1024-0224 NPS Programmatic Form

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

OMB Control Number 1024-0224 Current Expiration Date:8-31-2014

Programmatic Approval for NPS-Sponsored Public Surveys

										Submission Date 6-16-2014
1.	Project Title:	Visitor Survey at the Statue of Liberty (STLI)
2.	Abstract:	An on-site questionnaire and semi-structured interviews will be used to collect information from visitors at the Statue of Liberty National Monument (STLI) concerning the plans for the new museum on Liberty Island.
3.	Principal Investigator Contact Information
	First Name:	Stephanie		Last Name:						Downey
	Title:	Managing Director
	Affiliation:	Randi Korn & Associates, Inc.
	Street Address:	195 Plymouth Street, 4th Floor, #1
	City:	Brooklyn	State:		NY			Zip code:			11201
	Phone:	917-334-7956	Fax:
	Email:	downey@randikorn.com
4.	Park or Program Liaison Contact Information
	First Name:	John		Last Name:						Piltzecker
	Title:	Superintendent
	Office/Division:	Statue of Liberty National Monument
	Street Address:	Liberty Island
	City:	New York	State:		NY			Zip code:			10004
	Phone:	646-365-2101				Fax:
	Email:	John_Piltzecker@nps.gov

Project Information

5.

Park(s) For Which Research is to be Conducted:

Statue of Liberty National Monument (STLI)

6.

Survey Dates:

August 23, 2014

TO

September 6, 2014

7.

Type of Information Collection Instrument (Check ALL that Apply)

Mail-Back Questionnaire

Onsite Questionnaire

 Face-to-Face Interview

Telephone Survey

Focus Groups

Other (explain)

8.

Survey Justification:

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 and development.

The National Park Service and the Statue of Liberty Foundation are currently in the process of planning for a new museum on Liberty Island and information is needed to understand visitor experiences related to the interpretive offerings on Liberty Island. Notwithstanding the last visitor use survey, more than 10 years ago, the managers at Statue of Liberty (STLI) do not have up-to-date information that will help them to address the current issues they face with the design of a new museum and visitor center. There are various examples of anecdotal evidence concerning the perceptions of visitors’ experiences as well as a basic understanding visitor use on Liberty Island. However, NPS has contracted with Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to conduct a systematic collection of information about visitor experiences related to interpretive planning at STLI. This information will be used help NPS managers understand the expectations visitors have and the interpretative planning that may be necessary to achieve the communication goals of STLI.

9.

Survey Methodology:

1. Respondent Universe:

The respondent universe for this collection will be all English-speaking visitors age 18 and older, who visit the Statue of Liberty National Monument / Liberty Island during the study period (August 23 - September 6, 2014).

2. Sampling Plan/Procedures:

A systematic sample of visitors will be contacted by trained data collectors at two locations on Liberty Island.

1) before exiting Liberty Island via the ferry pier – On-site Survey and Interview

2) at the Statue of Liberty Museum’s exit – Interview (only)

On-site survey: We will recruit every 3rd visitor exiting Liberty Island at the end of their visit until our goal of 400 surveys is met.

Interview: We would like to have a total of 50 completed interviews. Therefore our goal is to obtain 25 complete interviews at each of the two locations. We will randomly every 3^rd visitor leaving the designated location until our goal at each site is met.

3. Instrument Administration:

Upon recruiting a visitor, we will explain the purpose of the study and obtain consent to complete the questionnaire or interview. The initial contact for recruitment will take less than one minute.

Script for the on-site survey:

“We are talking to visitors today to help the National Park Service plan for a new visitor center and museum to be built here on Liberty Island. I’d like to ask you a few questions and it will take about 10 minutes.”

Script for the on-site Interviews:

“We are talking to visitors today to help the National Park Service plan for a new visitor center and museum to be built here on Liberty Island. I’d like to ask you a few questions and it will take about 10 minutes.

If YES – The interviewer will begin the survey (or interview) with recruited individual. The interviewer will verbally administer the survey or interview questions and record the responses. The interviewer will verbally ask and record questions 1-22 of the survey. The visitor will be asked to use the tablet computer to complete Questions 23-28. Some paper copies of questions 23-28 will be available for visitors who are uncomfortable using the tablet computer.

