Ethnographic Inquiry in Energy: Exploring Meaning-Making and Sociality in Language Use, Program Participation, and Behavioral Choice

摘要

Ethnographic research provides unique insights into the everyday lives of individualrnhouseholds that other research methods cannot. Focusing on the living, day-to-day culture ofrnindividuals, ethnography provides a window into the ways language use, belief systems, familyrnand social networks, and one’s geography inform and guide energy-saving (or wasting) practices.rnOpinion Dynamics conducted one of the largest ethnographic research studies in thernenergy industry, conducting 136 two-hour in-home visits throughout the state of California tornunderstand how households make day-to-day decisions on their energy use, and what specificrncultural factors promote and detract from smart energy choices. Here, we discuss how ourrnobservations of and conversations with households have generated new knowledge for thernenergy industry that can inform and enhance program implementation, communication, andrnupfront market and evaluation research design.rnIn particular, we will focus on the insights gained in listening to everyday language usernand meaning-making around energy, household and social dynamics, what households sayrnversus what they do and mean, and the cultural particularities that emerged in our research. Wernwill highlight how these insights add depth of understanding to more traditional researchrntechniques, such as surveys and in-depth interviews. Further, we will discuss how ourrnethnographic research can be taken off the shelf and incorporated into multiple program andrnevaluation efforts implemented throughout the US.