The Power of Qualitative Methods: Examples from the Field ... · Observation. Theory. Hypothesis. Empirical Generalizations. Deductive. Explanatory. Positivist. Inductive. Exploratory

Qualitative Methods

ESP178 Research MethodsProfessor Susan Handy

3/1/16

Observation

Theory

HypothesisEmpirical

Generalizations

DeductiveExplanatory

Positivist

InductiveExploratoryInterpretive

Usually…Quantitative

Usually…Qualitative

The Research Cycle

As Complementary MethodsQualitative before quantitative

To develop theories, models, hypotheses to be tested

Qualitative after quantitative

To interpret, understand, validate general relationships and patterns

As Complementary MethodsQualitative before quantitative

To develop theories, models, hypotheses to be tested

Qualitative after quantitative

To interpret, understand, validate general relationships and patterns

Qualitative as a part of quantitative

To design survey questionsWithin survey questions

Quantitative as a part of qualitative

Data in case studiesCounts of responses

The lines are blurry!

Type of Question Explanatory ExploratoryType of Research Deductive

PositivistInductiveInterpretive

Type of Data Quantitative QualitativeSampling Probabilistic

RandomRepresentativeLarger

Non-probabilisticConvenient, purposefulIllustrativeSmaller

Data Collection SurveysAvailable data Observation

In-depth interviewsFocus groupsObservation

Data Analysis Statistical analysis Content analysis

Types of Data Collection and Analysis

Interviews Focus Groups

Characteristics of both:Non-probability samplingSemi-structured questionsAudio recording (sometimes video)Transcription of recordings

One interviewer, one interviewee One facilitator, 10-12 participants



Issues for both:Where and when to do itInfluence of interviewer/facilitatorData coding and interpretation



Interviews versus focus groups?

More in-depth for each individual More individuals in one period of time

No influence from other people Influence from other people on responses

My Qualitative ExamplesType Examples

Open-ended question Transportation Education Survey

In-depth interviews Driving by Choice vs. Necessity Bicycling Attitudes

Focus groups Austin Neighborhood Study Recent California Immigrants

Case studies Federal Funds for Bike/Ped Projects Highway Bypasses in Texas Accessibility in Regional Plans

Next time!

TRANSPORTATION EDUCATION SURVEY

Handy, S., L. Weston, J. Song, and M. Lane. “The Education of Transportation Planning Professionals,” Transportation Research Record, No. 1812, pp. 151-160, 2002.

Question1 :In five words or less, what is the most challenging aspect of your job?

DRIVING BY CHOICE VS. NECESSITY INTERVIEWS

Handy, S, L. Weston, and P. Mokhtarian. “Driving by Choice or Necessity?” Transportation Research A, Vol. 39, pp. 183-203. 2005.

Annual VMT per Capita in U.S.

-

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

1936 1941 1946 1951 1956 1961 1966 1971 1976 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001

Table 2-1. Typology of Excess Driving

Reason for Excess Driving

More Frequently

Longer Route

More by Car

Farther Destination

Value of driving itself

CONSCIOUS CHOICE

INTEN-TIONAL - A1 A2 A3 A4

Value of activities while driving B1 B2 B3 B4

Variety seeking C1 C2 C3 C4

HabitUNINTEN-TIONAL - D1 D2 D3 D4

Poor planning E1 E2 E3 E4

Misperceptions F1 F2 F3 F4

Lack of Information G1 G2 G3 G4

LACK OF CONSCIOUS THOUGHT

UNCON-SCIOUS

INFLUENCE

Sources of Excess Driving

Interview Guide for Study on Driving by Choice versus Necessity Part 1. First I’d like you to take me through your day yesterday and tell me about all of the trips that you made. When did you leave the house, where did you go, and how did you get there? Take basic notes on trips – where they went and what mode – in table provided. What did you do after that? and so on… If no driving trips, jump to “non-driver” questions. If driving trips, start with first one and repeat these questions for each. OK, now let’s talk about this trip that you made. Could you have done something other than drive? If yes, probe: What other options did you have? Why did you pick driving? If no, probe: Why not? Could you have gone to a different place for that activity? If yes, probe: What other options did you have? Was there a closer option? Why did you pick the place you did? If no, probe: Why not? Was it the closest option?

Part 2. Now let’s talk about your travel more generally. These questions are supposed to get at driving for the sake of driving and driving because of the value of activities while driving: Remember Star Trek, how Captain Kirk could beam himself instantly from place to place? If you could beam yourself up for all your trips, would you do it? If no, For what trips wouldn’t you beam yourself up? Why? If yes, What is it you don’t like about traveling? Do you ever go for a drive just for the sake of driving? If yes, Where do you go? What is it you like about these drives? What do you like to do while you drive? Do you ever go for a drive just to be able to [do this]? Can you give me an example? Do you every pick a longer route because it is better for [the things you like to do while driving]? Can you give me an example? If you couldn’t [do these things] – say it was [dark, the radio was broken, you couldn’t open the windows] – would you still enjoy driving? Why or why not?

MS_05_19_03_1 Study on Driving by Choice versus Necessity Q: The first thing we want to do is to take you through the trips yesterday, what you did, and we

really wanted to get some interviews on Mondays so that we can tell about weekend driving versus weekday driving.

A: Interesting. I have very different patterns. Q: So we are going to take me through the drives yesterday. Tell me about all the trips you made,

where did you go and how did you get there. We’re just going to kind of fill out this out. If you only had one trip, that’s o.k.

A: We only did. We went about 1 o’clock. We went from Lakeway all the way east to, the call it, Shady Court, which is near the Airport. There was a luau for my husband’s office.

Q: Wow. And that was by car? A: That was by car. Yeah, out near by the 183 intersection. It is pretty close to that and 71. Q: Is it by a lake? A: No, it’s not. Q: A little picnic area? A: I guess.Iit’s a facility that you can rent out. It is kind of back in the woods. I don’t know how they

ever found it. But it was rented out to both Vignette and us. We had one part of it and Vignette had the other.

A: After that on our way back we stopped at Central Market. Q: The south one? A: The south one. Yeah, we went up Lamar and then went back to Lakeway. And that is the only trip

out we made yesterday. Q: And how long were you at Central Market? A: We were probably there an hour. Q: So let’s just kind of talk about this trip then. You couldn’t have taken any other type of

transportation or could you have carpooled? A: No. There is nothing else available to us. Sometimes I really wish there were because I would be

one to take light rail if it went east-west because I grew up in a suburb of New York and I love trains. But I can see how the general population probably wouldn’t use it. This was located one exit on 71 before the airport, but even if I could have gotten to the airport I would have needed some sort of shuttle to get to this little place. I could see light rail working only for those people going downtown to work or someplace like Dell or Motorola _ a concentrated employment place.

