This is the third part of De Montfort University researcher Richard Fletcher's analysis of the information collected at music festivals. The other parts can be view at the following links. [part 1] [part 2] [part 3]

Question: Is CC caused by humans, natural causes or both?

• In 2009, All/mostly natural causes, All/mostly human causes and Don’t know were available
• In 2010, Only natural causes, Only human causes and Both natural and human causes were available

Findings: Despite the change in terms used, we can at least see the effects of giving respondents a ‘Don’t know’ option to this question. We could also speculate that the term ‘Both’ as used in 2010 is inaccurate, and can imply that the emphasis is equally on natural causes as well as human activity: yet we have observed in 2009 that these respondents probably mean ‘Both – but mostly human’

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Question: What do you think are the main causes of climate change?

• In 2009, this was an open ended question. Categories under 20 responses were ignored.
• In 2010, categories were specified, along with A lot, A little, Nothing and Don’t Know as options.

Findings: The results are shown above in ranked order, and the difference between prescribed categories and open ended categories is immediately apparent. Same or similar terms have been colour coded. It seems that broad terms such as ‘Industry’ and ‘Deforestation’ do not immediately come to mind, yet if they are suggested, they are identified (correctly) as two significant causes of climate change.

I will not go into the specifics of qual. vs quant. methods here, suffice to say that the results from 2010 may suffer from acquiescence bias, although I suspect the range of categories and options for each would be a sufficient prevention from this (the respondent has plenty of scope in which to choose their answer). On the other hand, the results from 2009 may suffer from a different range of validity and reliability issues regarding the coding of qualitative data.

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Question: Which groups have the most influence on CC / Do these groups contribute to CC?

• In 2009, the groups were UK Government, Industry & business, Scientists & engineers, Your local community, You personally. Options for each were: None, some, a little, a large and Don’t Know.
• In 2010, the groups were Society and Individuals. Options for each were: Yes, No and Don’t Know.

Findings: These two questions investigate the same issue, although their phrasing and structure are very different. The 2009 responses will presumably have been influenced due to their inclusion alongside other categories: for example, ‘UK Government’ and ‘Industry & Business’ were identified as having a much larger influence. By comparison, the 2010 responses were only made in these two categories. However, the two sets can be seen to be broadly similar: the respondents may be of the opinion that they have a greater responsibility than that of society/the community.

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Question: When do you think you will see the effects of CC occurring?

• In 2009, the question was ‘How soon do you think X will be affected by CC’ and was answerable with a range of options specifying the time frame, in years.
• In 2010, two questions were asked which may be somewhat comparable, as they also referred (vaguely) to the time frame. These questions have been contracted to ‘Future’ and ‘Disaster’, as previously mentioned in this document; and the level of agreement shown.

Findings: Although clearly not directly compatible, the two sets are comparable in terms of the themes they investigate: the scale of CCs effect, from global to personal, and the perceived time frame for this effect to occur. The respondents in both cases have generally stated:

• On a global level, the effects of CC can already be seen, or will be seen in the near future.
• On a personal level, the effects of CC are less visible, yet will be within our lifetimes: so there should be motivation to act in the present.

We cannot be too specific about this matter, as the terms are quite arbitrary and can be read in different ways. For example, ‘The effects of CC’, as a scale, could refer to the smallest aspects all the way to global disaster.

Check back in the coming weeks for more analysis. For more information contact Richard at rfletcher2@dmu.ac.uk