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Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority, the Cairngorms National Park Authority and Scottish Natural Heritage are conducting a survey of the public’s perception of ‘wildness’ and ‘naturalness’ of land cover in Scotland.
‘MVA Consultancy’ and ‘Research Now’ have been commissioned to design and conduct a survey using a representative sample of the Scottish population, and among residents of and visitors to the two National Parks.
I have been asked by the John Muir Trust to make this available to all Scottish readers of the blog. If you could spare ten minutes or so of your time to fill in the survey I would be grateful.
They are keen to receive a high response from ‘more informed’ members of the public such as hill-walkers and others who enjoy the outdoors on a regular basis.
The survey is at the following link and it should take about 15 minutes to complete. If you send it on to others please use this url as the one that displays when completing the survey is unique. Please also note that the closing date is 10 February.
http://www.researchnowsurveys.com/survey/VOP24011211362256CSPP/enter.asp .
The more people who complete it, the merrier.
Thank you
Sounds interesting but doesn't want my views. After answering the four intro questions I just get directed to the SNH home page.
ReplyDeleteI wonder why? I wonder if it's to do with representative sampling? There may already be a squillion other respondees (is that a word?) that fit your profile, Chris. Though I have to say, I can't think of too many CT look-a-likes in your neck of the woods. :-)
DeleteThanks for trying though! There is an email address you can use to find out why your views weren't sought. I'd be interested to find out why.
Done!
ReplyDeleteYou are a poppet! Thank you. :-)
DeleteI wish I was Scottish so I could fill one in!
ReplyDeleteI had an Aunt who lived in Dundee, does that count?
Things I know about Dundee: Jam, Jute & Journalism. And cake, of course. And now, your Aunty too.
Deleteok, done... and just under 15 minutes to take.
ReplyDeleteThanks David. If you could let any other Scottish Hillwalkers know about it, it would be good!
Deleteemail going out as I type :)
DeleteGood man! Thank you.
Delete:-)
Being aged 66 and not from Scotland, seems to preclude me from filling in the survey.
ReplyDeleteIs this a bug, or just a public relations gaff?
Signed disgruntled of Astwood Bank.
Hi Geoff (D of AB)
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure, to be honest, but I wonder if the survey is to be used so that it can show Scottish elected representatives how their electorate are thinking? If so, then that would preclude those of us from down south... but I would have thought that as contributors to their economy through the hillwalking pound our views should count?
Same issue as Chris T is having...
ReplyDeleteHi Fraser. It might be worth emailing them - but it could be to do with sampling and correct representation.
DeleteI tried, but failed - doesn't let me do the survey. :(
ReplyDeleteHi Carl - See my answers to CT & Geoff. Thanks for trying though. :-)
DeleteI emailed about being rejected and was told it was because I ticked "other" under occupation. So I went back and ticked "intermediate managerial" (no idea what that means) and was let in to the survey. I'm not sure about the value of some of the questions though. Which makes a place wilder - terrain difficult to cross, plantations or being 2 miles from a road? Distances from roads and railway stations appeared in several questions but it was never stated what was that distance from a road or railway station. Anyway, I filled it in and will be interested to see the results.
ReplyDeleteI was also interested in their line of questioning but came to the conclusion that they were trying to narrow down the reasons behind people's perception of wildness - ie. What is it that makes people think a place has wild qualities? It closes it down step by step so that they can develop a matrix for the public perceptions.
DeleteI believe that this is useful as it can then show empirically how the effects of a proposed development will affect the "wildness" as people really see land and presumably, armed with this information the planners can make an informed decision.
I think!...
I've done it also and initially had the same problem as CT.
ReplyDeleteAs to the questions, the design is I think of the 'forced-choice' type questionnaire which, when scored, will rank your perceptions as opposed to comparing your perceptions with any 'norm' group. The design is commonly used in Interest Inventories and more complex psychological testing (Ipsative questionnaires). I assume that the SNH questionnaire will have been trialled to ensure it is 'reliable' (ie that if you completed it again in 3 months say, your result would be the same - assuming your views hadn't changed of course) and 'valid' (ie the questions are actually measuring what they are intended to measure - inter-item correlations are used here).
Of course I may be wrong, but it certainly 'felt' like completing this type of questionnaire!
It's really too early in the morning to be thinking about this let alone posting anything for anyone to read!
Hi Gibson.
DeleteI agree. In the past I have filled out and asked prospective employees to fill out similarly designed questionnaires for personal profiles. They were generally pretty accurate (after you had got to know the candidates after they had started employment).
Let's hope the survey is used as a positive force for change in attitudes to wild land.