Cape Lookout Visitor Survey

“Hello, my name is _________. I am a researcher from NC State University conducting a survey for the National Park Service. We would like to understand visitor experiences and opinions of the structures and cultural resources in [Portsmouth Village/Lookout Village], as well as thoughts about some strategies the park should take to address structures that are vulnerable to storms, hurricanes and rising sea levels. Your participation is voluntary and it will take about 15 minutes to answer our questions. We would like to audio record your responses now so that we can compile the responses later. We will not ask for your name or any other information that will personally identify you. Would you be willing to take part in the study?”

 If YES – the Interviewer will ask, “have you or any member of your group already been asked to participate in this survey?”

 If “YES” (previously agreed to participate) then, “Thank you for agreeing to participate in this study. We appreciate that you’ve already helped. Have a great day.”

 If “NO” (have not previously been asked but agrees to participate) then: the interview will provide the terms of the consent agreement as required by the N.C. State University as well as PRA and Privacy Act information.

“I would like to remind you that your participation is voluntary and that it should take about 15 minutes to complete a short interview about your visit and your opinions about the management of cultural resources here [SITE]. At any point you can request to end our conversation. I would like to record your responses. The recording will be assigned a code and will only be used to transcribe the interview - your name will not be associated and your responses will be completely anonymous. All responses in this study will be reported at the group level and not assigned to any specific individual. Once transcribed, I will permanently delete your audio file.

Ask: “for the purposes of the recording, do I have your verbal consent to audio record your responses?” The interviewer will begin with question #1 of the survey.

 If NO– (soft refusal) then, “I won’t bother you with the full interview, however, I hope you are willing to take just two minutes and answer a couple of questions for me now? I will write down your responses, which I will use to compare to the answers of people who completed the full interview. Are you willing to answer four brief questions?” [The interviewer will ask the following non-response bias questions]

NON RESPONSE BIAS QUESTIONS

1. What year was your first visit to Cape Lookout National Seashore?

2. What year was your first visit to [Portsmouth Village/Lookout Village]?

3. Please tell me how much you agree or disagree with the following statements:

1. I feel like Cape Lookout National Seashore is a part of me.

• Strongly Disagree

• Disagree

• Neither Agree nor Disagree

• Agree

• Strongly Agree

2. Cape Lookout National Seashore is an important part of our history as a nation.

• Strongly Disagree

• Disagree

• Neither Agree nor Disagree

• Agree

• Strongly Agree

 If NO – (hard refusal) – “Thank you for your time. Have a great day.”

1. What is your home zip code (or city and country if not US resident)?

2. Is this your first time visiting Portsmouth Village/Lookout Village

3. In what year were you born?

4. What brings you here today? [purpose/primary reason of visit]

5. How did you learn about this area?

   1. Cape Lookout

   2. Portsmouth Village/Lookout Village

   3. Lookout Lighthouse

6. Using the laminated map the interviewer will ask: Is this your first visit here? YES NO

→IF NO - Which places did you visit during you last trip here? [Interviewer will record the place label nearest where visitor points or record the label the visitor says or record place names a visitor says that are not on the map]

→→Have you noticed any changes since your last visit?

→ If Yes – GO TO NEXT QUESTION

7. Using the laminated map the interviewer will ask: During this visit where are you planning to go?

   1. [Interviewer will record the place label nearest where visitor points or record the label the visitor says or record place names a visitor says that are not on the map]

   2. What do/did you plan to do or see?

   3. If intercept is near the lighthouse, the interviewer will ask “Have you seen the area of Lookout Village that has the old coast guard station and other buildings?”

8. How did you get here today? Did you use a personal boat or public ferry?

 PERSONAL BOAT  PUBLIC FERRY

6. When you planned your visit, what did you expect to see or do here [Wait for response]?

1. Was this your primary reason for visiting the site today? YES NO

→ → [If no]: What was your primary reason for visiting?

6. Was the area’s history important to your visit? YES NO

7. Is there a particular part of the history here [site] that is special to you or your experience?

PROBE:

• Civil war history, maritime history, cultural history,

• or something else?

6. Was the area’s natural history important to your visit?  YES NO (ask to explain either response.

7. Did you know that this site [Portsmouth Village/Lookout Village] is a National Historic District managed by the National Park Service? YES NO

8. What do you think is special or unique about this site [Portsmouth Village/Lookout Village]?

PROBE:

• condition, remoteness, historical accuracy and representativeness,

• or something else?

6. Do you believe the site is well maintained? YES NO

7. What improvements, if any, would make your visit more enjoyable?

8. Because of where this site is located were you aware that there’s a chance the building s and cemeteries of could be damaged by flooding from strong storms or gradual sea level rise? [yes/no]

→If [NO], say “unfortunately they are” →If [YES] say “that’s good that you’re aware.”

6. Because of this natural phenomenon, the National Park Service is always considering ways to protect the historic structures at this site, or determining if they should simply let nature take its course. Today we would like to know how either of these decisions might change your experiences here.

   1. If vulnerable buildings were moved to safer locations within the Historic District, how would that change your experience of the Historic District?

   2. If vulnerable buildings were removed, and information about the building were provided through interpretive signs, how would that change your experience

   3. If the structures were destroyed by a storm, do you think the story of [site] could be well told through interpretive signage placed throughout the District?

• [If YES]: How?

• [If NO]: Why not?

6. I will read a five statements and I am going to ask you to rate your response on a scale between 1and 5—where 1 is strongly disagree, 2 is disagree, 3 is neither agree nor disagree, 4 is agree, and 5 is strongly agree (hand respondent a card with the scale written on it). After each statement please tell me the number that best represents how you feel.

	SD	D	A nor D	A	SA
If vulnerable buildings were elevated, that would change my experience of the Historic District?	1	2	3	4	5
I feel the condition of the buildings at this site positively affected my visit.	1	2	3	4	5
If the buildings were better maintained I would enjoy my visit more.	1	2	3	4	5
If the buildings were more poorly maintained it would disappoint me.	1	2	3	4	5

6. Imagine that you were an NPS manager, and your job was to prioritize the preservation of the buildings within this site. Using the map tell me what you would do.

• Which one(s) would you preserve and why? [record response for each building identified]

OR

• Would you try to preserve the entire Historic District? How would you do it?

6. Now, we would like to know about your personal connections to Cape Lookout National Seashore

	SD	D	A nor D	A	SA
I feel that Cape Lookout is an important part of our nation’s history	1	2	3	4	5
I have a personal attachment to the history and culture here at Cape Lookout	1	2	3	4	5
There are important family memories tied to the history and culture associated with Cape Lookout	1	2	3	4	5
It is important that the historical and culture resources at Cape Lookout s preserved and protected is important for future generations.	1	2	3	4	5
I believe that the history and culture associated with Cape Lookout are unique and unlike others in the region.	1	2	3	4	5
I get more satisfaction from visiting Cape Lookout than from other outer banks historic/cultural sites	1	2	3	4	5

6. One last question, do you think you’ll visit the village again in the future? YES NO

1. [if YES]: WHY

2. [if NO]: WHY NOT

Thank you so much for your time today. Enjoy the rest of your visit.