In this capstone work, eminent political scientist Arthur Lupia synthesizes years of work with scientists and educators in all arenas to figure out how to increase issue competence among voters.

Hal R Varian Collegiate Professor of Political Science, the University of Michigan. He serves on advisory boards for several science communication endeavors including the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education at the National Academy of Science, and Climate Central. He is chair of the APSA Task Force on Improving Public Engagement. He has held a range of leadership positions in science including Principal Investigator of the American National Election Studies, Chair of the Political Economic and Social Sciences at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, President of the Midwest Political Science Association, founder and Principal Investigator of TESS (Time-Shared Experiments in the Social Sciences), and Treasurer of the American Political Science Association. He has given over 350 professional presentations in 12 countries and conducted hundreds o f media interviews with outlets around the world.

• Dedication


• Acknowledgements


• 1. From Infinite Ignorance to Knowledge that Matters


• 2. Who Are the Educators and How Can We Help Them?


• PART I: THE VALUE OF INFORMATION


• 3. Three Definitions


• 4. The Silver Bullet


• 5. The Logic of Competence


• 6. Lost in the Woods


• 7. Attracting Attention


• 8. Building Source Credibility


• 9. The Politics of Competence


• 10. Value Diversity and How to Manage It


• 11. Complexity and Framing


• 12. Political Roles: Who Needs to Know?


• 13. Costs and Benefits


• PART II. HOW TO IMPROVE âPOLITICAL KNOWLEDGEâ


• 14. What We Know


• 15. Reading the Questions, Understanding the Answers


• 16. Political Knowledge Scales: Something Doesnât Add Up


• 17. Assessing Information Assessments


• 18. All in Good Measure


• 19. The Silver Lining


• References