Title: The Impact of Research Process Presentations on Secondary School Student’s Perception of Scientific Credibility and Tentativeness

Abstract This research examined how the formatting of scientific practices and the representation of a scientist’s thought processes influence secondary school student’s perceptions of the scientist’s credibility, the research’s credibility, and the perceived tentativeness of findings. Scientific practices were presented either as cookbook style (research without rationale) or with styles of scientific reasoning (explaining why each step was taken). The scientist’s thought process was shown authentically (science-in-the-making, with visible deliberations) or canonized (ready-made science, settled steps). Two field studies using bat ecology videos were conducted. In Study 1 (N = 148), students viewed one of four videos corresponding to the four experimental conditions in a single session. No effects of the manipulated factors were found, but perceived tentativeness negatively correlated with both researcher and findings credibility across all experimental conditions. Study 2 (N = 607) was a full-day school intervention with the same four videos and a constructive learning format. A main effect showed findings were seen as more tentative when presented as science-in-the-making. Negative correlations between tentativeness and credibility perceptions appeared again in all video conditions. These results suggest that authentic portrayals of science enhance students’ understanding of the tentative nature of scientific knowledge but may reduce perceived credibility.