Sources and Channels of Information Used by Educational Program Clients

TLDR: The results suggest that horse owners can be sorted into distinct market segments that use specific sources and channels, and can guide the design of communication strategies for Extension professionals serving adult horse owners in Florida, as well as provide general rules for others involved in developing educational programs for other clients.

Abstract: Organizations that want to create change through educational programs need to engage clients in a process that makes use of existing communication networks. Most clients use a repertoire of sources and channels for becoming aware of, learning about, and making decisions about practice or technology adoption. This paper focuses on one group of clients served by Cooperative Extension horse owners to identify patterns in the sources and channels of information they use. Further, the association between sets of channels and sources is assessed, controlling for relevant client attributes. The results show that horse owners have four correlated sets of information sources and four sets of information channels. The net influence of channels on clients' use of sources varies, with traditional Extension channels, one-onone consultations, and Internet channels being strongly associated with the use of sources characterized by linkages outside the community. Overall, the results suggest that horse owners can be sorted into distinct market segments that use specific sources and channels. These findings can guide the design of communication strategies for Extension professionals serving adult horse owners in Florida, as well as provide general rules for others involved in developing educational programs for other clients. This research is available in Journal of Applied Communications: https://newprairiepress.org/jac/vol90/iss4/6 t )ollmal of A\",,'ied Com))lImicatio)/5, Vol. 90, No.4, 2006, 55-78 ()ACE Sources and Channels of Information Used by Educational Program Clients Glenn D. Israel and Kristen M. Wilson Abstract Organizations that want to create change through educational programs need to engage clients in a process that makes use of existing communication networks, Most clients use a repertoire of sources and channels for becoming aware of, learning about, and making decisions about practice or technology adoption, This paper focuses on one group of clients served by Cooperative Extensionhorse owners-to identify patterns in the sources and channels of information they use. Further, the association between sets of channels and sources is assessed, controlling for relevant client attributes. The results show that horse owners have four correlated sets of information sources and four sets of information channels. The net influence of channels on clients' use of sources varies, with traditional Extension channels, one-on-one consultations, and Internet channels being strongly associated with the use of sources characterized by linkages outside the community. Overall, the ~ results suggest that horse owners can be sorted into distinct market segments that use specific sources and channels. These findings .1 can guide the design of communication strategies for Extension professionals serving adult horse owners in Florida, as well as provide general rules for others involved in developing educational programs for other clients. Communicators can develop effective strategies for reaching key audiences by identifying patterns in how distinct market segments use specific types of information. This study shows that communication channels connect audience segments to sources in specific ways. While these findings focus on horse owners, the design of the study can be adapted and applied to other audiences and media . Journal of Applied Communications / 55 1 Israel and Wilson: Sources and Channels of Information Used by Educational Program C Published by New Prairie Press, 2017 Many organizations have both an educational and communications mission, and foremost among these is the land-grant university system's Cooperative Extension Service. For more than 90 years, Extension has worked with clients to address economic, social, and environmental issues and needs. Though early educational efforts were based on direct communication with clients, changes in society and technology have resulted in programs using a diverse array of communication channels to reach clients, both directly and through surrogates. Currently, considerable attention is focused on the role of the Internet as an educational and communications tool, but access remains limited for some Extension clients. In 2003, half (54.5%) of U.S. households had a computer with an Internet connection, and nearly one fifth had a highspeed connection, yet nearly one third of households had no Internet users (National Telecommunications and Information Administration, 2004). Blacks and Hispanics are less likely than Whites to use the Internet, and usage is also lower among those with low educational attainment, those who have low incomes, those who are unemployed, and those who head singleparent households. Many clients, especially older people, continue to rely