Claire R. McInerney,
Ph.D.
CONSUMER ACCEPTANCE OF BIOTECHNOLOGY FOOD
Project Overview
Consumer Acceptance of
Biotechnology Food in the US is a three year project funded by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture. The project was designed to use a
multi-disciplinary approach to create a deeper understanding of, and
attitudes toward, food biotechnology, and to turn that understanding in to
useful information for a variety of stakeholders. By understanding
what people know about biotechnology, how they know it, and what they want
to know we will generate the the knowledge base necessary for
understanding how consumers form opinions about food biotechnology and how
to communicate more effectively with the public about biotech-related
issues. This project is being conducted by by an international team
of researchers affiliated with the Food Policy Institute of Rutgers, the
State University of New Jersey.
This is a multi-part information analysis that
will aid researchers in understanding how scientific knowledge and research
about food biotechnology makes its way in to popular literature, Internet
channels, and network news commonly used by the average person.
It also provides insight in to the ways in which this information
shapes public perceptions and awareness of food biotechnology.
The methods of assessment include examining vetted web
sites according to predefined quality factors, and entering data in a
relational database. Concurrent research on television news is being
conducted and research on journalistic influence will soon begin.
This section of research is being conducted by a team of faculty and
student researchers at the School of Communication, Information, &
Library Studies at Rutgers, the State University of New
Jersey.
McInerney, C. R. &
Bird, N. (2005). Assessing website quality in context. Information
Research, 10 (2), p. 213+ Available at http://InformationR.net/ir/10-2/paper213.html.
McInerney, C. R., Bird, N., & Nucci, M. (2004).
The flow of scientific knowledge from lab to the lay
public. Science Communication,
26:44-74.
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey,
USA
4 Huntington Street,
New Brunswick, New Jersey, 08901
Tel: 732-932-7500 Extension 8218; Fax: 732-932-2644
Office: SCILS 330 Email:
clairem at rutgers.edu
© 2007