Q: What other options did you have? Could you have carpooled, for example? A: I would carpool to the office but I couldn’t have carpooled to this function unless everybody met

at their office which would be on the way (half way between Lakeway and this place) but there

Coding Sheet for Choice Necessity Interviews – Summer 2003

Types of Excess Driving Reason for Excess Driving More

frequently Longer route

More by car

Farther destination

1 2 3 4 Value of traveling itself A A1 A2 A3 A4 Activities while traveling – scenery, radio, getting out of the house, clearing your head

B B1 B2 B3 B4

Variety-seeking – bored w/ usual choices

C C1 C2 C3 C4 Habit D D1 D2 D3 D4 Poor planning E E1 E2 E3 E4 Misperceptions – incorrect belief

F F1 F2 F3 F4 Lack of information G G1 G2 G3 G4 Infeasibility of alternate modes

H H1 H2 H3 H4 Other Codes: NEG – negative aspects of the car/driving POS – positive aspects of the car/driving DN – Drive more than need to DW – Drive more than want to

Activity/Destination Characteristics FA – flexibility/inflexibility in activity FD – flexibility/inflexibility in

destination/location

Type of Trip GR –grocery shopping W – work TO – other

Miscellaneous SM – survey mechanics COMM – sense of community (subset of B) TC – trip-chaining RL – residential location

Trip Characteristics FM – flexibility/inflexibility in mode FT – flexibility/inflexibility in time

Interview ID #

Order Gender Age HH Comp. Work Status

Student Status

Commute Time

Commutew/spouse

Day of the week

Speaker Comment Code 1 - Q/A

Code 2 - trip type

Code 3 - other

Code 4 - excess driving

MS5/19/03/1 14 F 45 2AC13 FT NAS 45 N END Q: And how long were you at Central Market?MS5/19/03/1 15 F 45 2AC13 FT NAS 45 N END A: We were probably there an hour.MS5/19/03/1 16 F 45 2AC13 FT NAS 45 N END Q: So let’s just kind of talk about this trip then.

You couldn’t have taken any other type of transportation or could you have carpooled?

TO FM

MS5/19/03/1 17 F 45 2AC13 FT NAS 45 N END A: No. There is nothing else available to us. Sometimes I really wish there were because I would be one to take light rail if it went east-west because I grew up in a suburb of New York and I love trains. But I can see how the general population probably wouldn’t use it. This was located one exit on 71 before the airport, but even if I could have gotten to the airport I would have needed some sort of shuttle to get to this little place. I could see light rail working only for those people going downtown to work or someplace like Dell or Motorola _ a concentrated employment place.

TO FM H3

MS5/19/03/1 18 F 45 2AC13 FT NAS 45 N END Q: What other options did you have? Could you have carpooled, for example?

TO FM

MS5/19/03/1 19 F 45 2AC13 FT NAS 45 N END A: I would carpool to the office but I couldn’t have carpooled to this function unless everybody met at their office which would be on the way (half way between Lakeway and this place) but there was never any talk of (carpooling) and there never is. Also, the party was from 1 to 6 p.m. and I can only last two hours. It is too hot for me. People were coming and going. Some people with families stayed and swam and we just chose to go back home.

TO FM H3

MS5/19/03/1 20 F 45 2AC13 FT NAS 45 N END Q: Could you have gone to a different place for that activity?

TO FD

MS5/19/03/1 21 F 45 2AC13 FT NAS 45 N END A: No. It was a luau for my husband’s office. TO FDMS5/19/03/1 22 F 45 2AC13 FT NAS 45 N END Q: Was it the closest option for the party? TO FDMS5/19/03/1 23 F 45 2AC13 FT NAS 45 N END A: Their office is closer to our house. This is a

really neat facility. I don’t know how they found it way back in the woods.

TO FD

MS5/19/03/1 24 F 45 2AC13 FT NAS 45 N END Q: Did you take the shortest route to get to that place?

TO FR

MS5/19/03/1 25 F 45 2AC13 FT NAS 45 N END A: Yes TO FR

SV6/09/03 A a1 “I usually go for a drive because I want to drive.”YD/6/603 A a2 “I could have flown [to Tulsa] but, you now, it was something that I used to do, the drive, and I have been itc ? A a3 “You can experience the wind, the smells. If you pass flowers you will actually smell them. Whereas in the o SV/6/06/03b A a4 “It wasn’t a very long drive, but it had a spirit of adventure – you know, pack everything in the car and go, eve SV/6/06/03 A b1 “And I think when you’re younger, too, you also like driving more.”MS7/09/03/3 A b2 “If I was driving in a Corvette that might be a different thing, but I don’t have anything exciting that I am driv YD6/02/03 A b3 Driving for the sake of driving… “I would do it now and again when I was younger…”

SV6/17/03 B 1 “I wanted to hear the rest of this book that I was listening to. So, I got in the car and drove to the store and b YD6/03/03 B 2 What missing if all beamed up: “I guess the scenery, not seeing all the new construction, keeping up with th MS7/07/03/01 B 3 “My wife likes to go more on side streets around about to avoid [the traffic]. Also, she likes to look at the ho YD6/03/03 B 4 “I usually watch the traffic.” YD5/23/03 B 5 “When I was driving her home [before we got married], we’d just take a long drive. She didn’t know Austin v YD7/02/03 B 6 “I gave up the radio for Lent… I pray while driving… I mean it’s not the best way to pray, but, you know, it’s a

SV6/03/03 C a4 “I also think it’s a good thing to vary your route occasionally, especially to and from work, just to keep from g SV6/03/03 C a1 “I don’t know, just sometimes I want to go some place different.”SV6/03/03 C a2 “If I need to go get groceries and maybe need to pick up something else from another store, I’ll do it on one t SV6/06/03 C a3 “When I was younger… I had a lot of roommates, and so the only place I actually had any real privacy was in

YD6/02/03 D 1 “I just have a habit of buying a week’s worth of stuff.”SV6/17/03 D 2 “I go everyday… I could [shop less than once per day] by eating canned peas for the rest of my life, but I’m n YD/6/603 D 3 Why chose driving yesterday… “I am sure out of habit…[used to have reasons to drive] now it’s just kind of o SV5/27/03 D 4 “I lust love HEB. It’s just my store. I never think about going anywhere else.”YD5/29/03 D 5 “I have a collection of restaurants that I go to and some are further away than others.”SV6/11/03 D “I think I just love to go and be with people” [goes to the store most days]

MS6/09/03 E a “See, I really never thought about it because I never really plan, even on our trips. We just take off that wee MS7/09/03/01 E a “I could plan better to do more things in one trip rather than making a trip and then making another trip and t YD5/23/03 E a “Poor planning is the main thing that makes us have to drive, basically.”