on more \"traditional\" channels for information while using newer technologies as a complement (Howell & Habron, 2004; O'Keefe, Boyd, & Brown, 1998; Tucker & Napier, 2002; Vergot, Israel, & Mayo, 2005). Clients' choices of sources and channels are also likely to vary by topic (O'Keefe et al.) and will change as new communication technologies enter the marketplace and obsolete ones are retired. Given this dynamic environment, it is important to periodically take clients' pulses on the processes used for obtaining educational information, as well as on emerging needs. Developing an understanding of the sources and channels used by clients to obtain information is a prerequisite for' efficient educational programming because messages that go unheard or unseen cannot lead to change. In this study, we focus on adult horse owners in Florida to find more efficient ways to address their educational needs. Florida has a large horse industry, with goods and services valued at $2.2 billion annually. Of Florida's 500,000 horses, 74% are involved in showing and recreation, 12% are involved in track racing, and 14% are involved in other activities, including ranching, mounted law enforcement, and therapeutic riding (American Horse Council, 1996). Horse owners often have questions and need information to address emerging issues, such as West Nile virus and equine encephalitis. By understanding their needs, Extension educators can tailor programs to better assist horse owners with these issues. 56/ Journal of Applied Communications 2 Journal of Applied Communications, Vol. 90, Iss. 4 [2006], Art. 6 https://newprairiepress.org/jac/vol90/iss4/6 DOI: 10.4148/1051-0834.1266 Given that many horse owners do not turn to Cooperative Extert5ion for information, the question becomes: Where do they obtain it? It'isirhportant to understand the sources and channels used byrclients sothatBxtension educators can achieve widespread coverage of the target audience (Israet 1991; Vergot et al., 2005). If Extension educators know the'types of sourceS' and channels being used, they can adapt strategies to betterreachhorse owners. The purpose of this study is to identify patterns in the sources and channels of information used by horse owners. In addition; we assess the association of the set of channels with Sources, controlling for relevant client attributes, knowledge, and involvement/in order to identify with whom and how Extension should collaborate to deliver educationalinformation. Theoretical Backgrounq This study is informed by several theoreticalrperspectives,incluclb;tg rational choice theories, which include the utility maximization framework and social exchange theory (Israet 1991; Strebel, Erdem, & Swait, 2004; Varlamoft Florkowski, Latimer, Braman, & Jordan,2002), adoption~di£fusion theory (Brown, 1981; Rogers, 2003), and\"social structure literature (Tucker & Napier, 2002), as well as classical ,communications theories (Stone, Singletary, & Richmond, 1999). First, we review the role ofsollIcesand channels,in educational programs; then, we describeJ;ww channel use\"cli,ent attributes, and client involvement are associated with horse owners' use of sources. Sources and Channels There is a large body of literature on the use of and preferences for sources and channels by Extension clients. Much of this research, however, , glosses over the distinction between the two communication elements (O'Keefe et al., 1998), and few analyses of both source and channel patterns have been published in recent years (Rollins, Bruening, & Radhakrishna, 1991; Tucker & Napier, 2002; Vergot et al., 2005). A source is an individual or an institution that originates a message, and a channel is the means by which a message gets from the source to the receiver (O'Keefe et al.; Stone et al., 1999). The distinction is important because clients often use several channels to access information from a single source, a single channel to obtain information from multiple sources, or multiple channels and sources. This perspective assumes that clients select channels based on their expected or past usefulness in meeting their needs (Lin, 1999). Experie~ce and expectations can influence decisions by some horse owners to obtam information directly from Extension, while others might rely on different sources (Israel & Knox, 2001). Considering the sources used by clients in tandem with the set of channels can increase the likelihood of reaching clients with useful information. Journal ofAppliea Qbriununications I. 57 3 Israel and Wilson: Sources and Channels of Information Used by Educational Program C Published by New Prairie Press, 2017 Researchers also have found that some people use multiple information channels during the adoption process (Rogers, 2003; Strebel et a!., 2004; Tucker & Napier, 2002). Extension uses multiple channels to deliver information for several reasons, including the different contributions each channel can make to the phases of the adoption process (Lionberger & Gwin, 1982; Rogers). For example, mass media charmels have been widely employed to create awareness of issues, practices, and new technologies, while field days and demonstrations are often used to h