Surveys, Interviews, and Tests Montello, D. R. & P. C. Sutton An Introduction to Scientific Research Methods in Geography. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Major Types of Explicit Report Instruments 1. Surveys, questionnaires 2. Interviews 3. Sociometric ratings 4. Activity dairies, logs 5. Contingent valuation 6. Focus groups 7. Protocol analysis 8. Tests Montello, D. R. & P. C. Sutton An Introduction to Scientific Research Methods in Geography. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

All types of explicit reports ask people to respond to questions, statements, pictures, or other stimuli. Montello, D. R. & P. C. Sutton An Introduction to Scientific Research Methods in Geography. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Item Format  Close-ended items Provide specific response options Fixed response format Provide exhaustive alternatives and mutually exclusive alternatives so the respondent can only pick one  Open-ended items Allows for unstructured or free response format Unanticipated responses Are records not data Montello, D. R. & P. C. Sutton An Introduction to Scientific Research Methods in Geography. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Major Types of Close-ended Items  Rating Scales  Forced-Choice Alternatives  Ranking of Alternatives  Adjective or Activity Check List  Paired or Triadic Comparisons  Sorting Tasks Montello, D. R. & P. C. Sutton An Introduction to Scientific Research Methods in Geography. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Items… Standardized Items  Predetermined & consistent format to all respondents Nonstandardized Items  Not consistent across all respondents  Examples  Follow-up questions 1. Branching format 2. Free-format Montello, D. R. & P. C. Sutton An Introduction to Scientific Research Methods in Geography. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Things to consider when administering explicit reports  Cost  Number and Nature of items  Response rate  Potential for follow-up  Nature of respondents  Possible interview artifacts Montello, D. R. & P. C. Sutton An Introduction to Scientific Research Methods in Geography. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Using the Internet ConsPros Digital form Low cost Efficient Repeated participation Inaccurate representation Montello, D. R. & P. C. Sutton An Introduction to Scientific Research Methods in Geography. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Designing and Generating Explicit Instruments  How do we get ideas for items?  Things to consider: Unidimensional No unnecessary questions Order Effects Context Effects Counterbalancing  “GPM…PMT” “generate, pretest, modify…pretest, modify, test.” Montello, D. R. & P. C. Sutton An Introduction to Scientific Research Methods in Geography. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Are you using an explicit instrument? What considerations will you be taking into account as you design your instrument and items? Montello, D. R. & P. C. Sutton An Introduction to Scientific Research Methods in Geography. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

An important secondary source of explicit report data for geographers “Who is counted?” “Who is not counted that should be?” “Who may have been counted more than once?” Montello, D. R. & P. C. Sutton An Introduction to Scientific Research Methods in Geography. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Census Blocks Block Groups Census Tracts Counties States Divisions Regions Entire United States Urban Areas Urban Clusters Metropolitan Areas Montello, D. R. & P. C. Sutton An Introduction to Scientific Research Methods in Geography. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

How are the quality and usefulness of explicit-report data compromised by the following issues: memory, truthfulness, open disclosure, the linguistic encoding of meaning, access to cognitive processes and the mind-behavior relationship? Montello, D. R. & P. C. Sutton An Introduction to Scientific Research Methods in Geography. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.