Ideally, the interviewer and visitor will be able to sit together, if not the interviews will be conducted in an area that is safe for the visitor and the interviewer. The respondent’s gender, estimated age (within a range), and presence of children less than 18 years will be recorded in the response log.

If NO – the interviewer will then ask the visitor to respond to the two non-response check questions (see below in item 8e). Afterwards the interviewer will conclude the contact and will record gender, estimated age (within a range), and presence of children less than 18 years old in the response log to. “Thank you for your time and enjoy the rest of your day.”

If NO to the non-response check questions - the interviewer will conclude the contact and will record gender, estimated age (within a range), and presence of children less than 18 years old in the response log to. “Thank you for your time and enjoy the rest of your day.”

4. Expected Response Rate/Confidence Levels:

As indicated in the table below, we anticipate contacting a total of 750 visitors during the sampling period. We estimate that 60% (n=450) that will agree to participate. The number of refusals will be recorded and will be used in calculating the actual response rate. Based on the sample size and desired confidence level of 95% confidence, the margin of error is 4.5%.

	Number of Initial Contacts	Expected Response Rate	Expected Number of Responses	Level of Confidence	Margin of Error +/- %
Survey Interviews	667 83	60% 60%	400 50	95% 95%	4.5 4.5
TOTAL	750		450

5. Strategies for dealing with potential non-response bias:

We will ask all visitors that refuse to take the survey if they would be willing to answer the following two non-response bias question taken from the survey and interview questions:

1. Is this your first time visiting the Statue of Liberty National Monument?

2. Do you reside in the United States?

Responses will be recorded and the results will be used to report any implications that the non-response bias may have for planning and management.

6. Description of any pre-testing and peer review of the methods and/or instrument (recommended):

Many of the questions on the questionnaire and interview guide have been used by the Park Studies Unit at the University of Idaho, are from the NPS Pool of Known Questions, or have been used and tested in previous RK&A questionnaires. For questions that have been customized for the Statue of Liberty, such as the rating scale questions, the language and phrasing has been carefully reviewed with Edwin Schlossberg Incorporated Design (ESI Design) during a one-hour phone conversation and by NPS staff at the Statue of Liberty. Questions have also been reviewed internally by RK&A staff not involved in designing the questionnaire and interview guide.

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Burden Estimates:

We plan to approach at least 750 individuals during the sampling period. With an anticipated response rate of 60%, we expect to receive 450 total responses for this collection (400 questionnaires and 50 interviews). The total estimated burden for this collection is 92 hours.

We expect that the initial contact time (surveys and interviews) will be less than 1 minute per person (750 x 1 minutes = 12 hours). We expect that 300 visitors (40%) visitors will refuse to participate during the initial contact. Those individuals will be asked two questions, which will take less than one minute (300 X 1 minute = 5 hours) to complete.

For those who agree to participate in the survey (n= 400), an additional 10 minutes will be required to review the PRA statement and complete the entire questionnaire (400 visitors x 10 minutes =67 hours). For those who agree to participate in the interview (n= 50) 10 minutes will also be required to review the PRA statement and complete the interview (50 visitors x 10 minutes = 8 hours).

Estimated Number of Contacts

Estimation of Time (min)

Estimation of Burden Hours

Initial Contacts

Surveys

Interviews

667

83

Initial Contact

Surveys

Interviews

1

1

Initial Contact

Surveys

Interviews

11

1

Onsite refusals

Surveys

Interviews

267

33

Onsite Refusal

Surveys

Interviews

1

1

Onsite Refusal

Surveys

Interviews

4

1

Responses

Surveys

Interviews

400

50

Complete Responses

Surveys

Interviews

10

10

Complete Responses

Surveys

Interviews

67

8

Total Burden Hours 92

11.

Reporting Plan:

The study results will be presented in a comprehensive written report that will be shared with ESI Design and NPS staff. Questionnaire results will be presented in tables or figures with descriptive text. Results will include frequencies, measures of central tendency (e.g., mean, median, and standard deviation), cross-tabulations from chi-square test and ANOVAs. Interview responses will be analyzed qualitatively in that RK&A will review notes from the interviews, and as trends and patterns emerge, will code and collapse results. Findings will be reported in narrative with exemplary quotations when available. The report will be archived with the NPS Social Science Program for inclusion in the Social Science Studies Collection as required by the NSP Programmatic Approval Process. Hard copies and electronic copy of the final report will be submitted to the park

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