Green Search : Studying Online Environmental Information. A Research Design

Abstract

Presentation of the design of a research project in its initial stages. The project Green Search investigates shaping of environmental information, including information on problems and proposed solutions, through their representation in search engine results, in social media tools, and in mobile applications dedicated to environmentally friendly living and consumption and how this is experienced by people using these tools. The project is situated in a socio-technical framework, which sees technology and society as mutually dependent and co-constructed. The following four research questions, organized in two interlinked parts, guide the study: Part I: Configurations -How are specific environmental issues with bearing on everyday life practices configured through web search and recommendation services and in mobile applications facilitating environmentally friendly living? In which ways do users judge mediated personal recommendations (through social media), search engine results and information from dedicated mobile applications for environmentally friendly living? Part II: Trust -How is trust attributed to the information retrieved/received on environmental issues with bearing on everyday life practices, specifically considering how different sources are seen to relate to each other? Which interests, organizations or link relations are perceived as trustworthy and how is this motivated? This is investigated in relation to two thematic areas: food and the home. The presented project uses a mixed method approach, with qualitative methods (focus group interviews) being supplemented with quantitative elements (web analyses). BackgroundDesign of a research project in its initial stages.Environmental information in online environments is an ever more important arena for information on environmental issues, which ranges from reports on environmental destruction to advice on how to address it on institutional levels and in individuals' everyday life. The project Green Search investigates the shaping of environmental information, including information on problems and proposed solutions, through their representation in search engine results, in social media tools, and in mobile applications dedicated to environmentally friendly living and consumption and how this is experienced by people using these tools.The research project links together three problem areas of relevance for environmental information online:-Firstly, environmental problems tend to be controversial and are given meaning in different ways depending on interests, allegiance and context of who presents them (Carvalho, 2007). -Secondly, the role of information for alleviating environmental problems, specifically on an individual level, is unclear. Specifically studies on everyday life practices have shown that what people report to know about environmental problems on an abstract level is often disconnected from their practices in everyday life (cf.