An Information Campaign That Changed Community Attitudes

Douglas, Dorothy F.; Westley, Bruce H.; Chaffee, Steven H.

doi:10.1177/107769907004700306

Cited by 35 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…The Star and Hughes findings are counterbalanced by those of Douglas, et al (1970), which showed that an information campaign on the topic of mental retardation was most effective among those with less education. Similarly, the Budd, et al study is countered by Larson and Hills (1954), who found that slightly more people in a working-class neighborhood had heard of a news event than people in a professional neighborhood.…”

contrasting

confidence: 64%

Knowledge Gap Effects in a Health Information Campaign

Ettema

Brown

Luepker

1983

Public Opinion Quarterly

105

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THE knowledge gap hypothesis has important implications for public information campaigns. The hypothesis as originally formulated by Tichenor, et al. (1970) holds that "as the infusion of mass media information into a social system increases, segments of the population with higher socioeconomic status tend to acquire this information at a faster rate than the lower status segments, so that the gap in knowledge between these segments tends to increase rather than decrease" (p. 160). The hypothesis thus implies that projects which disseminate information through the mass media will always benefit higher SES audience segments more than lower SES segments. Such projects cannot, then, equalize the distribution of information within a social system.These implications are more clearcut than the support for the hyAbstract The evaluation of a campaign to increase cardiovascular health knowledge indicates that within the treatment community, education was a significant predictor of knowledge before the campaign but was not a significant predictor after the campaign. Two variables related to motivation to acquire information about cardiovascular health (age and perceived threat of heart attack) were not significant predictors of knowledge before the campaign but were significant predictors afterwards. These results suggest that the infusion of information into a social system via the mass media can close as well as open knowledge gaps and that motivation to acquire information in a specific knowledge domain is a factor controlling gap effects. James S.

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contrasting

confidence: 64%

Knowledge Gap Effects in a Health Information Campaign

Ettema

Brown

Luepker

1983

Public Opinion Quarterly

105

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“…They found that an intensive, six-month information campaign changed attitudes about mental retardation. 6 Other studies have verified the impact of media use on political attitude^.^ This suggests that it is possible that media use may be related to belief in conspiracy theories and also suggests that it is worth studying. Yet taken together these studies do not tell us which media are most likely to be related to belief or what the direction of that effect might be.…”

Section: Social Scientific Studiesmentioning

confidence: 96%

Media Use, Social Structure, and Belief in 9/11 Conspiracy Theories

Stempel

Hargrove²,

Stempel

2007

Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly

169

135

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A survey of 1,010 randomly selected adults asked about media use and belief in three conspiracy theories about the attacks of September 11, 2001. "Paranoid style" and "cultural sociology" theories are outlined, and empirical support is found for both. Patterns vary somewhat by conspiracy theory, but members of less powerful groups (racial minorities, lower social class, women, younger ages) are more likely to believe at least one of the conspiracies, as are those with low levels of media involvement and consumers of less legitimate media (blogs and grocery store tabloids). Consumers of legitimate media (daily newspapers and network TV news) are less likely to believe at least one of the conspiracies, although these relationships are not signifcant after controlling for social structural variables. Beliefs in all three conspiracies are aligned with mainstream political party divisions, evidence that conspiracy thinking is now a normal part of mainstream political conflict in the United States.In the last twenty years there has been a surge of scholarly interest in rumors and conspiracy theories. Only a few have conducted systematic studies of conspiracy believers or the social factors contributing to belief, but there is no shortage of thoughtful and provocative theorizing. Much of this expanding literature suggests that conspiracy theories provide clarity of vision and clear targets for addressing the confusions, frustrations, and insecurities of living in contemporary societies which are characterized by rapid social change; a multiplicity of voices and interests; multi-level, multi-polar balances of power where those at higher levels maintain control through secrecy and controlling information; declining individual autonomy; increasing risk awareness associated with technological advances and "post-scarcity" conditions; high levels of social and geographic mobility; declining trust in national governments; and post-9 / 11 fears of terrorist/outsider threats.' While these theories are stimulating and insightful, we believe there is a need to bring more systematic evidence to bear on two basic questions: Who believes conspiracy theories, and what sources of information are associated with believing conspiracy theories? Carl Stempel is an associate professor of Sociology and Social Services at California State University, East Bay. Thomas Hargrove is a reporter and researcherlmethodologist for the Scripps Howard News Service. Guido H. Stempel 111 is a distinguished Professor Emeritus in the E. w. Scripps School of ]ournahn at Ohio University. The SCrippS Howard Foundation providedfunding for this study. MEDIA USE, SOCIAL STRUCTURE, A N D BELIEF IN 9/11 CONSPIRACY THEORIES W M C Quarterly "Of. s4, ~~~~2 0 0 7 02007AEJMC 353 at HEC Montreal on June 25, 2015 jmq.sagepub.com Downloaded from

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“…Researchers have explored various techniques to increase response rates (see Dillman et al 2009), including the use of incentives, multiple mailings, questionnaire design techniques, and alternative distribution strategies. One alternative questionnaire distribution method that has proven to increase response rates (relative to mail delivery) is the personal delivery or Drop-off and Pick-up (DOPU) self-administered questionnaire method (Douglas et al 1970;Stover and Stone 1974;Lovelock et al 1976;Mangione et al 1982;Olsen et al 1998;Melevin et al 1999;Steele et al 2001;Riley and Kiger 2002;Clark and Finley 2007). In this method, questionnaires are hand delivered to respondents at their home for later retrieval.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

The Drop-off and Pick-up Method: An Approach to Reduce Nonresponse Bias in Natural Resource Surveys

Allred

Ross‐Davis

2010

Small-scale Forestry

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Forestry researchers frequently conduct surveys to assess woodland owner attitudes, behavior, behavioral intentions, and program adoption. However, the ability to utilize survey results in applied research is dependent upon how accurately the sample respondents reflect the reference population. One major issue in survey research is nonresponse bias. Nonresponse bias occurs when individuals do not respond to a questionnaire and is a concern because of the potential inability to make accurate inferences to a population based on responses. Researchers in this study compare two methods of questionnaire distribution (Drop-off/Pick-up and the Tailored Design Method) in terms of cost effectiveness and response rate. When compared to the Tailored Design Method (TDM), use of the Drop-off/Pick-Up (DOPU) method resulted in significantly higher response rates, provided an alternative method by which to determine survey eligibility, and had significantly higher survey implementation costs. The DOPU technique is an effective means to reduce potential nonresponse bias through increased response rate. When implementing the DOPU method, face-to-face contact and verbal communication with respondents permitted researchers to better determine eligibility than did leaving the questionnaire on the doorknob. Relying solely on respondents to indicate ineligibility on the survey instrument was not as effective as verbal confirmation of eligibility in the DOPU.

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An Information Campaign That Changed Community Attitudes

Cited by 35 publications

References 0 publications

Knowledge Gap Effects in a Health Information Campaign

Knowledge Gap Effects in a Health Information Campaign

Media Use, Social Structure, and Belief in 9/11 Conspiracy Theories

The Drop-off and Pick-up Method: An Approach to Reduce Nonresponse Bias in Natural Resource Surveys

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