Table 4-3. Examples of CommentsReason Examples

1 “I enjoy driving. I love driving. I just enjoy it.”2 “One does trips sometimes for the sake of traveling, rather than for the sake of getting somewhere.”3 “I could have flown [to Tulsa] but, you know, it was something that I used to do, the drive, and I have been itching for a road trip,

so I decided to drive.”4 “You can experience the wind, the smells [in my MG convertible]. If you pass flowers you will actually smell them... ” 5 “It wasn’t a very long drive, but it had a spirit of adventure – you know, pack everything in the car and go, even though it doesn’t

take very long.”6 “And I think when you’re younger, too, you also like driving more.”7 “If I was driving in a Corvette that might be a different thing, but I don’t have anything exciting that I am driving in and I’m 37 years

old.. now being married, responsibility with kids...”

8 “I wanted to hear the rest of this book that I was listening to. So, I got in the car and drove to the store and bought something and came back. But it was really an unnecessary trip.”

9 “I guess [I would miss] the scenery, not seeing all the new construction, keeping up with the latest in the road’s changes [if I 'beamed' up for all my trips].”

10 “My wife… likes to look at the houses in the neighborhood so she will take more of an indirect route, where I am very much more, what is the best route to get.”

11 “I usually watch the traffic.” 12 “When I was driving her home [before we got married], we’d just take a long drive. She didn’t know Austin very well, so it was a

pretty good trick.”13 “I gave up the radio for Lent… I pray while driving… I mean it’s not the best way to pray, but, you know, it’s an option”

14 “I don’t know, just sometimes I want to go some place different.”15 “Now my husband is just the opposite – he’ll try to get out for any reason.”16 “When I was younger… I had a lot of roommates, and so the only place I actually had any real privacy was in my car.”17 “I also think it’s a good thing to vary your route occasionally, especially to and from work, just to keep from getting in the rut of

driving on autopilot…. something different, a break from the normal.”

18 “I just have a habit of buying a week’s worth of stuff.”19 “I go everyday… I could [shop less than once per day] by eating canned peas for the rest of my life, but I’m not going to… My can

opener is for cat food.” 20 “You know there is something shorter but you take the way you know because it works.”21 “I am sure [I chose driving yesterday] out of habit…[I used to have reasons to drive] now it’s just kind of out of habit.”22 “I just love HEB. It’s just my store. I never think about going anywhere else.”23 “I have a collection of restaurants that I go to and some are further away than others.”

24 “Poor planning is the main thing that makes us have to drive, basically.”25 “I could plan better to do more things in one trip rather than making a trip and then making another trip and then making another

trip. It is probably because of not planning.”26 “We plan pretty well because we don’t like driving around.”27 “I plan to try to be as efficient with the car [as possible]”28 “... I was in the army several years in army transportation corps… it probably has had some effect on me as far as driving around

and planning because that is what I did in the army.”

Value of Driving Itself

Value of Activities While Driving

Habit

Poor Planning

Variety Seeking

Table 4-3. Examples of Comments - ContinuedReason Examples

29 “If I need to go get groceries and maybe need to pick up something else from another store, I’ll do it on one trip. Rather do that than a bunch of separate trips.”

30 “I’m actually pretty conscientious about planning my routes so I’m making a circuit or driving in a pattern that makes sense.”31 “… I could be home and say, 'Oh, we need that,' then I’ll run back since it is just a mile down the road.”32 “I tend to, when I drive, I do multiple errands . When I lived in Austin, I used to do what I call ‘spoke driving’ – just go to a store, come

back, just jump in the car and go do one thing and come back. Because I don’t live convenient to things now"33 “It’s pretty difficult – it’s not like we can go to the corner…. You try not forgetting things… We don’t have the luxury to say ‘I’ll run out

and do this’ or ‘I’ll run out and do that’. We have to really plan what we do and make the trip count.”34 “I am writing my dissertation and I think, ‘I’ve got to have some Pepperidge Farm cookies,’ and it won’t go away till I go there.”35 “ I’ve lost about 30 pounds over the last year and half because we have stopped [running to the store for ice cream] as much.” 36 “Maybe three weeks ago, the girls wanted some ice cream and I had to go get them some. I didn’t have to, but, you know, they give

you that, 'Dad.’”37 “… my little girl said that she needed a tea party, and it became – became a big deal…. And so we just made a special trip to the store

to buy her fancy tea. I figured if happiness could be acquired at HEB for a dollar and a quarter, why not?”38 “I’m good at telling the boys no.”39 “Well, definitely if I did more planning in terms of taking the bus to work. That would certainly reduce some driving.”40 “… if I planned more the work drive, I could almost eliminate that.. So, if I plan more in the morning I could do that.”

41 “I am not sure that I took the shortest route. I perceive it to be the shortest route. ” 42 “… sometimes you think you know but you don’t”43 “I get lost or distracted or whatever.”44 “I think I wandered… So I am not very reasonable. Why did I do that? I don’t know.”45 “I picked up the groceries but forgot to pick up the prescription. I unloaded the groceries at home and didn’t find it. I had to go back

to the store in Austin.”46 “So they close on Mondays and we’ve forgotten that like three or four times. So we’ve made that mistake before.”47 “I didn’t know on Sundays that they closed at 6.… I should have called to see and make sure that they were open before I went.” 48 “I had heard a rumor that it had closed but someone else told me that it hadn’t. So I decided to believe the person that said that it

hadn’t.”

49 “… I am going to some new destination and I really don’t know how to get there very well.”50 “Yeah, almost every drive I did when I first came to Austin [I drove farther than I needed to].”51 “I am the queen of not knowing where I am.”52 “If I might have thought ahead and called and found out what the bus routes were…” 53 “I don’t know anything about the bus timing and how to get there.” 54 “I’m trying this experiment; I’m gonna ride the bus. I’m gonna get it down and see if I can do it.”55 “I could have taken the bus, but it takes too long… I am not willing to experiment with it… ”

