Expedited Form: Great Basin

National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
Social Science Program

Expedited Approval for NPS-Sponsored Public Surveys
1.

Project Title ⎢
Submission
Date:

2.

Abstract:

Interpretation Study: Great Basin National Park (Lehman Caves)

This study will use a written questionnaire to understand how aspects of visitor behavior
and tour presentations affect the quality of visitors’ experiences during 60- and 90-minute
guided tours of Lehman Caves in Great Basin National Park. The questionnaire will also
assess visitor attitudes regarding tours and management policies and evaluate the effect of
cave tours on visitors’ understanding of key interpretive themes. Observations during the
tours will provide objective information about the type and frequency of disruptive
behaviors. Data will be collected during summer 2009 from approximately 300 adult
participants on tours selected through a random sample (stratified by tour length). The study
is conducted at the request of Great Basin National Park.
(not to exceed 150 words)

3.

Principal Investigator Contact Information
First Name:

Associate Professor

Affiliation:

University of Idaho

City:

4.

Last
Name:

Troy

Title:

Street Address:

Hall

P.O. BOX 441139
Moscow

Phone:

(208) 885-9455

Email:

[email protected]

State
:
Fax:

Zip
code:

ID

83844-1139

(208) 885-6226

Park or Program Liaison Contact Information
First Name:

Title:

Park:
Park
Office/Division
City:

9/10/2008

Last
Name:

Betsy

Duncan-Clark

Chief of Interpretation and Resource
Education
Great Basin National Park
Interpretation
Baker

State
:

Phone:

775-234-7331 X 215

Email:

[email protected]

Fax:

NV
775-234-7269

Zip
code:

89311

Project

Information

5.

Park(s) For Which
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.)

Great Basin National Park

06/01/2009

(mm/dd/yyyy)

X On-Site
Questionnaire

‰

to

Face-toFace
Interview

08/01/2009

‰

(mm/dd/yyyy)

Telephone
Survey

‰

Focus
Groups

Social science research in support of park planning and management is mandated
in the NPS Management Policies 2006 (Section 8.11.1, “Social Science Studies”).
The NPS pursues a policy that facilitates social science studies in support of the
NPS mission to protect resources and enhance the enjoyment of present and future
generations (National Park Service Act of 1916, 38 Stat 535, 16 USC 1, et seq.).
NPS policy mandates that social science research will be used to provide an
understanding of park visitors, the non-visiting public, gateway communities and
regions, and human interactions with park resources. Such studies are needed to
provide a scientific basis for park planning, development, operations,
management, education, and interpretive activities.
Lehman Caves in Great Basin National Park offer unique opportunities for
national park visitors to appreciate the geologic and cultural history of the Great
Basin. Visitors are only permitted to enter the caves on guided tours, which follow
paved trails through portions of the caverns. Interpretive guides and park staff
have become concerned about depreciative behavior by visitors on cave tours.
The path through the cave is quite narrow, and it is easy for visitors to touch and
damage formations. With the advent of digital cameras, flash photography has
become increasingly common, and in the dim cave environment this can
temporarily blind the guide and other visitors. Additionally, children make up a
large percentage of the visitors on many tours, and their behavior is believed to be
disruptive to some adults’ experiences. On large tours, there is a further concern
that people may not be able to hear and see the guide because visitors are spread
out single file along the trail.
Currently these concerns are based on the impressions of park staff; no previous
surveys have been undertaken to assess the magnitude of potential problems.
(There have been no previous social science surveys of any type addressing
visitors to Lehman Caves.) Therefore, a visitor survey is needed to understand (1)
the extent to which people perceive these issues to be problems and (2) the level
of visitor support for alternative actions that might be taken to improve tour
quality and protect cave resources. The survey will gather data relevant to
informing policy for cave tours and making recommendations for changes to
interpretive messages and tour conduct. Additionally, the park is in the process of
revising its interpretive materials and facilities, and the survey will provide
important information about visitor demographics and the sources of information
used to select tours.
The self-administered written questionnaire is a standard format for surveying
park visitors, and the questions are of the type typically asked in such studies
(e.g., in the Visitor Services Project surveys conducted annually in national
parks). We use standard Likert-type (agree/disagree) scales, check-box items
(e.g., for information sources), and standard question formats (Dillman 2000;
Foddy 1993; Geva & Goldman 1991; Ryan & Dewar 1995). For visitor perception
of potential problems, we separate the issue of “noticing” a circumstance from

