Back to the Roots? Paper-and-Pencil vs. Computer-Assisted Mixed-Mode Household Travel Surveys – A Case Study in Germany

Research output: Contribution to conferencesPaperContributed

Abstract

The majority of current household travel surveys (HTS) are mixed-mode surveys conducted as combina-tions of computer-assisted personal interviews (CAPI), computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI), and computer-assisted web interviews (CAWI). Paper-and-pencil interviews (PAPI), also called self-administered mail-back surveys, were the backbone of HTS in the early years but have been gradually complemented or replaced by CATI and/or CAWI since the 1990s. In light of various changing societal conditions and the decreasing willingness to participate in current HTS, respondent-friendly PAPI might (once again) be an appropriate survey method. Against this background, this study investigates the suitability of the traditional PAPI method for today’s mixed-method HTS. Two surveys for the German city of Jena are compared as the basis of this investigation: a mixed-mode survey (CATI, CAWI), and a PAPI survey that was specifically conducted for this study. The comparison shows that both surveys, Mixed Mode 2013 and PAPI 2017, have specific advantages and disadvantages. The PAPI 2017 survey achieved significantly higher response rates. The resulting net samples show comparable structures that can be compensated by weighting. The fieldwork expenditures could only be compared to a limited extent due to the different survey methods. Overall, the insights gained from this study consistently show that the PAPI design is still appropriate for surveying travel behavior under today’s conditions.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Number of pages12
Publication statusPublished - 2018
Peer-reviewedNo

Conference

TitleTransportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2019
SubtitleTransportation for a Smart, Sustainable, and Equitable Future
Abbreviated titleTRB 2019
Conference number98
Duration13 - 17 January 2019
Degree of recognitionInternational event
LocationWalter E. Washington Convention Center
CityWashington
CountryUnited States of America

External IDs

ORCID /0000-0002-6028-6317/work/206633819
ORCID /0000-0001-7857-3077/work/206634093

Keywords

Keywords

  • household travel surveys, survey design, response rate, mixed-mode survey, paper-and-pencil