Lack of Information

Misper-ceptions

Poor Planning - Continued

ID RA G AGE V5 WK ST CM CM2 W DAY WANEEA1 A2 A3 A4 B1 B2 B3 B4 C1 C2 C3 C4 D1 D2 D3 D4 E1 E2 E3 E4 F1 F2 F3 F4 G1 G2 G3 G4 CRAMOFLEFRETOTAMS5/19/03/ MS F 45 2AC13 FT N 45 45 N END 1 0 1 1 1 3 0 0 1 3MS5/19/03/ MS M 52 2A FT N 20 20 Y END 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 3 2MS5/20/03 MS F 50+ 1AC19 FT N 15 15 N DAY 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 3 5MS5/21/03aMS M 58 1A FT N 20 20 N DAY 0 0 1 1 1 1 2 0 0 1 4MS05/21/03MS F 42 2AC7C5 PT N 20-45 32.5 N DAY 1 0 1 1 1 2 1 1 3 3MS6/09/03 MS M 41 2AC16C9 FT N 25 25 N END 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 0 0 1 6MS6/10/03 MS M 37 2AC6C4 FT N 10-20 15 N DAY 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 7MS6/11/03 MS M 67 2A FT N 20 20 N DAY 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 6MS7/07/03aMS M 56 2A FT N 8 8 N END 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 3MS7/07/03bMS M FT N NA END 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 3 2MS7/08/03 MS F 30 2A FT N 5 5 Y DAY 1 0 1 1 2 1 1 1 2MS7/09/03aMS F 51 2A FT N 15 15 N DAY 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 1 7MS7/09/03bMS F 31 2A FT PT 25 25 Y DAY 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 2 3MS7/09/03cMS M 37 2AC4C1 FT N 30 30 Y DAY 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 0 0 1 5SV5/22/03 SV M 32 2A FT N 25 25 N DAY 1 0 1 1 2 1 1 1 2SV5/27/03 SV F 42 2A PT N 90 90 N DAY 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 9SV6/02/03aSV F 46 6C13C9C2 FT N 45-60 52.5 N END 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 4SV6/02/03bSV F 47 2A PT N 20 20 Y END 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 2SV6/03/03 SV F 56 2A FT N 20-55 37.5 N DAY 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 0 1 1 7SV6/06/03aSV F 38 1A FT PT 20-30 25 DAY 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 9SV6/09/03 SV M 39 1A FT PT 20-25 22.5 NA END 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 0 0 3 6SV6/11/03 SV F 59 1A PT FT 10 10 NA DAY 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 3 8YD6/2/03 YD M 29 1A FT PT 15-30 22.5 NA END 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 1 8YD6/3/03 YD F 40 2A PT FT 20 20 NA 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 4YD6/6/03 YD F 30 1AC1 FTNAS 60 60 NA DAY 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 3YD7/01/03 YD F 37 2A9C12C FTNAS 20 20 NA DAY 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 1YD7/8/03 YD F 45 2AC16 FT NA 15 15 NA DAY 1 0 1 1 1 2 0 1 3 3YD5/23/03 YD M 23 2A FT N 15 15 DAY 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 6YD5/29/03 YD F 35 2AC16 FT N 15-30 22.5 DAY 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 3 7YD6/09/03 YD M 51 1A FT N 25 25 END 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 8YD6/25/03 YD F 28 1A FT N 25 25 END 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7YD6/26/03 YD M 23 1A FT N 10 10 DAY 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 9YD6/30/03 YD M 51 2A FT 25 25 END 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 2 6YD7/02/03 YD F 42 2AC10C17 FT N 60 60 DAY 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 0 0 3 4YD7/23/03 YD F 52 2AC22C17 FT N 20-25 22.5 DAY 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 2 0 0 1 5YD7/15/03 YD M 33 2AC1 FT N 30 30 END 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 3 4YD7/16/03 YD F 65 1A FT N 40 40 DAY 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 9SV5/29/03 SV M 44 2A PT FT 30 30 DAY 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 0 0 1 8

Table 4-2. Number of Participants With Examples of Excess DrivingSources of Excess Driving

Reason for Excess Driving

More Frequently

Longer Route More by Car

Farther Destination

Value of driving itselfA1 14

A21

A30

A40

Value of activities while driving

B115

B217

B30

B40

Variety seekingC114

C220

C313

C413

HabitD114

D21

D32

D42

Poor planningE130

E20

E33

E40

MisperceptionsF121

F212

F31

F42

Lack of InformationG14

G219

G30

G45

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Num

ber o

f Par

ticip

ants

Number of Types of Excess Driving

Figure 4-1. Frequency Distribution for Number of Types of Excess Driving

Next Step: Quantitative study!

THE FORMATION OF ATTITUDES TOWARDS BICYCLING

Underwood, Handy, Paterniti, and Lee. “Why do Teens Abandon Bicycling? A Retrospective Look at Attitudes and Behaviors.” Journal of Transport & Health, forthcoming.Lee, Underwood, and Handy. “Incidents and Crashes in the Formation of Attitudes toward Bicycling.” Submitted to Transportation Research F.

Bicycling in 6 Small Cities Survey

• Davis and 5 comparison cities• On-line survey, with letters to recruit and

postcards as reminders– July – September 2006– 10,000 addresses (>20% not good)– 12.6% response rate– 965 responses

• A short phone survey in Davis only

32

What factors explain bicycling?

Individual Factors:

Age, gender, attitudes, comfort, self-selection for bicycling?

Social Environment Factors:

Family, friends, other bikers, crime?

Physical Environment Factors:

Bike lanes, bike signals, land-use mix, design?

Percent Biking Last Week vs. “I like riding a bike”

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

stronglydisagree

disagree neutral agree stronglyagree

Perc

ent

Source: Xing, Buehler, and Handy, 2008

Where do these attitudes come from?

Individual Factors:

Age, gender, experience, other attitudes?

Social Environment Factors:

Family, friends, other bikers, crime?

Physical Environment Factors:

Bike lanes, bike signals, land-use mix, design?

Biking comfort

Liking biking

Bike town preference

Bicycling “life-course” interviews• Stages:

• Memory of learning to ride a bike• Elementary School • Junior High/Middle School • High School • Post High School/College Years• Young Adult • Mature Adult

• Aspects:• Nature and extent of bicycling• Experiences and incidents• Family and friends• Community norms• Physical environment• Feelings

Participant Demographics 25-35 years

36-45 years

46-55 years

56-65 years

Total

Male 9 5 4 3 21Female 13 6 7 7 33Total 22 11 11 10 54

Access to a Bike: 92%Bicycled in the last 7 days: 78%Mean Number of Days Biked in Past Week: 3.5 days

Sample Davis U.S.Median Age 38 years 25 years 37 yearsMedian Income $30-40K $40-50K $40-50K % White 74% 70% 65%Education Bachelor’s Bachelor’s High School

Transcript Coding Themes

• Bicycling in youth – Sarah Underwood• Incidents and crashes – Amy Lee• Social influences – Liz Gordon• Emotions – Sarah McCullough• Safe and normal – TBD

37

Negative associations with bicycling in high school

• “You wouldn’t be caught dead on a bike. It wouldn’t be cool to be riding a bicycling in high school.”

• “If you were on your bike… especially in high school, then something is wrong with you.”

