NPS Visitor Surveys (Bundle of 7: DEWA, FOSC, PETE, DENA, SHEN, FOST, YELL))

National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
Social Science Program
Expedited Approval for NPS-Sponsored Public Surveys
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Project Titles Visitor Services Project (VSP) Survey at the following parks:
1. Fort Scott National Historic Site (FOSC)
Submission Date:
2. Petersburg National Battlefield (PETE)
3. Denali National Park and Preserve (DENA)
4. Shenandoah National Park (SHEN)
5. Fort Stanwix National Monument (FOST)
6. Yellowstone National Park (YELL)
Abstract:

This submission contains 6 separate collections. Visitors will be given a mail back
questionnaire at six parks when they exit the park. The results from the surveys will be used to
provide information and data to assist park managers in developing and providing services and
interpretive programs that meet visitors’ needs and expectations. The information will also be
shared with park partners and gateway communities to assist in mutual planning efforts. The
questionnaires will be designed to systematically collect data that will include information on
trip/visit characteristics (e.g. activities, evaluation of park services/facilities, perceptions of park
experiences, and opinions on park management).

Principal Investigator Contact Information
First Name:
Title:
Affiliation:
Street Address:
City:
Phone:
Email:

4.

June 22, 2011

Last Name:

Margaret

Littlejohn

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

Moscow
208-885-7863

Fax:

ID

Zip code:

83844-1139

208-885-4261

[email protected]

Park or Program Liaison Contact Information See attached list of contacts for each park
Project Information

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Park Where Research
is to be Conducted:

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2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Fort Scott National Historic Site (7/28/2011 to 8/5/2011)
Petersburg National Battlefield (7/21/2011 to 7/27/2011)
Denali National Park and Preserve (7/14/2011 to 7/20/2011)
Shenandoah National Park (7/15/2011 to 7/21/2011) and (10/11/2011 to 10/17/2011)
Fort Stanwix National Monument (7/17/2011 to 7/23/2011)
Yellowstone National Park (7/23/2011 to 7/29/2011)

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Survey Dates:

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Type of Information Collection Instrument (Check ALL that Apply)
X Mail-Back
Questionnaire


8.

See dates above



On-Site
Questionnaire

(mm/dd/yyyy)



to

Face-to-Face Interview

(mm/dd/yyyy)



Telephone
Survey



Focus
Groups

Other (explain)

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

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 Justifications:
Each park has specific reasons for needing a visitor study:
1.

2.

3.

4.

Fort Scott National Historic Site — Established in 1978, this park has never
had a visitor study. The park needs basic information about visitor
demographics and visitor opinions. The results from the survey will be
incorporated into the upcoming General Management Plan in 2011.
Petersburg National Battlefield—The last VSP visitor study for this park
was conducted in 1990. The park is preparing a new visitor-use monitoring
program that would compare visitor use monitoring data with the VSP
data. The data will also be used to assess fiscal and staffing needs and to
improve the efficiency of park operations.
Denali National Park and Preserve —The last VSP general visitor study for
this park was conducted in 2006. The park is currently preparing a new
Vehicle Management Plan for the 90-mile long park road. Visitor use data is
needed to monitor road use and visitor opinions over time as the Vehicle
Management Plan is implemented. According to park managers, the VSP
survey will gather data critical to the development and implementation of a
Road Use Plan.
Shenandoah National Park —The last VSP visitor study for this site was
conducted in 2001. Since then, the park has established a new concessions
contact and built a new visitor center. Visitation and use has changed
significantly in that time, dropping from 1.5 million visitors per year in 2001
to 1.3 million in 2010 with even greater drops in the intervening years. This
data is from the last VSP study in 2001 showing that more visitors are using
the park for day use activities and less overnight stays than in the past The
park needs updated visitor data for the upcoming General Management
Plan, new concessions contract and new visitor information center. The
data would also be valuable for the park in working with local communities
and partners to better tailor their products and services.

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

5.

Fort Stanwix National Monument —The last VSP visitor study for this park
was conducted in 2003. The park has a new Visitor and Education Center,
where visitors enter the site. The park would like to measure how well this
new center is serving the public and identify ways to better serve visitors,
as well as ways to work more closely with park partners and neighbors.

6.

Yellowstone National Park —The last VSP visitor study in 2006 focused on
concession services—the visitors that used them and their evaluations of
those services. The park would like to do a follow-up survey using most of
the same questions as the 2006 survey. The results will be used to assess
concession operations for contracts expiring in 2013.

(a) Respondent universe:
The respondent universe for this collection will be all recreational visitors, age 16
and older visiting the park during the study period. A systematic sample of visitors
will be contacted by VSP-trained interviewers at selected park locations (see table
below).
Park

Intercept Locations

1. Fort Scott National Historic Site

Visitor center

2. Petersburg National Battlefield

City Point, Eastern Front entrance station,
Five Forks visitor centers and trailhead
Denali train station, Wilderness Access
Center, Riley Creek Mercantile and
Talkeetna
Front Royal, Thornton Gap, Swift Run Gap
, and Rockfish Gap Entrance Stations
Visitor center

3. Denali National Park and
Preserve
4. Shenandoah National Park
5. Fort Stanwix National Monument
6. Yellowstone National Park

West Yellowstone, South, North, East and
Northeast entrance stations

(b) Sampling plan/procedures:
Mail-back questionnaires will be used to collect the following data from visitors:
• 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 studies as they visit
selected park locations in each park during a 7-day period; Fort Scott NHS, will be a
9-day period.

