Factors of Lay Evaluations of Plausibility of Scientific Findings

The study is focused on the problem of lay evaluation of scientific information. It addresses the question of how laypeople decide whether results of a scientific research are plausible, what factors characterising the research itself are associated with the formation of lay perceptions concerning the plausibility of its findings. By conducting an experiment using factorial vignettes, this study examines whether a scientific discipline of a research, information concerning its financing and organisation effect plausibility evaluations of scientific findings from the perspective of lay epistemology. As a result, it is concluded that there is an effect of disciplinary trust and complex relations between individual characteristics of laypeople and institutional factors such as discipline, organisation and funding in terms of evaluating scientific results.