determining whether it adversely impacted their experience (Hall 2001; Vaske et
al. 2007). Following contemporary guidance for free-choice learning settings
(e.g., Storksdieck et al. 2005), we use both open-ended free recall questions and
forced choice self-reports to assess what meanings visitors gained from their cave
tour and the extent to which the park’s themes are being conveyed.
There are two other components of the research that are not subject to PRA
requirements: observations of tours and interviews with park staff (conducted as
part of their duties and during work time). The researcher will inconspicuously
attend the randomly sampled tours to document tour size, the composition of the
tour group (gender, children), and the occurrence of potentially problematic
behaviors (i.e., the number of flash photographs taken and behavior of children).
During the first week of data collection, a second observer will also independently
make the same observations for the purposes of establishing reliability. In
addition, tour guides will be debriefed after the tours during work hours, to assess
their perceptions of tour quality and problems that might have occurred. The
observations and guide assessments will be correlated with visitor evaluations of
tour quality and reporting of problem magnitude.
Dillman, D. A. (2000). Mail and internet Surveys: The tailored design method.
New York: John Wiley and Sons.
Foddy, W. (1993). Constructing questions for interviews and questionnaires:
Theory and practice in social research. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Geva, A., & Goldman, A. (1991). Satisfaction measurement in guided tours.
Annals of Tourism Research, 18, 177-185.
Hall, T. E. (2001). Opinion Filters in Recreation Research: The Effect of
Including "No Opinion" and "Not Notice" Response Categories in
Questionnaires. Tourism Analysis, 6, 1-15.
Ryan, C., & Dewar, K. (1995). Evaluating the communication process between
interpreter and visitor. Tourism Management, 16, 295-303.
Storksdieck, M., Ellenbogen, K., & Heimlich, J. E. (2005). Changing minds?
Reassessing outcomes in free-choice environmental education.
Environmental Education Research, 11(3), 353-369.
Vaske, J. J., Needham, M., & Cline, R. C., Jr. (2007). Clarifying Interpersonal and
Social Values Conflict among Recreationists. Journal of Leisure
Research, 39(1), 182-195.
9.

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

(a) Respondent universe:
All adult visitors (18 years and older) on guided cave tours from June 1 through
August 1, 2009.
(b) Sampling plan/procedures:
Two tour lengths are offered: 60-minute (6 per day in the summer) and 90-minute
(5 per day in the summer). The 60-minute tours are open to people of all ages and
often include many families and small children. The 90-minute tours do not allow
children under the age of 5, but frequently include older children, as well as
groups of adults who are passing through the park. In the summer months, most
tours – particularly between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm – are filled to their capacity of
20.
We will conduct a stratified random sample of tours, with half being 60-minute
tours and half being 90-minute tours. Our target is to obtain 150 completed
surveys from each tour type. Given our assumption of a 70% response rate (see
below), this will require contacting approximately 215 adults on each tour type.
Within each tour, we propose to sample every third adult (systematic sample with
a random start). If we make the conservative assumption that there will be an
average of 10 adults per tour, we will therefore approach approximately 3 adults

