Research and Assessment Methods Flashcards

A planner needs to estimate future population for a small rural county with limited historical data. Which method is MOST suitable?

Answer: Symptomatic indicators method using housing permits and school enrollment

Symptomatic indicators use readily available proxy data like permits and enrollment to estimate population change when detailed demographic data is scarce.

Which of the following BEST defines 'construct validity' in planning research?

Answer: The degree to which a measure accurately reflects the theoretical concept it claims to measure

Construct validity assesses whether a measurement instrument truly captures the abstract concept or construct it is designed to measure.

A regional planning agency conducts a travel demand survey by intercepting commuters at park-and-ride facilities. The MAIN limitation of this approach is:

Answer: It over-represents transit and park-and-ride users and misses other travel modes

Intercept surveys at specific facilities introduce selection bias by only capturing users of that facility, missing the broader travel population.

In benefit-cost analysis for a proposed highway project, which value would MOST appropriately be used to monetize time savings for commuters?

Answer: Value of travel time savings derived from wage rate studies

Travel time savings are monetized using the value of travel time (VOT) derived from revealed or stated preference wage rate studies.

A planner wants to understand why residents oppose a proposed wind energy facility. After conducting 15 in-depth interviews with no new themes emerging, the planner should:

Answer: Conclude data collection because theoretical saturation has been reached

Theoretical saturation occurs when additional data collection yields no new themes, indicating sufficient depth has been achieved in qualitative research.

Which scenario represents a Type I error in planning research hypothesis testing?

Answer: Concluding a program was effective when it actually had no effect

A Type I error is a false positive—incorrectly rejecting a true null hypothesis and concluding an effect exists when it does not.

A planner is using the gravity model for retail trade area analysis. Increasing the friction coefficient in the model would MOST likely result in:

Answer: Smaller predicted trade areas, reflecting greater sensitivity to distance

A higher friction coefficient makes the gravity model more sensitive to distance, predicting that shoppers will travel shorter distances and trade areas will contract.