The research project investigates how young people construct cognitive authorities in health communication across formal and informal environments. It will employ case studies and qualitative methods like interviews and discourse analysis of social media to understand how authority is constructed for young people related to health issues in schools, hobbies, and online. The research has two main goals: 1) review literature on cognitive authority in health literacy and 2) examine how authority is constructed for young people through 4 case studies analyzing authority in schools, leisure activities, and online health discussions. It aims to provide insights to support health promotion among youth.

1. Cognitive Authorities in Everyday Health Information Environments of
Young People (CoAHealth)
Academy of Finland
Date of the research plan: September 29, 2015
Principal investigator (PI): Maija-Leena Huotari
Site of research: University of Oulu: Faculty of Humanities / Information Studies; Faculty of Education
Abstract of the research plan
CogAHealth investigates who or what young people believe in and trust as cognitive authorities in
modern, multimodal health communication. Based on a socio-cultural viewpoint, the study combines the
perspectives of information studies and educational sciences on transforming literacies in everyday life
environments, web-based included. The main research questions (RQs) are: 1) How are questions
related to cognitive authority addressed in health related literacy research? 2) How are cognitive
authorities constructed in everyday health information environments of young people? Two work
packages (WPs) address these RQs. In WP1 a systematic literature review provides the state of art on
the role of cognitive authority in health related literacy research. This review, amplified by the findings
of four interlinked case studies employing qualitative methods conducted in WP2, allows deeper
understanding of the construction of cognitive authority. The case studies (I-IV) examine young
people’s construction of cognitive authorities in health communication from different perspectives.
Cases I and II focus on authority construction in formal school environment and Cases III and IV in
informal and non-formal environments. Cases I-III employ 4−6 classroom communities in primary and
secondary schools in Northern Finland (80−120 participants). In these case studies, the data, consisting
of video and text material produced by young people, and interviews and observations, are qualitatively
analysed to understand the construction of authority in terms of health issues in schools, leisure and
hobbies. The research strategy applied in Cases I, II and III is nexus analysis. Case IV concentrates
on young people’s discourses in web-based health information environments. Multimodal data from
relevant social media, such as blogs and social networking sites, are collected and analysed using
discourse analysis. A number of young people are also interviewed. The research implements
triangulation of theory, research methods, data, and researchers to enhance the trustworthiness of the
study. The findings of this transdisciplinary study regenerate science, support developing school
practices, and are widely applicable in health promotion among young people. CogAHealth, conducted
at the University of Oulu, Finland, from the year 2016 until 2019, promotes three academic careers at
the post-doctoral level implying gender equality.