• “People that biked generally speaking were nerdier.”• “If you were a teenager riding your bicycle you were

probably considered a loser.”• “It wasn’t lame to do, but it was still one notch below

driving and driving was like the holy grail of getting to school.”

38

Associations with bicycling in youth

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Elementary School Junior High High School

Num

ber o

f Par

ticip

ants

Uncool/ Unhip/ Dorky

Independent/ free/ fun/ exciting

Fear/ Anxiety

Percent liking biking in high school vs. likes biking now

40

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Not agree Agree Strongly Agree

Effects of self vs. other crashes

41

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Decrease in desire Decrease in comfort

Part

icip

ants

Self crash

Other crash

“I was afraid after hearing about all those bike accidents. I think my perception would probably be different if I biked as well… If I were an experienced biker, what I read in the paper wouldn’t so much influence me…”

42

People who bicycle are less affected by crashes than

people who don’t…

Bicycling behavior

Response to crash

Prospective Study

• Interviews with Davis children about:– Bicycling and bicycling attitudes– Driving and driving attitudes

• In five waves:

43

4th grade 6th grade 8th grade 10th grade 12th grade

9-10 years 11-12 years 13-14 years 15-16 years 17-18 years

Limited biking

Increasing biking

Independent biking

Pre-driving Driving

Done Mostly done 2014 2016 2018

AUSTIN NEIGHBORHOODS FOCUS GROUPS

Handy, S. and K. Clifton. “Local Shopping as a Strategy for Reducing Automobile Travel,” Transportation, Vol. 28, No. 4, pp. 317-346, 2001.

Table 9. Models for Frequency of Walks to the Store

Model 1 Model 2 Model 3

Variable Coef. Signif. Coef. Signif. Coef. Signif.

Age -0.04 0.00 -0.04 0.00 - -Worker - - - - - -Kids < 5 yrs -1.00 0.04 -0.83 0.07 - -Female -0.77 0.02 -0.87 0.01 - -Income -0.32 0.01 -0.33 0.01 - -

Miles to Store -3.81 0.00 -2.42 0.00 -2.89 0.00

Stores 0.76 0.00 0.61 0.00 - -Walking Incentive 0.54 0.01 0.47 0.01 - -Walking Comfort 0.91 0.00 0.35 0.10 - -

Strolling Freq. 0.11 0.00 0.11 0.00 0.12 0.00

Old West Austin - - 3.25 0.00 3.99 0.00

Constant 0.23 0.86 0.94 0.45 2.24 0.00

R square 0.24 0.29 0.25

NEIGHBORHOOD TRANSPORTATION STUDY FOCUS GROUP INTRODUCTION Thanks for taking the time to participate in our study. I'm ____ and tonight I'll be moderating the meeting. This meeting, or what we call a "focus group," is one of six being held in different neighborhoods in Austin. It is a follow-up to a survey we did in the Spring of 1995 that many of you completed. By bringing you all here together to talk about your neighborhood we hope to explore in more depth some of the things we think we found in the survey. The purpose of this research is to better understand the choices that people make about travel in and around their neighborhood - walking, grocery shopping, etc. These choices will be the focus of our discussion tonight. The results of our research will, we hope, help cities do a better job of planning to ensure that neighborhoods provide residents with good access to shops and services as well as a safe and comfortable walking environment. This project is funded by a grant from the Southwest Region University Transportation Center, which itself is funded by the State of Texas and the U.S. Department of Transportation. Susan Handy, who is a professor in the School of Architecture, is directing the research. Her research assistants are Janice Fisher and Kelly Clifton.

I want to stress that your participation is entirely voluntary, that you may choose not to answer any of the questions we ask, and that you may leave at any time you choose. We are video-taping the session only so that we can more easily produce a written transcript of the discussion. Everything you say here will be kept confidential; we will not identify you by name in the transcript of the meeting or in our research reports. Because we are video-taping, the University requires that you sign the consent form we have handed out. We have extra copies if you would like to take one with you. Before we start the discussion, I'd like to lay down a couple of ground rules... First, it is important that we hear from everyone tonight. I'd like to ask that you try to be aware of how much you're talking and make sure that you're giving others a chance also. I may at times suggest that we move on to someone else so that we use the little time that we have efficiently. Second, it is also important that we get your responses to our questions. If the discussion strays too much from the question I have asked, I may suggest that we return to that question or move on to the next one. Third, to make sure that we can hear what is being said, please refrain from side conversations with your neighbors during the discussion.. Most importantly, please tell us whatever it is you're thinking. We are not looking for any particular answers - we're here to hear what you have to say. Everyone in this group is an expert on this topic. It's OK to repeat what others have already said if that's what you think, and it's OK to have a completely different response if that's what you think. Before we start the questions, let's go around the room and briefly introduce ourselves. Why don't you say your name, what street you live on, and how long you've lived in the neighborhood.

NEIGHBORHOOD TRANSPORTATION STUDY FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEW GUIDE I. General Feelings About Neighborhood: 1. What were the most important reasons you chose to live in _____? 2. What do you like and what don't you like about living in this neighborhood? II. Walking in Neighborhood: Some of you have mentioned walking... 3. How often do you stroll or walk around the neighborhood? For those of you who do walk, why? For those of you who don't walk, why not? 4. What are some of the characteristics of the neighborhood that you like when you walk - or that you don't like? Potential probes:

No one has mentioned _____. What difference do/does _____ make, if any? How about ______? - sidewalks - traffic - seeing other people - trees - shade - design of houses

5. Do you feel safe walking in your neighborhood, even at night? What makes you feel this way? 6. Do you feel comfortable walking to local shopping areas? What makes you feel this way? 7. Do you feel comfortable walking once you get to your local shopping area? What makes you feel this way? 8. What do you like about your local shopping areas, and what don't you like? 9. In the survey we asked what kind of business or service you would most like to see open up in your area. What did you pick, and why is it at the top of your list? 10. Where do you usually grocery shop, and why do you shop at that store? III. More General Feelings About Neighborhood: We'd like to end with a couple of more general questions about the neighborhood... 11. Do you think your neighborhood has a strong sense of community? What makes you feel that way? 12. If you could change one thing about your neighborhood, what would it be?

Some favorite quotes!

• Dogs and walking– “There’s dogs, but they’re not running out around

and you don’t have to worry about them nipping at your heels as you go by. I really like that.”

– “What I don’t like is the loose dogs.”– “I know more dog names than I do people.”

Some favorite quotes!

• Supermarket choice:– “That parking lot is more user friendly.”– “Our supermarket is much less like a warehouse…

I would rather pay an extra nickel for that ambience.”

– “My wife uses our supermarket because she says it has personality.”

