Comparative analysis of civic scientific literacy and its influential factors among the regions in China

It was divided into regions of eastern, central and western in China according to geographical positions and levels of economic development, reflecting the disparity of regional economic and social development. The results of China Civic Scientific Literacy Survey conducted in 2010 showed there were significant differences between the levels of civic scientific literacy and the citizens´ participation and interests in science and technology among these regions. Multi-group analysis via structural equation modeling (SEM) could be used to evaluate the differences among these regions based on the model of civic scientific literacy and its influential factors. This comparative analysis was the crucial process to learn the characteristic of each region in the field of public understanding of science in China, which was the reference for science related policy-making.