A survey of 417 architects, engineers, building owners, and contractors by McGraw-Hill Construction Research & Analytics found Building Design & Construction tied with Engineering News-Record as the most often mentioned source of information on green building for building professionals.
The October 2005 study, "Green Building SmartMarket Report," showed that 41% of respondents ranked Building Design & Construction and ENR as their most often mentioned source of information about green building, with the American Institute of Architects in third place at 38% and Architecture Magazine in fourth at 34%.
Among respondents whose firms belonged to the U.S. Green Building Council, 80% said the USGBC itself was the most often mentioned source of information on green building. Among the field of 10 publications and Web sites measured in the study, Building Design & Construction and Environmental Building News (the monthly newsletter from BuildingGreen Inc.) tied at 54%, with the Web site GreenerBuildings.com and Architectural Record tied among publications and Web sites at 32%.
The research was conducted under the direction and management of John DiStefano, principal researcher for McGraw-Hill Construction Research & Analytics. The 417 respondents were drawn from the McGraw-Hill Construction Network project news database and were interviewed by telephone. According to the report, the sample size represents one-tenth of one percent (0.1%) of the total population of construction professionals, versus the Gallup Poll and Nielsen Television Ratings, which measure one one-hundredth of one percent (0.01%) of the national population. According to the report, the total sample size "benchmarks at a high degree of accuracy: 95% Confidence Interval with a Margin of Error of +/- 5%."