Response to water conservation campaigns: An exploratory look
Abstract
Data from a survey questionnaire and from water utility billing records are used to compare self-reported and actual water savings for 471 households during a conservation campaign. Self-reports are only weakly related to actual changes in water consumption. Errors are widespread, and not wholly random: The accuracy of self-reports increases with household socioeconomic status and with the extent of conservation behavior. The large and nonrandom error component makes self-reports questionable as a proxy for objective measures of overall water savings in conservation research. Because knowledge about water use is both generally low and related to conservation behavior, informational feedback may be a particularly effective strategy for increasing conservation. The effectiveness of this feedback may increase with social class, however.
Department
Sociology
Publication Date
5-1-1985
Journal Title
Evaluation Review
Publisher
Sage
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Document Type
Article
Recommended Citation
Hamilton, L.C. 1982. “Response to water conservation campaigns: An exploratory look.”Evaluation Review 6(5):673–688.
Rights
© 1985 Sage Publications, Inc.