Validation of a social media quiz game as a measurement instrument for climate change knowledge

• Game statistics may reflect lay knowledge, thereby substituting conventional surveys.
• Game scores are valid indicators of climate change knowledge.
• Self-selection of players still limits representativeness for the general public.

For effective public communication about climate change, survey data on laypeople’s climate change knowledge is crucial. However, international survey programs are costly in terms of time and money. Alternatively, games with a purpose may provide data on their players’ knowledge at minimum effort, unobtrusively, and repeatedly within short time intervals. The present study confirms game statistics from the social media game Climate Quiz to measure climate change knowledge. Players succeed in the game if they identify the same ontological relations between terms on climate change topics as most co-players. Drawing on game data of 193 players, the game point score is established to reflect climate change knowledge with sufficient accuracy to be utilized in the social sciences and in climate communication. The point score shows satisfactory reliability, criterion validity referring to conventional quiz questions as well as expert judgments, and discriminant validity regarding psychological attributes related to knowledge. The current player collective consists of young, highly educated and environmentally conscious players though, thereby representativeness of game scores for the general population is still limited.