#  **Research Protocol: The Ecohance Panel**

**Document Status:** Pre-Registration Protocol (v1.0)

**Study Timeline:** August 2026 – October 2026

**Target Submission:** December 2026

## **1\. Abstract** 

Despite high levels of environmental awareness, a significant gap remains between stated sustainable intentions and actual behavior among young adults. The Ecohance Panel is a longitudinal behavioral science study designed to map this "intention-action gap." By utilizing a low-friction, high-frequency (bi-weekly) survey instrument, this study aims to isolate the specific cognitive and structural friction points—such as cost, convenience, and social norms—that dictate daily sustainable decision-making.

## **2\. Core Research Questions**

1. **The Friction :** Which factor serves as the primary deterrent to sustainable habit formation: economic cost, physical inconvenience, or lack of social proof?  
2. **The Intention-Action Decay :** How does self-reported intent to perform a sustainable action correlate with the actual reported execution of that action 14 days later?  
3. **Choice Architecture :** Does framing sustainable choices through the lens of social norms (e.g., "70% of peers do this") increase the likelihood of pro-environmental decision-making?

## **3\. Hypotheses**

* **H1 (The Convenience Hypothesis):** Physical convenience (time/effort) will be cited as a friction point significantly more often than economic cost across the cohort.  
* **H2 (The Social Proof Hypothesis):** Participants exposed to peer-norming data will show a higher retention of sustainable habits over the 10-week period compared to baseline measurements.  
* **H3 (The Longitudinal Attrition Hypothesis):** Behavioral intent will peak in Wave 1 and decay by Wave 3, requiring structural interventions to maintain baseline sustainability levels.

## **4\. Methodology & Study Design**

### **A. Study Design**

This is a **quantitative, longitudinal cohort study** consisting of five discrete data collection intervals (Waves) spaced exactly 14 days apart.

### **B. Population and Sampling**

* **Target Population:** Young adults (ages 16–45), primarily recruited from university and high school networks.  
* **Sampling Method:** Non-probability convenience sampling via decentralized student ambassador networks.  
* **Target Sample Size:** N \= 500 (Baseline), with an acceptable minimum retention of N \= 300 by Wave 5\.  
* **Cohort Locking:** To maintain longitudinal integrity, registration will permanently close immediately following the conclusion of Wave 1\. No late entrants will be permitted.

### **C. The Instrument**

Data will be collected via the custom-built Ecohance web application. The instrument is a digital, 5-question visual survey designed to take 45 seconds. The survey utilizes:

* Discrete Choice Experiments (A/B visual trade-offs)  
* Self-reported behavioral recall  
* Multi-select friction attribution matrices

## **5\. Variables and Measures**

| Variable Type | Metric / Description | Measurement Method |
| :---- | :---- | :---- |
| **Independent Variable (IV)** | Time / Study Progression | Tracked chronologically across Waves 1 through 5\. |
| **Independent Variable (IV)** | Choice Framing | Introduction of social norming vs. standard questions. |
| **Dependent Variable (DV)** | Stated Intent | The user's goal selected for the upcoming 14 days. |
| **Dependent Variable (DV)** | Executed Behavior | Self-reported success/failure of the previous wave's intent. |
| **Dependent Variable (DV)** | Friction Attribution | Selection of hurdles (Cost, Memory, Convenience, Peer Pressure). |
| **Categorical Variable** | Behavioral Archetype | Algorithmically assigned profile (e.g., Convenience-Driven) post-Wave 3\. |

## **6\. Data Collection and Data Management**

### **A. Protocol Execution**

Waves will automatically deploy on alternate Saturdays. Participants who fail to complete a wave within the 48-hour open window will be assigned a NULL value for that specific interval to preserve the time-series boundary.

### **B. Data Cleaning**

* Responses completed in under 5 seconds (indicating random clicking) will be flagged and excluded from the final analysis.  
* Participants who complete fewer than 3 of the 5 waves will be excluded from the primary longitudinal analysis, though their baseline data may be used for cross-sectional observations.

### **C. Statistical Analysis Plan**

Data will be exported in .CSV format and analyzed. Primary analytical methods will include:

* **Descriptive Statistics:** Baseline demographics and overall friction distributions.  
* **Time-Series Analysis:** Tracking the decay or growth of sustainable habits across the 10 weeks.

## **7\. Ethical Considerations & Open Science**

* **Informed Consent:** All participants must digitally sign an informed consent agreement prior to baseline data collection.  
* **Data Privacy:** No Personally Identifiable Information (PII) will be used in the analysis. Email addresses are encrypted and strictly used for authentication and wave notifications.  
* **Open Access:** Upon conclusion of the study, an anonymized dataset and the resulting Working Paper will be made publicly available on the Ecohance portal to invite peer review and further analysis.