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The survey design and sampling plan for this collection of visitor surveys is 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. The
methodology has been used in 230 previous surveys conducted by the VSP. Most
questions have been included in other VSP questionnaires or appear in the NPS
Known Pool of Questions. A systematic sampling procedure, based on the park’s
visitation statistics from the previous year, will require intercepting every nth
visitor group to participate in the study.
Each interviewer will receive 1-1/2 hours of training on how to conduct interviews.
This training will cover every aspect of interviewing, including conducting the
interviews using sampling intervals, avoiding sampling bias, and how to handle all
types of interviewing situations, including safety of the visitor and the interviewer.
Quality control will be ensured by monitoring interviewers in the field, and by
checking their paperwork at the end of each day of surveying.
(c) Instrument administration:
The initial contact with visitors will be used to explain the study and determine if
visitors are interested in participating (see attached script). This should take
approximately 1 minute. If a group is encountered, the survey interviewer will ask
the individual within the group who has the next birthday to serve as the
respondent for the survey. At that point, the survey respondent will be asked 5
questions to collect information that will be used in the non-response bias analysis
(see questions below). The respondent will also be asked to record their name,
address, and phone number or email address on the survey log. Finally the
respondent will be given a stamped, addressed questionnaire to complete and
mail back to the Visitor Services Project. The number of visitors refusing to
participate will be recorded and used to calculate the overall response rate for the
collection. This will take an additional 2 minutes to complete.
At the end of the survey sampling period all participants will be mailed a thank
you/reminder post card within 11 working days. A reminder letter with a stamped,
addressed replacement questionnaire will be sent to non-respondents 21 working
days after completion of on-site contacts. A second reminder letter will be mailed
after 35 working days with a stamped, addressed replacement questionnaire.
(d) Expected response rate/confidence levels: (see table below for numbers for
each park)
A total of “n” visitors will be contacted during the sampling period. Based on
previous and nearly identical studies conducted by the VSP, “n” visitors will agree
to participate in each survey. The number of refusals will be recorded and reported
in a survey log, and will be used in calculating the response rate. Among the
visitors contacted, “n” are expected to complete and return the survey by mail.
This response rate was estimated by comparing similar surveys conducted by the
VSP (see table below). Based on the day-use survey sample size, there will be 95%
confidence that the day-use survey findings will be accurate to within 5 percentage

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points. Thus, the proposed sample size will be adequate for bi-variate comparisons
and will allow for comparisons between study sites and more sophisticated
multivariate analysis if deemed necessary. For dichotomous response variables,
estimates will be accurate within the margins of error and confidence intervals will
be somewhat larger for questions with more than two response categories.
Number of
Survey
Days

Number
of initial
Contacts

Expected
Number of
Responses

Expected
Response
Rate

Margin of
Error +/-%

FOSC

7

370

252

68%

5

PETE

7

545

345

63%

4.3

DENA

7

1200

770

64%

3

SHEN

14

1963

1296

66%

3.4

FOST

7

370

231

62%

3

YELL

7

1036

684

68%

5

Park

(e) Strategies for dealing with potential non-response bias:
During the initial contact, the interviewer will ask each potential respondent six
questions before they are given the survey instrument. These questions are taken
from the survey. The responses to these questions will be used in a non-response
bias analysis for each park.
1) What type of group are you traveling with today?
2) (If with an organized group-tours, school, etc.) How many people are in
your group?
3) Was this park the primary destination on this trip?
4) Was this park one of several destinations on this trip?
5) Was this park not a planned destination on this trip?
6) How old is the person who will complete the questionnaire?
Responses will be recorded on a log for each potential respondent contacted.
Results of the non-response bias check will be described in a report and the
implications for park planning and management will be 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 230
previous VSP survey instruments. Questionnaires are regularly peer reviewed by
NPS managers and university professors.

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Estimated Number of Contacts and Burden
Park

13.

Total
Number
of
Contacts

Number of
visitors
accepting
instrument

Estimated
time (2
minutes)for
initial contact
(HOURS)

Expected
Number of
Responses

Estimated
completion
time (20
minutes) per
response
(HOURS)

Total
Estimated
burden

FOSC

370

340

11

252

84

95

PETE

545

500

17

345

115

132

DENA

1200

1,100

37

770

257

294

SHEN

1963

1,800

60

1,296

432

492

FOST

370

340

11

231

77

88

YELL

1036

1,000

33

684

228

261

Total

5,484

5,080

169

3,578

Reporting Plan:

(HOURS)

1,362

The results of the studies will be presented in internal agency reports for NPS
managers. Response frequencies will be tabulated and measures of central
tendency computed (e.g., mean, median, mode, as appropriate).The reports will
be archived with the NPS Social Science Program for inclusion in the Social
Science Studies Collection. They 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 special reports for the
NPS covering overall use estimates and local economic impacts.

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