Yet the research team did uncover a persistent, large gap in the confidence in science expressed by rural and suburban residents. About 30 percent of rural residents expressed confidence in scientists over the last 30 years, well below the 40 percent average among all Americans. In contrast, nearly half of suburban residents reported a great deal of confidence in scientists. Trust among urban residents fluctuated more widely over time.

Brossard and her team, including graduate student and lead author Nicole Krause, published their study Sept. 24, 2019 in Public Opinion Quarterly. They analyzed long-term polls that measured some aspect of trust or confidence in institutions. Their findings suggest that recent political events have done little to erode Americans' overall high trust in science and scientists.

Brossard's team began its investigation following the 2017 March for Science. The protest sprang out of concerns that the Trump administration would discount or suppress scientific information, and it appeared to mark an increase in the politicization of science.

Yet, Brossard's team found little evidence of major differences between Democrats and Republicans in their confidence in scientific leaders. In the 2018 GSS, the proportion of Republicans reporting confidence in scientists -- about 40 percent -- was comparable to the proportion among all Americans.

The same poll revealed an uptick in confidence among Democrats in 2018, to about half of the population surveyed, which created a modest partisan gap. But partisan-specific confidence is less stable than overall confidence and has fluctuated between 35 percent and 50 percent of Democrats, Republicans and independents over the past 45 years
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