CURVAS VERTICALES

 Section 4.9.1: Strategy Development Phase

 Section 4.9.2: Planning Phase

 Section 4.9.3: Implementation Phase Section 4.2: The Social Media Environmental

Awareness Campaign Conceptual Model

Chapter 4: Research Design and Proposed Model

62

4.2 The Social Media Environmental Awareness Campaign Conceptual Model

The primary objective of an environmental awareness campaign is to improve environmental knowledge of the participants by using social media. The U&G theory gratification factors will be used to determine the usage and acceptance of the social media used for the study (SMENA social media) (Section 3.7). These factors include: coordination, immediate access and social presence. The goal-orientated factors (coordination and immediate access) were selected for this study because they are suggested to have a stronger impact on social media usage than pleasure oriented aspects such as affection and leisure. In addition, social presence will also be used for this study because of the social nature of social media. The SMENA social media will be used during the campaigns to distribute environmental information and the participants will be encouraged to use these social media in order to acquire environmental knowledge. Furthermore, statistical analysis will be conducted to determine if usage of the SMENA social media during the campaigns improved the participants’ environmental knowledge.

Literature studies (Zsóka et al. 2013; Ramsey and Rickson 1976; Hungerford and Volk 1990; Barr 2003) show that there is a positive relationship between environmental knowledge and awareness, which implies that an increase in knowledge of issues implies an improvement in environmental awareness (Section 2.4). The preliminary model (the behavioural change system) extracted from traditional environmental education literatures also depicts that knowledge has a positive influence on awareness (Section 1.7).

This environmental education model was modified to create a conceptual model for environmental awareness campaigns by including the three U&G gratification factors that influence social media usage and acceptance and environmental knowledge which was confirmed to be a factor that influences environmental awareness (Figure 4.2). The model depicts that if the SMENA social media provides its users with a gratifications such as immediate access, coordination and social presence, their usage of these social media will increase. An increase in usage of the SMENA social media will increase the users’ environmental knowledge which will in turn improve their environmental awareness.

Chapter 4: Research Design and Proposed Model

63

Figure 4.2: Social media environmental awareness campaign conceptual model

4.3 Research Approaches and Methods

The research design aspects of this are based on the research onion by Saunders et al. (2009) (Figure 1.2). A deductive and an inductive research approach will be followed in this research study. An inductive approach will be used since the empirical results of this study will be induced into theory (Saunders et al. 2009). The preliminary model (behavioural change system) of the study is derived from the theory of environmental education (Section 1.7). The preliminary model was amended by using theory to produce a conceptual model for environmental awareness campaigns (Section 4.2). Environmental awareness campaigns will be implemented within a HEI using the SMENA with the intention of improving the environmental knowledge of students. After the implementation process, the aspects of the SMENA used for the campaigns will be evaluated by participants. The evaluation results will be used to amend the environmental awareness campaign conceptual model and to provide recommendations about how usage of the SMENA can be improved. The amended environmental awareness campaign conceptual model, the SMENA, and recommendations for usage of the SMENA will serve as contributions to environmental education theories.

Chapter 4: Research Design and Proposed Model

64

A deductive approach starts with the investigation of theory and determining research questions that need to be addressed (Hayes 2000). In this study, literature will be studied in order to understand the phenomena under investigation and empirical investigations will be carried out using research strategies to collect data that will assist the researcher to address the predefined research questions.

Quantitative and qualitative research methods will be used in this study. These research methods will be used jointly in order to improve the strengths and reduce the weaknesses associated with these research methods (Williams 2007). Saunders et al. (2009) add that combining these methods enables researchers to easily address research questions and it improves the validity of research results. The research strategies which will be adopted for this study are the case study strategy which is a qualitative research method, the survey strategy which is a quantitative and qualitative research approach, and field experiments which are predominately quantitative research methods. Therefore, the data collection instruments (Section 4.5) which will be adopted will produce both qualitative and quantitative data and qualitative and quantitative data analysis methods will be used to analyse the data.

