1024-0224 Programmatic Form for Saguaro Focus Group

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

2.

Project Title: Visitor Services Project (VSP): Understanding
Hispanic/Latino visitation experiences – a Tucson
AZ focus group study

Submission 10/11/2011
Date

Abstract: Saguaro National Park (SAGU) is committed to increasing their efforts to make park
relevant to the local communities. According to the US Census Bureau, 30% of Arizona
and 35% of the Tucson population are of Hispanic/Latino ethnicity. The results from a
survey conducted in 2005 showed that Hispanics represented 3% of the park’s visitor
population. In order to design marketing programs that will attract Hispanic visitors
and make a better connection to the local community, SAGU has requested assistance
from the Visitor Services Project (VSP). The VSP will conduct a series of up to 10 focus
groups within the Tucson Hispanic/Latino communities. The purpose of the focus
groups will be to better understand the communities’ recreational behavior and to
explore alternatives to improve connection with local communities.
(not to exceed 150 words)

3.

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

4.

Lena
Last Name: Le
NPS
NPS Visitor Services Project (VSP) Assistant Director
NPS Visitor Services Project, PSU, College of Natural Resources, University of Idaho
Moscow
State: ID
Zip code: 83844-1139
208-885-2585
Fax: 208-885-4261
[email protected]

Park or Program Liaison Contact Information
First Name:
Title:
Park:
Park
Office/Division:
Street Address:
City:
Phone:
Email:

Andy
Last Name: Fisher
Chief of Interpretation and Education
Saguaro National Park (SAGU)
Education and Outreach
3693 South Old Spanish Trail
Tucson
State: AZ
520-733-5139
Fax: 520-733-5183
[email protected]

Zip code: 85730

Project Information
5. Park(s) For Which Research is
to be Conducted:
6. Survey Dates:

Saguaro National Park

11/15/2011

to

12/15/2011

7. Type of Information Collection Instrument (Check ALL that Apply)
 Mail-Back
Questionnaire
 Other (explain)
8.

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

 On-Site
Questionnaire

 Face-to-Face
Interview

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 nonvisiting public, gateway communities and regions, and human interactions with
park resources. Such studies are needed to provide a scientific basis for park
planning, development.
Managerial Justification.
In a national effort to make national parks more relevant to the general public,
especially those of underrepresented minority communities, it is important to
understand recreational behaviors and issues facing these groups. There are a
few outdated studies about under represented minority groups’ visitation and
recreation patterns in national parks. These studies have conflicting results
and there are no current studies specifically related to Hispanic visitation and
recreation behaviors from the communities in Tucson, AZ. In order to create
effective outreach programs for the local communities a study is needed to
understand their recreational behaviors, and the issues or barriers that
prevent the Hispanic community at-large from visiting Saguaro National Park.
The VSP proposes to conduct 6-8 focus groups sessions with a sample of
Hispanic/Latino communities in and around Tucson, AZ. The information
collected will be used to help the NPS determine if additional programs and
activities are needed to maximize the park’s outreach efforts towards the
Hispanic/Latino communities
The research objectives are to:
• understand recreational behaviors of Hispanic communities in the
local area;
• learn about any issues or barriers facing local Hispanic communities
that may be keeping them from visiting the park;
• determine the changes needed in facilities and staff to meet specific
needs of local communities;
• determine the types of interpretive programs and the topics that
would attract the local Hispanic community.

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 Hispanic/Latino adults at least 18 years of age
who are year-round residents of Tucson, or Pima County, AZ. According to the
U.S. Census Bureau 2010 Census 265,000 individuals self-identified as Hispanic
or Latino. Discounting those who are under 18, the target population for this
study is approximately 120,000 individuals.
(b) Sampling Plan/Procedures:
The study will be introduced by a series of meetings with key leaders of the
Hispanic community in Pima county, AZ. These key leaders are identified as
church leaders, community organizers, youth group leaders, and other
influential individuals in the communities. Contact information to these
individuals will be obtained through outreach programs at Saguaro National
Park and at the University of Arizona. The purpose of the study will be
explained to gain community support. A bilingual announcement will also be
posted on Saguaro National Park’s Facebook page to reach a younger audience
that may not be otherwise reached by other channels (see attachment).
Focus group participants will be recruited by telephone using a sampling frame
provided by Survey Sampling International (SSI). According to the National
Center for Health Statistics, as recently as 2008, approximately 25% of U.S.
households were identified as “cell phone only”, meaning they had no access
to land line telephone service. A study by Tucker, Brick, and Meekins (2007)
showed that the percentage of “cell phone only” households is even higher
among Hispanic populations. Thus the target sample frame will have 50% cell
phone and 50% landline numbers. To increase the chance of success (phone
number belonging to a Hispanic/Latino person), the phone numbers in the
sampling frame will be selected based on Spanish-sounding surnames.
According to a study of Spanish-sounding surnames by Vidal (2009), 91% of
people with a Spanish surname identify themselves as Hispanic/Latino. This
factor will be taken into account to calculate the sampling frame.
From a list of 900 names and phone numbers (50% cell numbers) a bilingual
interviewer will start at the 1st number and then call every 5th number on the
list. The interviewer will ask to speak to an adult in the household (at least 18)
who has the nearest birthday. If that person is not Hispanic/Latino the next
number will be selected. If there’s no answer, the number will be called twice
at different times on the next two days. If a person declines to participate,
his/her age, gender, length of residency will be recorded to conduct a nonresponse bias check (see attached recruitment material and log). If a target of
80 participants is not met, the interviewer will restart at the 2nd number and
call every 5th number after that. The process will restart until a target of 80
eligible individuals who agree to participate in a focus group can be reached.
To encourage participation, we will offer up to $20 as reimbursement for
traveling expenses, a small gift (a park water bottle or a gift certificate to the
park’s bookstore) and refreshments will be offered to participants who attend
and complete the focus group meeting. The gifts and refreshments will be
donated by Friends of Saguaro National Park group and the bookstore
association (Western National). The gift will be specified in the recruitment

