Genetically modified organisms have been accompanied by hopes and concerns regarding the potential of this technology to reshape agricultural practices, our environment and the food we eat. The controversy surrounding GMOs raised questions regarding the present and future relationship between science and society. This thesis contributes to this debate by exploring GM scientists’ thoughts about public opinion and its influence on their work. I contend that how scientists listen to public opinion is mediated by national context, which I explore through a comparison of the United Kingdom and Italy. Within the public understanding of science, and social studies of science more generally, the listening capacity of scientists has largely been ignored. Asking if, how and under what conditions GM scientists listen to public opinion on GMOs, I address this gap in the literature. A mixed method approach is used to answer these questions. This combines descriptive statistics with a range of qualitative methods, including narrative analysis, case study and situational analysis. This methodological approach is meant to bridge qualitative and quantitative methodologies, historically polarised within PUS scholarship. This thesis is structured by my own changing understanding of the listening process. Initially, I assumed a stimulus-­‐response model of scientists’ listening, in which the public talks and scientists respond. Following my data collection and analysis, I developed a new model for listening that includes three moments: hearing public opinion, interpreting it, and responding to it. Using this model, I identify two typical patterns in GM scientists’ listening process. Both of these patterns are associated with the ‘deficit model’, which scientists used differently according to their national contexts. Drawing on Jasanoff’s (2005) concept of civic epistemology, I contend that these patterns are indicative of scientists’ civic epistemologies, which are informed by a number of different factors.

This methodological investigation set out to examine the use of the Internet as a data collection tool: its potential for sampling gay and bisexual men and gathering data on sexual behaviour. The research took place in the context of the Internet and HIV study, an examination of high risk sexual behaviour among gay and bisexual men seeking sex on the Internet. The Internet and HIV study collected quantitative data using selfadministered questionnaires completed online or by pen-and-paper, and qualitative data using one-to-one interviews conducted face-to-face or online. Its design provides an invaluable opportunity for investigating Internet-based research methods. Methodological issues were explored through collection of primary data from respondents who had participated in the Internet and HIV study and secondary analysis of data collected for the study. The first area of exploration was the use of web surveys for sampling gay and bisexual men. The results indicated that participation in the Internet and HIV web survey was driven by an altruistic desire to contribute to research into sexual health promotion and HIV prevention. Drop out was most likely to occur in the early stages of the survey and minor differences in sub-group drop out were identified. Men who participated in the web survey were broadly similar to the MSM drawn from a national probability sample, but were more likely to participate in high risk sexual activity. Differences were more pronounced when the samples were restricted to London men. The second area of exploration was the effect of the Internet mode on data collection. The web survey reduced item nonresponse in comparison to the pen-and-paper survey but did not improve response to sensitive questions over and above this general mode effect. The results indicated that online synchronous interviews may be suited to a more structured format, given the difficulty of expressing complex ideas through typing in real time. It was concluded that the Internet has excellent potential for researching sexual behaviour among gay and bisexual men. It provides effective access to this population and more complete survey data than the traditional alternative. The application of online interviewing requires further exploration.