4.4 Research Strategies

This research study will adopt three research strategies, namely: the case study strategy (Section 4.4.1), the survey strategy (Section 4.4.2) and field experiments (Section 4.4.3). A single case study approach will be adopted and the NMMU will serve as the case environment. Field experiments will be conducted within the case environment in order to expose participants to environmental information with the intention of improving their environmental knowledge. Surveys will be used to collect qualitative and quantitative data from the participants.

4.4.1 Case Study Strategy

A case study is described as a research process where a programme, an event, an activity, a process or various human subjects are investigated in depth (Creswell 2003). Nabukenya (2012) adds that a case study is an empirical review that studies a specified phenomenon within its natural settings. The case study strategy is usually used in situations where the limitations between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident.

Chapter 4: Research Design and Proposed Model

65

It is categorised as a qualitative and observatory research strategy that intends to address predefined research questions. Researchers can decide whether to examine a single case study or multiple case studies (Cavaye 1996). A single case enables the researcher to study the phenomenon intensively which allows the researcher to get a rich description and reveal the actual structure of the phenomenon. Multiple data collection methods such as observations, interviews, documents, physical artefacts and auto-visual material can be used in a case study. A single case study will be conducted within the NMMU as part of this research study. This implies that all the activities of the research study, which will occur before, during and after the environmental awareness campaigns will be conducted within the NMMU amongst undergraduate students from the Department of Computing Sciences. A case study approach is used because it will assist the researcher to better understand the phenomenon under investigation. In this study the researcher seeks to understand if environmental awareness campaigns facilitated by the SMENA can improve the environmental knowledge of individuals in a HEI.

The case study will investigate the study phenomenon within its natural settings. The participants (students) will be requested to incorporate usage of the SMENA social media into their daily lifestyle. Usage of these social media will assist the participants to improve their environmental knowledge while they are carrying out their daily activities. The data collection methods which will be used in this case study are the SMENA social media, questionnaires and interviews (Section 4.5).

4.4.2 Survey Strategy

A survey involves conducting an empirical study that intends to gather information from a large audience (Saunders et al. 2009). Pinsonneault and Kraemer (1993) confirm that a survey is an approach that intends to collect information from a large group of people or population. This information usually describes the characteristics, actions and/or opinions of individuals. Survey research is conducted to improve scientific knowledge.

Chapter 4: Research Design and Proposed Model

66

In the case of this study, survey questionnaires will be distributed to a large number of participants (second year and third year students at the NMMU). The survey questionnaires will provide the researcher with knowledge about the usage and acceptance of social media and the prevalent social media amongst the participants. The results acquired from the questionnaires will assist with designing the SMENA.

The survey questionnaires will also provide the researcher with knowledge about the participants’ environmental knowledge before and after the study intervention. This knowledge will assist the researcher to determine if usage of the SMENA social media during the study intervention improved environmental knowledge of the participants. The researcher will also acquire knowledge about the participants’ perceptions about the SMENA social media they will use during the environmental awareness campaigns. This knowledge will be used to update the conceptual model for campaigns and provide recommendations for future usage of the SMENA.

4.4.3 Field Experiment

The main aim of experiments is to determine if there is a relationship between different variables (Saunders et al. 2009). In this study, the researcher seeks to identify whether a change in a certain independent variable is related to a change in another dependent variable. Experiments conducted in laboratory settings tend to examine the investigated phenomenon in a more controlled environment (Pinsonneault and Kraemer 1993). The researcher exposes the independent variables to an intervention (or manipulation) and detects the effects of the intervention on the dependent variables. Field based experiments are also deployed in a similar context but in natural settings instead of a controlled environment (Benbasat, Goldstein and Mead 1987). Saunders et al. (2009) argue that in contrast to laboratory experiments, field experiments tend to directly relate to the real world and can be generalised to a much higher extent.

Chapter 4: Research Design and Proposed Model

67

Field experiments will be used for this study since the researcher aims to improve environmental knowledge of the participants by exposing them to environmental information. During the study intervention, the participants will be encouraged to perform activities (independent variable) on social media used for this study in order to improve their environmental knowledge (dependent variable). Two similar four week field experiments will be conducted sequentially in natural settings with two different groups of participants, second year and third year students. The details of the field experiments will be discussed in Section 4.9.3.