Supporting Statement: Expedited

National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
Social Science Program
Expedited Approval for NPS-Sponsored Public Surveys
1.
2.

3.

Project Title ⎢ Bryce Canyon National Park Visitor Study (VSP)
Submission Date:
Abstract:

The last VSP visitor survey was conducted at Bryce Canyon NP in 1997. Visitor demographics,
interests, and needs have changed. A new shuttle system has been implemented since then, and the
park needs more information about how visitors use it. Management uses visitor opinion data as a
tool for planning to better serve park visitors. A new survey will provide valuable data for employees
to enhance visitor services and adjust programming to visitor needs.
The mail-back questionnaire in this visitor study is designed to systematically collect data from
summer visitors, including individual characteristics, trip/visit characteristics, individual activities,
individual evaluation of park services/facilities, individual perceptions of their park experiences and
individual opinions on park management. Park visitors will be randomly selected to participate in the
study as they visit the park at selected locations during a 7-day period from July 27 - August 2, 2009.

Principal Investigator Contact Information
First Name:
Title:
Affiliation:

Street Address:
City:

4.

April 4, 2008

Margaret

Last Name:

Littlejohn

NPS Visitor Services Project (VSP) Director
NPS Visitor Services Project, PSU,
College of Natural Resources,
University of Idaho
6th & Line Streets, Room 17B
Moscow

Phone:

208-885-7863

Email:

[email protected]

State:
Fax:

ID

Zip code:

83844-1139

208-885-4261

Park or Program Liaison Contact Information
First Name:

Dan

Title:

Chief of Interpretation

Park:

Bryce Canyon National Park

Last Name:

Ng

Park Interpretation
Office/Division:
Street Address:

P.O. Box 640201

City:

Bryce Canyon

State:

Phone:

435-834-4400

Fax:

UT
435-834-4313
Email:

Zip code:
[email protected]

84764-0201

Project Information
5.

Park Where
Research is to be
Conducted:

6.

Survey Dates:

7.

Type of Information Collection Instrument (Check ALL that Apply)

8.

‰

Mail-Back
Questionnaire

‰

Other
(explain)

Survey
Justification:
(Use as much
space as needed;
if necessary
include
additional
explanation on a
separate page.)

Bryce Canyon National Park Visitor Study (VSP)

07/27/2009

‰

On-Site
Questionnaire

(mm/dd/yyyy)

‰

to

Face-to-Face
Interview

08/02/2009

‰

Telephone
Survey

(mm/dd/yyyy)

‰

Focus Groups

Legal Justification: The National Park Service Act of 1916, 38 Stat 535, 16 USC 1, et seq., requires
that the National Park Service (NPS) preserve the national parks for the use and enjoyment of
present and future generations. At the field level, this means resource preservation, public
education, facility maintenance and operation, and physical developments that are necessary for
public use, health, and safety. Allocation of funding is to be roughly in proportion to the
seasonally adjusted volume of use (P. L. 88-578, Sect. 6) and in consideration of visitor
characteristics and activities for determining carrying capacity (92 Stat. 3467; P. L. 95-625, Sect.
604 11/10/78). Other federal rules (National Environmental Policy Act, 1969 and NPS
guidelines) require visitor use data in impact assessment of development on users and resources as
part of each park's general management plan.
Managerial Justification.
The last VSP visitor survey was conducted at Bryce Canyon NP in 1997. Visitor demographics,
interests, and needs have changed. A new shuttle system has been implemented since then and the
park needs more information about how visitors use it. Management uses visitor opinion data as a
tool for planning to better serve park visitors. A new survey will provide valuable data for
employees to enhance visitor services and adjust programming to visitor needs.
The mail-back questionnaire in this visitor study is designed to systematically collect data from
summer visitors, including individual characteristics, trip/visit characteristics, individual activities,
individual evaluation of park services/facilities, individual perceptions of their park experiences
and individual opinions on park management. Park visitors will be randomly selected to participate
in the study as they visit the park at selected locations during a 7-day period from July 27 - August
2, 2009.

9.

Survey
Methodology:
(Use as much
space as needed;
if necessary
include
additional
explanation on a
separate page.)

