CALO Program statement

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

OMB Control Number 1024-0224

Programmatic Approval for NPS-Sponsored Public Surveys

Submission Date

8/27/2015

1.

Project Title: Cape Lookout National Seashore Cultural Resource Values and Vulnerabilities Visitor Study

2.

Abstract:

A survey will be conducted at Portsmouth Village and the Lookout Village) and the Lighthouse at CALO to understand visitors’ experiences and their connections to the historic and cultural resources, as well as their perceptions of how their experiences would be changed by potential weather related vulnerabilities . The information from this collection will provide NPS managers and planners with data about visitor perceptions that can be used to prepare resource management planning documents.

(not to exceed 150 words)

3.

Principal Investigator Contact Information

First Name:

Erin

Last Name:

Seekamp

Title:

Associate Professor

Affiliation:

NC State University, Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management

Street Address:

Campus Box 8004

City:

Raleigh

State:

NC

Zip code:

27695

Phone:

919-513-7407

Fax:

Email:

elseekam@ncsu.edu

4.

Park or Program Liaison Contact Information -

First Name:

Patrick

Last Name:

Kenney

Title:

Park Superintendent

Park:

Cape Lookout National Seashore

Street Address:

131 Charles St

City:

Harkers Island

State:

NC

Zip Code:

28531

Phone:

252-728-2250 ext. 3014

Fax:

252-728-2160

Email:

pat_kenney@nps.gov

Project Information

5.

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

Cape Lookout National Seashore (CALO)

6.

Survey Dates:

October 1, 2015

April 30, 2016

7.

Type of Information Collection Instrument (Check ALL that Apply)

Mail-Back Questionnaire

On-Site Questionnaire

 Face-to-Face Interview

Telephone Survey

Focus

Groups

Other (explain)

8.

Survey Justification:

(Use as much space as needed; if necessary include additional explanation on a

separate page.)

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, management, and policy.

Managers at Cape Lookout National Seashore (CALO) are currently developing cultural landscape plans that will include climate adaptation strategies for the structures and cemeteries located within the park unit’s two historic districts -- Portsmouth and Lookout Village. Managing for the effects of weather related vulnerabilities on the historic and cultural resources at CALO will require additional educational as well as visitor management strategies. Upon acknowledging their lack of understanding of what draws visitors to the historic villages and how visitors may react to new management strategies, CALO resource managers requested a study to understand visitor perceptions.

We will conduct on-site interviews to survey visitors. The results will be will be used by managers to develop strategies that will be based on the most current information available.

9.

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

separate page.)

1. Respondent Universe:

All adult visitors (18 years old and older) within Portsmouth Village and Lookout Village during the sampling period.

2. Sampling Plan/Procedures:

Visitors will be randomly selected to participate as they visit the sites during the sampling period. Based on CALO’s visitation statistics from the previous year we will randomly select every 3rd visitor group encountered, unless visitation is low at which point every visitor group encountered would be sampled. Based on previous experience with on-site interviews¹ we expect a 78% response rate.

Site Location	Number of contacts	Total # respondents
Portsmouth Village Lighthouse	66	51
Portsmouth Village Historic District	100	78
Lookout Village	166	129
	332	258

3. Instrument Administration:

Each interviewer will be instructed to contact every 3rd visitor group at the designated intercept locations. Each interviewer will be trained on every aspect of on-site surveying including: using sampling intervals, avoiding sampling bias, and how to handle all types of interviewing situations, especially 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 survey day.

The initial contact with visitors will be used to explain the study and determine level of interest. The initial contact should take approximately 1 minute per selected group. When a group is encountered, the survey interviewer will approach the person 18 years or older to request participation. Groups that agree to participate in the survey will be asked to identify the adult (18 years or older) in the group having the next birthday to serve as the person to complete the interview. All contacted visitors (including those who refuse to participate) will be asked to respond to a set of non-response bias questions (listed in item 9e below). The interviewers will record observable information (i.e., current time and group size) on a survey log/non-response bias form, whether or not they agree to participate or even to answer the non-response bias questions. Visitors that decline to participate in the study will be thanked for their consideration. The number of refusals will be recorded and used to calculate the overall response rate for the collection. Visitors who are contacted will be read the following script:

“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]

4. Expected Response Rate/Confidence Levels:

We used the NPS Public Use Statistics for Cape Lookout National Seashore (visitation to Portsmouth Visitor Center and the Light Station in October 2014; n=2,362 visitors) to determine the potential respondent universe for this proposed survey. A total of 332 visitors will be contacted during the sampling period. For this sample we selected a +/- 5% margin of error (at the 95% confidence level). The degree of accuracy will be more than sufficient to meet the needs of this study.

