) select projects
September 2014 – June 2015 student projects
June 2015 – RSC ‘Public attitudes to chemistry’ report published (a little too late for the students)
Literature
Multiple definitions of chemophobia:
- anxiety about learning chemistry [Eddy, J Chem Ed 2004]
- ignorance about chemistry [Smith J Chem Ed 2008]
“chemical illiteracy” - anxiety about chemicals [Berdosonov J Chem Ed 1999]
“irrational fear of chemicals”
Frequency of ‘chemophobia’ in books – SOURCE: Google ngram viewer
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
RSC Attitudes – UK ‘Public’Chemists are approachable – 88%Chemists make valuable contribution to society – 84%Where do chemists work?: pharmacies (76%), laboratories (49%), hospitals (29%), pharma (17%), med reseearch (17%)http://www.rsc.org/campaigning-outreach/campaigning/public-attitudes-chemistry/ #chemperceptions
Tale of Two Students – Zaynah & Harriet
Very ‘different’ to previous research experiencesNew methods – focus groups, interviews, questionnaires
Ethics! [3 or 4 rounds with ethics panel per project]
Subjective research (which conflicts with chemistry’s objective approach)Most useful data was from questionnaires
Must challenge personal conceptions
Limited peer-reviewed literature available
Challenging to supervise and mark
Terminology
aspir
in
acety
lsalic
ylic a
cid
2-ace
tylbe
nzoic
acid
water
dihyd
rogen
mon
oxide
00.5
11.5
22.5
33.5
Rate these substances 1 = Safe,3 = neutral, 5 = Unsafe
Ave
rage
of r
espo
ses
Aspirin and Related
2-acetylbenzoic acid
acetylsalicylic acid
aspirin
0% 10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
safe fairly safe neutralfairly unsafe unsafe
Aspirin: Known or Unknown
ABA unknown
ABA known
ASA unknown
ASA known
aspirin known
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Safe fairly safe neutral fairly unsafe unsafe
Water vs Dihydrogen Monoxide (DHMO)
DHMO known
DHMO unknown
Water known
Water unknown
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
safe fairly safe neutral fairly unsafe unsafe
Is water a chemical?
scientist
non-scientist
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
YES ambiguous NO
“That would depend on what context the definition is being used for. Technically a water is a chemical
compound - it's got a chemical formula of H2O and is formed via chemical bonds. But most of the
time, no, I wouldn't classify water as a chemical. It's safe and nontoxic and I don't think of
something I would use to wash off lab equipment as a chemical, really. Kind of like how by the technical definition a tomato is a fruit but you
wouldn't put it in a fruit salad.” - non-scientist
Is water a chemical? Please explain:
“No. I suspect that, technically, it is one - but I would use the word 'chemical' in everyday speech to imply something
potentially harmful or artificial - in relation to drugs, cleaning materials,
food additives, etc.” - scientist
Is water a chemical? Please explain:
None
GCSE
A Level
Degree
Post Degree
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Natural chemicals are safe
Strongly agree agree neutraldisagree strongy disagree
None
GCSE
A Level
Degree
Post Degree
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Man-made chemicals are dangerous
Strongly agree agree neutraldisagree strongy disagree
Conclusions
Small sample sizes but interesting results
Challenging but worthwhile style of project to run
Further studies - investigate conceptions around the word ‘chemical’ - does chemistry education make a difference? - impact of chemical language on assessment of safety (implications for laboratories)
Acknowledgements: Zaynah Farak and Harriet Holt,
Dr Lisa Lau (Chair of School Ethics Panel), Dr Rob Jackson, Dr Richard Darton
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