(a) Respondent universe:
The respondent universe will be all recreational visitors, age 16 and older, who visit the park during
the study period. A systematic sample of visitors will be contacted by VSP-trained interviewers
from July 27 - August 2, 2009 at selected locations in the park.
(b) Sampling plan/procedures:
The survey design and sampling plan for the BRCA visitor study are based upon Dillman's Tailored
Design Method (TDM). The TDM has been shown to increase response rates, improve accuracy,
and reduce cost and burden hours. This methodology and survey instrument design has been used
in 187 previous surveys conducted by the Visitor Services Project (VSP). The majority of questions
in this survey appear in the Social Science Program’s known pool of questions and have been used
in other VSP questionnaires. A systematic sampling procedure, based on the park’s visitation
statistics from the previous year, will require asking every 41st visitor to participate in the study.
Each interviewer will use a tally counter to count visitors. Approximately 919 visitor groups will be
contacted during the planned sampling period, with heavier sampling on weekends, matching the
visitation statistics. Visitor groups will be intercepted at five park locations, with one survey
supervisor overseeing all of the interviewers.

(c) Instrument administration:
The initial contact with visitors to explain the study and determine if visitors are interested in
participating (see attached script) takes approximately 1 minute. The number of visitor groups who
refuse are recorded and used in calculating response rates. Visitors who voluntarily agree to
participate in the study are verbally given a short front-end interview (1 additional minute) to
collect information used in a non-response bias check. They are also asked to record their name,
address, and phone number/email address. If a group agrees to participate, the researcher will give
the survey to the individual within the group who has the next birthday. Participants will be given a
stamped, addressed questionnaire to complete and return.
Participants will be mailed a thank you/reminder post card 11 working days after the completion of
the survey. If the thank you/reminder post card proves unsuccessful, a reminder letter with a
stamped, addressed replacement questionnaire will be sent 21 working days after the completion of
the survey. A second reminder letter will be mailed after 35 working days with a stamped,
addressed questionnaire.
(d) Expected response rate/confidence levels:
Based on the park’s visitation data and the number of days of surveying, approximately 919 groups
will be contacted over the sampling period. It is expected that approximately 850 of these will
accept the questionnaires, and 680 will return them. This produces an overall response rate of 70%.
This expected response rate is based upon similar VSP study response rates (Arches NP 2003–
79%, Joshua Tree NP 2004–75%, Yosemite NP 2005–59%, Yellowstone NP 2006–69%, Zion NP
2006–74%.)
Estimates from the survey will be accurate to within +/-3.73 percentage points at the 95%
confidence level for questions with dichotomous response scales. The confidence intervals will be
somewhat larger for questions with more than two response categories.
(e) Strategies for dealing with potential non-response bias:
During the front-end interview, questions are asked of the respondents to check for non-response
bias. Answers are recorded on a log of every survey contact. Results of the non-response bias
check are described in the report and the implications for park planning and management are
discussed.
(f) Description of any pre-testing and peer review of the methods and/or instrument
(recommended):
The questionnaire format and many of the questions have been used in over 187 previous VSP
survey instruments. Most questions appear in the Social Science Program’s known pool of
questions. Questionnaires are peer reviewed by NPS managers and university professors.
10.

13.

Total Number of
Initial Contacts
Accept Instrument |
Expected Respondents:

Reporting Plan:

919

850

680

11. Estimated Time 1
(mins.) to Complete
Initial Contact |
(refusals only)
Accept Instrument
Return Instrument:

1

20

12. Total 256
Burden
Hours:

Responses will be tabulated and frequencies, means, or medians for each question will be reported,
as appropriate. The results of this information collection activity will be presented in an internal
agency report for park managers and NPS managers at the regional and national level. The report
will be archived with the NPS Social Science Program for inclusion in the Social Science Studies
Collection. It will also be posted on the Park Studies Unit VSP website at:
http:/psu.uidaho.edu/vsp.reports.htm. Hard copies will be available upon request.
The economic data will be used to produce a special report for the NPS covering overall use
estimates and local economic impacts.