A response to “Word choice matters: Comment on Stoutenborough et al., 2016, 'Is “fracking” a new dirty word?'”

Darrick Evensen has responded to our recently published article, “Is 'fracking' a new dirty word? The influence of word choice on public views toward natural gas attitudes.” He has expressed concerns regarding our conclusions and has pointed out some omissions in our literature review. We appreciate the discussion on this topic and for pointing out the additional literature. We have carefully considered Dr. Evensen's comments and reviewed the recommended articles, and we remain confident in our conclusions. Our results indicate that survey researchers can use the more familiar term “fracking” rather than “hydraulic fracturing” without biasing their results. Our research focused on this particular issue and the associated rhetorical debate. In that regard, we believe our work differs from that referenced by Dr. Evensen, which seems to focus on the terms to correctly describe the technical process of natural gas extraction. And, it is this important difference that likely led to what may appear to be contradictory conclusions.