materials. To be eligible to receive a gift, a participant will have to fully
complete a focus group session. Friends of Saguaro National Park group will
also provide $10 to reimburse participants’ travel costs.
(c) Instrument Administration:
Ten focus groups will be administered by VSP bilingual personnel. The focus
group scripts are attached as a separate document. Each session will take
approximately 90 minutes to complete. The sessions will be voice-recorded,
transcribed and analyzed. Contact information and full transcripts will be kept
in a locked cabinet. The responses will be coded in all analyses and
publications to protect participants’ privacy.
(d) Expected response rate/confidence levels:
It is expected that each focus group will include approximately 8 participants.
It is estimated that 800 individuals will be contacted to recruit 80 focus group
participants. Because this study design is qualitative and uses purposive
samples selected from targeted groups, there is no statistical basis for
generalizing the findings to all visitors. Therefore, response rates and
confidence levels/intervals do not present the same concerns as they do in
quantitative studies based on probability samples and employing inferential
statistical analysis. The findings will be used to provide SAGU staff with
information that can be used in the development of their outreach process.
The results will also be used as preliminary indicators for a future survey in
Hispanic communities to obtain generalizable data.

Phone recruiting

Number of
Initial
Contacts

Expected
Response
Rate

Expected
Number of
Responses

800

10%

80

(e) Strategies for dealing with potential non-response bias:
Since this is qualitative research and the results will not be generalized to the
entire Hispanic population we do not believe that non-response bias is an
indicator of the research rigor. However, qualitative studies require a level of
theoretical saturation of the findings, which may relate to maximum variation
of study participants. Participants and non-participants will be compared in
terms of age, gender, years of residency in the area, and preferred language. If
maximum variation is not reached in any of the variables, the discrepancy will
be noted as a potential violation of saturation status.
(f) Description of any pre-testing and peer review of the methods and/or
instrument development
The instrument was developed by evaluation professionals at University of
Idaho and the VSP based on a literature review and the goals of the SAGU
outreach program. The script was pre-tested at the University of Arizona using
a small group of Hispanic students (n=8). The questions have been verified for
clarity and cultural sensitivity.

10

Burden Estimates:

We plan to approach 800 individuals during the phone recruitment
process. We expect that the initial contact time will be five minutes per
person (800 x 5 minutes = 67 hours). We expect that based on the
selection process, 720 people will either be ineligible or decline to
participate in the focus groups. We will record the basic demographic
information (age, length of residency, and gender) that will be used for
the non-response check. This time is included in the initial contact time
described above.
For those who are selected to participate in the study (80) we expect that
it will take at least 90 minutes to complete the focus group sessions (80 x
90 minutes – 120 hours). The total burden for this collection is estimated
to be 187 hours.

Total Number of Initial
Contacts
Expected number of
focus group participants

800

80

Estimated Time (mins.) to
Complete Initial Contact
Time to complete focus
group sessions (mins.)

5

Estimated Burden
Hours

67

90

Estimated Burden
Hours

120

Total Burden

11.

187 Hours

Reporting Plan: Once the focus groups have been completed, the VSP will create full transcripts
of each focus group and submit them as an appendix to the final report. The
report will describe the methodology and provide analyses that will include all
raw data and an interpretation of the data that will include themes and patterns,
consistency of responses, and recommendations. This information will be
provided in a manner that will be used to inform the park’s outreach efforts. The
final report will be submitted by the VSP to SAGU and NPS and a copy will be
archived by the NPS Social Science Division. There will be a potential publication
in peer-reviewed journals. All personal information will be removed from reports
and publications to protect participants’ identities.