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

During the initial contact, the interviewer will ask each visitor who refuses to participate in the study four questions taken from the survey. The following questions will be used in a non-response bias analysis.

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.”

Statistical tests will be conducted to determine if differences exist between the study population and the population of non-responders. If a non-response bias is found, the data will be weighted to reduce the effect of non-response bias.

Results of the non-response bias check will be reported and any implications for applicability of survey results to generalizations about the study’s population will be discussed.

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

We pre-tested the submitted survey using convenience intercept surveys with 9 individuals in Raleigh, North Carolina between September 25-27, 2015, including a pastor, a maintenance worker, an AT&T repair man, young professionals and older professionals. The ages of our pretest sample ranged from 26 to 71, with an average age of 42. The survey was administered orally, as it would be in the field, simulating situations in which researcher and subject were standing, sitting, or walking. The average completion time were: 10 minutes (age 28), 11 minutes (ages 26 and 48), 12 minutes (ages 29, 32, and 71), 15minutes (age 58 and 60), and 16 minutes (age 27). Based on the pretest results, it is believed that the interviews will take about 15 minutes or less to complete.

A thorough literature review was conducted prior to designing the instruments. All but three of the place connections are adapted from previously developed question items shown to have strong internal consistency (Smith et al. 2011²), which are also in the NPS Pool of Known Questions (Place Attachment). All other questions were developed from reviews of CALO’s Foundational Document, other NPS cultural resource management documents (including the Preserving Coastal Heritage Workshop Summary). All questions were reviewed by NPS personnel with expertise in cultural resource management, climate adaptation planning, and the resources at CALO (Dr. Janet Cakir, Marcy Rockman, Cat Hoffman, and Pat Kenney). Peer review was conducted by Dr. Jordan Smith (co-PI, social scientist, NC State University) and Dr. Mae Davenport (social scientist, University of Minnesota), as well as Dr. Janet Cakir (social scientist, NPS). We also made changes in question wording from the comments received during NPS review, peer review and pretesting.

10.

Burden Estimates:

While on-site at CALO (within Portsmouth Village, at the Lighthouse, or in Lookout Villages’ Historic District), we will randomly select 332 visitors to participate in the survey. We assume that 78% (n=258) of those contacted will agree to participate in the survey. The initial contact is expected to take 2 minutes. Those who refuse will be asked to provide a reason for refusal and to answer to four follow-up questions to assess for non-response bias. Non-response bias contact is anticipated to take 1 minute (based on pre-testing). It is anticipated that 48% (n=19) of non-respondents will answer the nonresponse bias check questions. Total public burden time is expected to be 76 hours.

Estimated Number of Contacts			Estimated Time to Complete (mins)			Estimated Respondent Burden (hrs)
Initial Contacts	332		Initial Contacts	2		Initial Contacts	11
Non-response survey	19		On-site refusals	1		On-site refusals	<1
Total completed interviews	258		Total completed interviews	15		Total completed interviews	65
Total Burden							76

11.

Reporting Plan:

After survey data are collected, the data will be transcribed and transferred to an Excel file and coded. The coded data will be analyzed using SPSS software and analyzed using standard measures of central tendency and rules of variance. Respondents may be grouped by characteristics (e.g., repeat versus first time visitors; high versus low place connections) and comparative statistics may be performed on the group data. Additionally, multivariate analysis may be used to explore aspects of visitor perceptions using standard linear or logistic regression methods. A final report of the results will be prepared for Park Superintendent and submitted to NPS Social Science Branch to be archived as a requirement of the Programmatic Clearance Process.

1 Vande Kamp, M.E., & Seekamp, E. (2005). Visitor experiences and visitor use levels at the Dyea Area of Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park. Technical Report NPS/PWR/UW/NRTR-2006-01, NPS D-119, Protected Area Social Research Unit, University of Washington, Seattle, WA].

2 Smith, J. W., Davenport, M. A., Anderson, D. H., & Leahy, J. E. (2011). Place meanings and desired management outcomes. Landscape and Urban Planning, 101(4), 359-370.

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