Two Sources of Bias in the Measurement of Human Response to the Wilderness Environment

Dados Bibliográficos

ID10137751
AutoresGeorge L Peterson (autor correspondente), David W Lime
Ano1973
Volume5
Fascículo2
Páginas66-73
Data de publicação1973-04-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournal of Leisure Research (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0022-2216 • E-ISSN: 2159-6417
EditoraTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00222216.1973.11970129
OpenAlexW2791486893
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas8
Referências citadas4

Effective management of wilderness resources requires the ability to measure attitudes, preferences and perceptions of wilderness visitors.This study explores two potential sources of bias in such measurements: (1) situational bias caused by differences between the situation in the wilderness and the situation at home, and (2) voluntary response bias in mail surveys caused by differences between people who return mail questionnaires and people who do not.These sources of bias are explored by means of an experimental design allowing them to be observed in terms of the details of a broad spectrum of wilderness experience.The study was conducted in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area of Minnesota's Superior National Forest. Results show that such biases produce differences in degree, not in kind of response. For descriptive purposes, the differences are not likely to be important but they could be misleading in comparative studies using noncommensurate samples.KEYWORDS: Wilderness visitor surveysfield and mail surveysmotivationpreferenceperceptionattitudesurvey samplingpsychological inventories

Biology · Environmental resource management · Geography · Wilderness · Diverse Aspects of Tourism Research · Ecology · Environmental Education and Sustainability · Environmental Science · Psychology · Social Psychology