Just Google it! Exploring New Web-based Tools for Identifying Public Interest in Science

More knowledge of the scientific interests and needs of lay people (“citizen science”) is needed for tailoring relevant and engaging formal and free-choice science environments for different publics. However, research-based evidence regarding what the public is interested to know about science is quite rare and superficial. This study aims to utilize two existing web-based tools- Google Trends and Google Zeitgesit- to identify interests in science and pseudoscience, and to describe their potential and limitations for educational data mining. On a global scale it was found that the share of S&T related searched decrease, both for general and specific search terms, with Global warming being an exception. Some science and pseudoscience terms share a similar level of interest on the global level, but their popularity differs greatly between countries. At the national level it was found that some non-English speaking countries display relatively higher percentage of science related searches. Our analysis reveals that a combination of Google Trends and Google Zeitgesit is instrumental and useful in examining scientific interests and needs worldwide