– “My supermarket plays better music!”

CALIFORNIA IMMIGRANTS FOCUS GROUPS

Lovejoy, K. and S. Handy. Transportation Experiences of Mexican Immigrants in California: Results from Focus Group Interviews. Report No. UCD-ITS-RR-07-32, Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California Davis, January 2007.

Screener Introduction Hello, my name is _________. We’re calling you today to see whether you would be interested in participating in a study on transportation in California. The study is being led by Professor Susan Handy from the University of California at Davis. You were selected as a possible participant in this study because we are interested in knowing more about the travel of recent immigrants from Mexico. We are conducting focus groups around the state. A focus group is when people like you are brought together to talk about issues that are important to you and your communities. If you are eligible for the study and agree to participate, we would ask you to come to one of these group meetings to talk about your experiences with transportation. We’d like to ask you a few questions right now to see if you are eligible for the study. Your answers to these questions will be confidential. And you may stop at any time without consequences of any kind. If you are not eligible, your answers will be destroyed. If you are eligible, we will destroy our records of your contact information to protect your identity. And we would encourage you to participate in the focus group using a pseudonym or your first name only, if you wish. Can I ask you a few questions to be sure that you qualify?

PRESENTACIÓN DEL SELECCIONADOR

________________________________________________________________ Hola, me llamo_________. Lo llamó para saber si estaría interesado en participar en un estudio acerca del transporte en California. El estudio lo dirige la profesora Susan Handy de la Universidad de California en Davis. Lo hemos seleccionado como participante en este estudio debido a que nos interesa saber más acerca del transporte de inmigrantes recientes de México. Estamos realizando sesiones de grupos de enfoque en todo el estado. Un grupo de enfoque es cuando gente como usted se reúne para hablar acerca de temas importantes para usted y su comunidad. Si llena los requisitos para el estudio y está de acuerdo en participar, le vamos a pedir que venga a una de estas reuniones de grupo para hablar acerca de sus experiencias con el transporte. Vamos a hacerle algunas preguntas ahorita par aver si llena los requisitos para el estudio. Las respuestas que nos dé a estas preguntas serán confidenciales. Y puede parar en cualquier momento sin sufrir consecuencias de ningún tipo. Si NO llena los requisitos sus respuestas seran destruidas. Si llena los requisitos destruiremos los registros de de su información de contacto para proteger su identidad. Además, le pedimos que participe en el grupo de enfoque usando un pseudónimo o solamente su nombre de pila si así lo desea. ¿Podemos hacerle unas preguntas para asegurarnos de que llena los requisitos?

SCREENER – Focus Groups [location]_________ FIRST NAME: ______________________________________________

1. Are you between 20 and 40 years of age? Yes …………………1 No ………………….2 TERMINATE

IF TERMINATE: Thank you very much for answering our question. We are looking for people between the ages of 20 and 40 for this study.

2. Did you come here from Mexico within the last ten years?

Yes …………………1 No ………………….2 TERMINATE IF TERMINATE: Thank you very much for answering our questions. We are looking for recent immigrants from Mexico for this study.

3. Do you or does someone in your household have a car?

Yes …………………1 ASSIGN TO CAR GROUP IF GROUP FULL, TERMINATE No …………………2 ASSIGN TO NON-CAR GROUP IF GROUP FULL, TERMINATE IF TERMINATE: Thank you very much for answering our questions. We are looking for households [with/without] cars for this study.

4. Are you able to drive a car?

Yes …………………1 No …………………2

5. Do you also speak/understand English?

Yes …………………1 No …………………2

6. Not including yourself, how many people live in your household?

7. IF AT LEAST ONE: Are any of them children under the age of 18?

Yes …………………1 No …………………2

8. Would you say you’ve lived in this country?

Less than five years, or …1 Five to ten years ....2

9. Now I’m going to read off different levels of household incomes. Stop me when I get to the right one. If you don’t want to answer, don’t say anything and after I read through the choices, I’ll just move on.

0 to $25,000 …………………1 $25,000 to $35,000 ………...2 $35,000 to $45,000 ………...3 $45,000 to $60,000 ………...4 More than $60,000 ………...5

Thank you for your willingness to answer these questions. You are eligible for to participate in the focus group. The meeting in your area will be held on [date] from [time] until [time]. For your participation in the group meeting, we will give you a check for $75. If you agree to participate in the focus group, you can withdraw from the study at any time without penalty. Also, you are not waiving any legal claims, rights or remedies because of your participation in this research study. Do you have any questions regarding the research? I am going to give you a couple of telephone numbers to call if you have any questions later. Do you have a pen? If you have questions about the research, you can contact Kristin Lovejoy at the University of California at Davis, (530) 752-5878 or [email protected]. And if you have questions about your rights as a research subject, you can contact the Office for Protection of Research Subjects, 2107 Ueberroth Building, UCLA, Box 951694, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1694, (310) 825-8714. Can we count on your participation?

INTERVIEWER: Fill out Gender Male Female ______

FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE

Mexican Spanish – Non-Car Group [City 1]

[date] – [time] [City 2]

[date] – [time] [City 3]

[date] – [time]

I. WELCOME Thank you for coming to our focus group this [morning/afternoon/evening]. My name is ___________. I will be leading our discussion. Please help yourself to refreshments before we start. PAUSE WHILE THEY GET REFRESHMENTS AND ARE RESEATED. CONTINUE II. ORAL CONSENT Before we get started, I need to confirm that you freely consent to participate in this study. Let me tell you a bit about the study and your participation. This research study is being conducted by Susan Handy, PhD from the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of California Davis, Evy Blumenberg of the Department of Urban Planning at the University of California Los Angeles, and Susan Shaheen of the PATH program at the University of California Berkeley. You were selected as a possible participant in this study because you are a recent immigrant from Mexico between the ages of 20 and 40. Of course, your participation in this research study is voluntary. The purpose of the study is to better understand the transportation needs of people who live in California. We are looking at the ways that people get around, the challenges they face in getting to where they need to go, and things that public agencies can do to make transportation easier for people. The results of the research may lead to new transportation policies and programs that make it easier for people in California to get where they need to go.

