Provision of efficient online information for agricultural biotechnology

This study identified consumer perceptions of biotechnology crops, provided the types and sources of information on agricultural biotech that consumers demand, and derived effective methods of providing agricultural biotech information by analyzing problems and improving the information available online regarding agricultural biotech. The analysis of sources of information on agricultural biotech showed that there were differences between preference and reliability. Respondents preferred the Internet (47.6%) and TV (36.3%), while they relied on TV (36.3%) the most, followed by the Internet (26.6%), and academic papers and technical books (23.1%). Only 27.1% of the respondents answered that they collect information on agricultural biotech proactively. The higher frequency of information collection indicated a higher satisfaction rate with the information that was being collected. Survey results for the websites that respondents preferred and relied on to collect information were that the most preferred websites were web portals (53.4%), while reliability rates across the various types of websites were relatively even: web portals (28.4%), academic institution websites (19.1%), and websites that provide professional information (18.2%). Surveys that examined factors that were important in choosing the websites for collecting information on biotech indicated that factors such as "Providing verified data and citation" and "Providing objectivity" were the most important. Examining the preferences and factors of preference by content type showed that the demand for visual aids, such as photos, tables, graphs, and videos, was high, and there were statistically significant differences between the factors of preference by content type.