in each tour. To make 215 contacts hence requires sampling 72 tours of each type.
In the eight weeks of the study period, there will be approximately 366 60-minute
tours and 280 90-minute tours. Sampling 72 tours amounts to 20% of the 60minute tours and 25% of the 90-minute tours, an intensity that is feasible given
the staffing for the project (one field researcher).
(c) Instrument administration:
The researcher will administer the survey to adults after the completion of their
tour. Prior to the start of the tour; when visitors line up to enter the cave, the guide
will hand each visitor a postcard featuring Lehman Cave. Every third postcard
will have the same colored dot, which will identify the participants for the study.
All visitors will receive a postcard, so that participants remain unaware of the
study. The postcard may increase feelings of reciprocity, and therefore may act as
an incentive, potentially encouraging a sense of obligation to complete a survey
(Dillman, 2000). At the end of the tour, in the exit tunnel before visitors exit the
cave, the researcher will introduce herself to the group, mention the postcards that
visitors received, and ask that all adult visitors with the colored dot meet her in
the courtyard after they have exited the cave as a group. The exit tunnel is
approximately 100 yards long, and visitors must wait for the guide to close the
gate to the caves, move through the group to the front, and then unlock the outside
door. Therefore, visitors stand for several minutes in the tunnel, which will
provide ample time for enlisting participants. When all the participants have
gathered in the courtyard, the researcher will again identify herself as a University
of Idaho student conducting research about cave tours, and ask for their
cooperation (see accompanying approach script). She will adhere to Federal
standards for informed consent by stating the purpose of the research, assuring
people that participation is voluntary and anonymous, and offering to answer any
questions about the research.
The approach script ends with a request for participation. People who agree to
participate will be given a clipboard, pencil, and survey, and asked to return the
survey to the researcher once they have finished. People who decline to
participate will be thanked and excused. (The researcher will record information
about gender, group size, and the presence of children for these individuals as
well as those who complete the survey, to assess non-response bias; see below.)
(d) Expected response rate/confidence levels:
The short nature of the survey and the fact that it will be done at the end of a
guided cave tour lead us to expect a relatively high response rate, estimated at
70%. We have generally obtained this level of response with similar surveys. For
example, in a study of cave interpretation at Carlsbad Caverns, Novey and Hall
obtained a 66% response rate. Wiles and Hall obtained 80-85% response rates in
an evaluation of guided walks at Mesa Verde National Park.
We expect to approach 430 individuals, and the time required for the recruitment
request will be 2 minutes per person (14 hours). For those who agree to participate
(300 people), 15 minutes will be required to complete the questionnaire (75
hours). In total, the burden hours sum to 89 hours.
This sample size will permit the survey to provide estimates of proportions with
precision of 5.6 percentage points or better with 95 percent confidence.
Dillman, D. A. (2000). Mail and internet surveys: The tailored design method.
New York: John Wiley and Sons.
Novey, L. T. & Hall, T. E. 2007. The effect of audio tours on learning and social
interaction at Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Science Education 91: 260-277.

Wiles, R. & Hall, T. E. 2006. Can interpretive messages change park visitors’
views on wildland fire? Journal of Interpretation Research 10(2): 18-35).
(e) Strategies for dealing with potential non-response
bias:
The researcher will document observable characteristics of respondents and nonrespondents, including gender, personal group size, and the presence of children
(see accompanying survey log form). Respondents and non-respondents will be
statistically compared on these traits, and the implications of non-response bias, if
any, will be discussed in the final report.
(f) Description of any pre-testing and peer review of
the methods and/or instrument (recommended):
Initial development of the methods and instrument occurred during a visit by the
principal investigators to Lehman Caves in March, 2008. We attended two guided
tours of the caves and had an extended meeting with park staff to understand
issues of concern and logistical challenges. We reviewed the long-range
interpretive plan for the park to develop questions targeting plan goals and
objectives (including primary interpretive themes).
The instrument has been reviewed by faculty at the University of Idaho,
Department of Conservation Social Sciences. The questions are quite standard,
being similar in structure and content to those asked in many previous studies. We
have included a few questions from the NPS Visitor Services Project
questionnaires, which have been well tested.

10.

Total Number of
Initial Contacts |
Expected Respondents:

13.

Reporting Plan:

430

300

11.

Estimated Time
to Complete
Initial
Contact |
Instrument
(mins.):

2

15

12
.

Total
Burden
Hours:

89

A report will be issued to Great Basin National Park and the NPS Social Science
Program containing (1) overall descriptive results of the questionnaire; (2) data
from observations of tours and interviews with park staff, and (3) analysis of how
visitors’ perceptions of problems vary by tour group size and tour length.
Analyses of the survey will include descriptive statistics and correlational
analyses (e.g., correlation between tour size and perception of problems). A copy
of the final report will be given to Great Basin National Park and archived within
the NPS Social Science Studies Collection.