We will do everything we can to ensure confidentiality. We cannot guarantee complete confidentiality because it is a group discussion, but we ask that all of you keep what is said during the discussion to yourselves. In addition, we have discarded the contact information we used to invite you to participate in this discussion. So the only record we will have is however you introduce yourself today. We encourage you to use your first name only, or a pseudonym if you prefer. You don’t have to use your real name. If you have any questions or concerns about the research, please feel free to contact any of the researchers. Their contact information--names, addresses, phone numbers--are on the sheet of paper that I am now passing out. Finally, you are not waiving any legal rights because of your participation in this research study. If you have questions regarding your rights as a research subject, you can contact the Research Review boards at UCLA or UC, Davis. The contact information for these boards is also on the sheet of paper I am handing out. If you have access to a computer, you can also access their web sites. The web site addresses are also on this handout. [HAND OUT SHEET WITH CONTACT INFORMATION] Do I have your consent to participate in this study? III. GROUND RULES

1. The session will take approximately one and a half hours. 2. We expect everyone to participate in the discussion. 3. Everyone’s opinions are important! 4. We expect different views and opinions; there are no right or wrong answers. So please feel free to tell

us what you really think. 5. We are recording the group to help us with our report for our client, the University of California at Davis.

Please SPEAK CLEARLY and ONE AT A TIME so that we hear all of your comments. DO NOT INTERRUPT EACH OTHER. Everyone gets a turn to speak.

6. If you have a cellular telephone, PLEASE TURN IT OFF NOW. 7. If you need to, you may step out quietly for a few minutes to use the restroom. The rest rooms are

located _________________________.

IV. INTRODUCTIONS Before we start, I’d like to go around the table and have you introduce yourself. How about telling us your first name only, or a pseudonym, and tell me a little bit about your family. Remember to SPEAK CLEARLY so we can all hear you. [Facilitator starts and offers a model. When participants talk about their families, probe for the number of people they live with.] V. DISCUSSION Okay now, let’s get started! We have asked you here to talk about your experiences with transportation.

1. How many of you have ever used public transit, such as riding the bus? [GET A COUNT BY A SHOW OF HANDS.] [FOR THOSE THAT REPORT HAVING EVER USED PUBLIC TRANSIT:]

2. How often do you use public transit?

3. What do you like about public transportation? What do you dislike? [FOR EVERYONE:]

4. Tell me about walking as a means of transportation to work, school, shopping, or errands. Do you walk to get places—every day, every week, every month?

5. How well does walking work for you, as a way to get around? What do you like or dislike about it?

6. How often do you get a ride with someone from outside your household when you go to work, shop, or do

errands? [FOR THOSE THAT REPORT GETTING RIDES AT LEAST SOMETIMES:]

7. What do you like or dislike about it? 8. If you get a ride to work or shopping, with whom do you usually ride?

[FOR EVERYONE:]

9. Do you ever borrow someone’s car when you need to go somewhere? [GET A COUNT BY A SHOW OF HANDS.]

I. Public transitA.AdvantagesSource Textfnc.192 Now the advantages, it’s uncomfortable to be waiting outdoors, waiting for the bus, depending on the weather, but now once you get inside, i fnc.196 Well, the advantages are the way that things are right now -- the comfort I think. It’s comfortable, in spite of the people that sometimes get o fnc.203 The disadvantage is that I have to be waiting and the other thing is that it gets you where you need to go and it saves money for you.fnc.208 Well, the thing that I like is that gasoline is really expensive right now, so you save on the bus... But since there's not a lot of money, you do s lanc.273 Well, what I do like is that on most of the streets there are buses. So sometimes I get off at a certain avenue and then there’s also a bus on lanc.282 sometimes the air [conditioning] is a relief.lanc.285 Well, right now, just the air-conditioning. If there is something that we would have to like about the transportation system is that we don’t hav lanc.416 Sometimes it’s best to be without a car, because you don’t have to deal with a police officer and besides, you need to spend to buy a car and lanc.449 [Since I don't know how to drive] That’s why I take the bus. It’s better for me to take the bus.lanc.716 What I like about the price is that we get help through the school in getting an ID, and the price is a little bit cheaper for the students.lanc.713 it’s affordable. If you buy a $3.00 pass you can take all the buses. If you take a day pass it’s good because you can take all the buses you w rnc.174 What I like a lot with public transportation is the comfort, the air-conditioning, and security. That's something that's very good. The driver giv rnc.217 The advantage is that the bus is right outside my house, from where I'm currently living. It's about 20 feet away. I just check the time and I l rnc.223 My advantage also that I have is that the bus is close, just as you cross the street, the bus is right across the street, close by. rnc.235 What I'd like to mention is the advantage of the bus is that it's more economical than having a car...All you need to pay is the fee and the tran sjc.190 Because of the air conditionersjc.192 Well, because there's a lot of public transportation in San Jose and, for example, in Sacramento there is not a lot of transportation, because sjnc.118 I like it because it's cheaper. I have to go to work, I have two jobs and it's more economic for me. It has AC and sometimes it's not too full in sjnc.125 The last few days the San Jose transportation have new buses and new routes and faster and the last few days it's been good.SJNC.13[And is transportation a difficulty for you since you work late at night?] For me? No. Because it [public transportation] takes me to my job an sjnc.146 So we know that Route 22 is difficult, but it provides transportation. It's the line or the route that everybody knows and it takes you to differen

B.DisadvantagesSource Textfnc.118 you have to wait for the bus, all of that.fnc.131 But I use it little, but it takes a long time to get there and it takes a long time to get to where I'm going.fnc.133 And you have to wait, you have to wait right there in the heat.fnc.184 Well, what I don't like about the bus is some of the people that get on, very noisy people or people that aren't very pleasant. fnc.189 That's [problems with low-class people] happened to me a lot of times especially when I used to go to school. A lot of problem fnc.209 The only thing is, is that sometimes it takes a long time to get there and we've had such heat, you suffer a little bit.fnc.216 Well, in my case, the bus takes a long time to get where I work. Sometimes I worked at different places, I'll have to go to Clo fnc.456 it's very uncomfortable to try and carry the bags in the bus, so I do borrow a car.fnc.482 I’ll have to wait for an hour. And then if it's Sunday, it passes later. And to be waiting out there with little kids, like I have, it's fnc.497 And if I have to go on the bus I can't go on the bus every place that I need to go.fnc.628 About 20 minutes [to work by car], because it's not just the -- you wait for the bus. By the time you wait for the bus and by tha fnc.634 No, you have to have the schedule. You have to know what the schedule is. There’s book there and they let you know what fnc.646 I'm not really sure about the schedule, but I think that it's about an hour [by bus]. And 20 minutes if I go by car. No, no, it's b fnc.698 Because on the bus -- it hasn't happened to me, but I do have friends that have had to leave a job because they use the bus fnc.735 [with groceries] And if it's the bus, then I had to have the stuff right there, right next to me., AC. Because you can't carry a lot of groceries. You have to go two to three times a day to carry your stuff home on that day that y fnc.771 I don't go to the park. We don’t go because the bus doesn't --[(Doesn’t) the bus go?] Well, I haven't seen it, but I don't think s fnc.800 So when I go and take my kids to get their immunizations then it's a whole day ordeal, because if the bus is not running on th fnc.814 [Places can't go on transit] To (Merlington?), to Yosemite, to (Biray?).fnc.816 [Places can't go on transit] To the dances...the dance starts, let's say at nine at night, by ten there's no buses running. So yo fnc.898 The buses don't go all the time.fnc.900 my friend uses the bus all the time and she starts working at 3:30 and she has to be there at two because there's only one bu

Table 1. Comments identifying advantages of transit

Attribute

Car-owning groups Car-less groups Comments Number of

groups Comments Number of

groups Number* Share* Number* Share* Saves money 12 27% 3 12 44% 4 Gets you there 6 14% 3 8 30% 5 Physically comfortable 5 11% 5 7 26% 4 Relaxing or easy 11 25% 3 0 0 Provides good service; is convenient 3 7% 2 5 19% 3 Enables independence 6 14% 2 1 4% 1 No parking 5 11% 1 0 0 Safer from traffic accidents 3 7% 1 1 4% 1 No police / license issues 2 5% 2 2 7% 2 Kids like it 3 7% 2 0 0 No navigation / driving ability needed 2 5% 1 1 4% 1 Pleasantly social 2 5% 2 1 4% 1 Keeps you on schedule 2 5% 1 0 0 No risk of car breakdowns or damage 2 5% 1 0 0 Environmentally friendly 1 2% 1 0 0 Encourages more exercise 1 2% 1 0 0 Total 44 100% 5 27 100% 5

* Numbers may not sum to total and shares may not sum to 100% since each comment may be counted in more than one category.

Table 1. Comments identifying disadvantages of transit

Issue

Car-owning groups Car-less groups Comments Number

of groups Comments Number

of groups Number* Share* Number* Share* Takes so long; have to wait 35 28% 4 41 28% 5 Routes are limited; stops are far away 18 14% 4 26 17% 5 Frequency is limited 25 20% 4 17 11% 5 Doesn't stick to schedule; easy to miss 20 16% 4 21 14% 5 Not good for certain companions 12 10% 4 24 16% 5 Schedule is limited 17 14% 4 17 11% 4 Expensive 8 6% 3 18 12% 4 Lack of information 10 8% 3 16 11% 4 Exposure to the elements 10 8% 4 10 7% 3 Drivers are rude, discriminatory, or

inconsistent 7 6% 3 12 8% 5 Hassle to tend packages and children 2 2% 2 16 11% 5 Risk of crime, assault, or harassment 3 2% 1 13 9% 4 Physically uncomfortable inside 10 8% 1 6 4% 3 Need to learn routes 12 10% 3 2 1% 2 Full or crowded 5 4% 4 8 5% 4 Unreliability of service cuts and

changes, strikes 1 1% 1 9 6% 4 Transfers aren't smooth 6 5% 4 4 3% 3 Weirdoes or rude people 7 6% 3 2 1% 2 Need for exact change 4 3% 2 1 1% 1 Hard to trip-chain 2 2% 2 2 1% 1 Traffic congestion; not enough bus lanes 4 3% 2 0 0 Fear of reckless driving; safety concerns 1 1% 1 1 1% 1 Risk of falling asleep, missing stops 1 1% 1 1 1% 1 Total 125 100% 5 149 100% 5

* Numbers may not sum to total and shares may not sum to 100% since each comment may be counted in more than one category.

While the relative low cost of transit was its chief advantage, cost was still a significant concern for many—all five car-less groups and four out of five of the car-owning groups discussed the expense of transit as a disadvantage that sometimes provided reason enough to choose to walk, drive, or stay home instead of paying transit fare. Some participants with families found traveling by bus with children to be particularly expensive. Example perspectives included the following:

• “I have to walk because before the bus used to charge less. I don’t work, only my husband. So we don’t have a lot of money. Before, the bus was less expensive. Now it’s more expensive, because you take your children with you and you have to pay a $1.25 per child . . . to take the bus you have to pay $10 every time you go out” –Car-less, Riverside.

• “The bus is expensive, the day bus is $5.25 and sometimes you have to think about it and there’s four of us and it makes a really hard on me because I don’t really have that much. But still, it’s just—well, do I rather walk or do I take a bus?” –Car-less, San Jose.

• “One of the reasons I don’t take the bus is because I say I have to pay for the three children and for my fare. And with a car I don’t have to pay that much” –Car-owning, Los Angeles.

• “Since we don’t earn a lot, we have to walk” –Car-less, Los Angeles.

Challenges

ChallengesQuantitative Qualitative

Sample selection

How to find a representative sample?

How big a sample is sufficient? How to recruit?


Sample selection



Data collection

Survey design?How to administer?

Interview questions?How to administer?


Sample selection



Data collection

Survey design?How to administer?


Data analysis

What statistical techniques?

What coding scheme?


Sample selection How to find a representative sample?


Data collection Survey design?How to administer?


Data analysis What statistical techniques? What coding scheme?

Ethics How to protect privacy? How to protect privacy?








Reliability








Reliability Would we get the same measurements if we did it again?

Would another researcher interpretit the same way?









Would another researcher interpret it the same way?

Validity









Would another researcher interpret it the same way?

Validity Are relationshipstruly causal?Can results be generalized?

Are relationships truly causal?Can results be generalized?

Important point 1:Where quantitative methods are weak,

qualitative methods are strong,and vice versa.

In other words, they’re complementary.

Important point 2:Using both quantitative and qualitative

methods – simultaneously or in sequence – is far more powerful than

doing just one or the other

Final Point:Looking at things in multiple ways

creates a richer and more true understanding of the world

2012 Cycling & Society Symposium

Surveys and mapping

How do cyclists make their way? Skov-Petersen, et al.

Ride-along interviews

How do cyclists choose their routes?

Retracing Trajectories in Utrecht (NL) – The embodied experience of cycling in a fragmented city. van Duppen and Bas Spierings

2012 Cycling & Society Symposium

In-home interviews with parents

Children’s everyday cycling – barriers and possibilities among Danish families’ daily transport behaviour. Agervig Carstensen

Video and audio taping along rides

How do parents train their children to cycle?

Learning To Be Vélomobile. McIlvenny

To do

Thursday, 3/3 Lecture on other methodsFriday, 3/4 Census data exercise in 1137 PES!!!Tuesday, 3/8 Course review and wrap-upThursday, 3/10 Second midterm!!!Friday, 3/11 Workshop on proposals in sectionSaturday, 3/19 Final Proposal due!!!

Early submissions encouraged

Documents

The Power of Qualitative Methods: Examples from the Field ... · Observation. Theory. Hypothesis. Empirical Generalizations. Deductive. Explanatory. Positivist. Inductive. Exploratory