Designing Online Laddering Studies

Laddering is a well-established research technique in the social sciences which provides rich data to help understand means-end considerations otherwise hidden from quantitative research. It does this through revealing relationships between the attributes of individuals, objects or services (i.e., means), the consequences these attributes represent for the respondent, and the values or beliefs that are strengthened or satisfied by the consequences (i.e., ends). This chapter describes how qualitative researchers can successfully apply laddering in an online environment. Through an explanation of the different stages of the online laddering process, the authors hope to encourage researchers to use this technique in their urban planning research projects. To illustrate the benefits of the technique, the authors describe a research study that successfully used the laddering technique in an online environment. The chapter concludes with the discussion of the limitations of using laddering online and suggests avenues for future research.

Mobile Phones as a Lens into Slum Dynamics

The worldwide adoption of mobile phones is providing researchers with an unprecedented opportunity to utilize large-scale data to better understand human behavior. This chapter highlights the potential use of mobile phone data to better understand the dynamics driving slums in Kenya. Given slum dwellers informal and transient lifetimes (in terms of places of employment, living situations, etc.), comprehensive longitude behavioral data sets are rare. Working with communication and location data from Kenya’s leading mobile phone operator, the authors use mobile phone data as a window into the social, mobile, and economic dimensions of slum dwellers. The authors address questions about the functionality of slums in urban areas in terms of economic, social, and migratory dynamics. In particular, the authors discuss economic mobility in slums, the importance of social networks, and the connectivity between slums and other urban areas. With four years until the 2015 deadline to meet the Millennium Development Goals, including the goal to improve the lives of slum dwellers worldwide, there is a great need for tools to make development and urban planning decisions more beneficial and precise.

Monitoring Pedestrian Spatio-Temporal Behaviour using Semi-Automated Shadowing

Mobility and orientation behaviour research often requires the monitoring of pedestrian spatio-temporal behaviour. A number of different empirical methods have been developed to investigate specific aspects of pedestrian behaviour. However, each method has certain drawbacks, which aggravate the collection and analysis of relevant data. This chapter describes a new method which combines the advantages of simple observation and technological data collection. Pedestrian trajectories are collected by observing and annotating spatio-temporal tracks using a semi-automated shadowing tool. In this chapter, the authors describe the background and related work in pedestrian spatio-temporal behaviour research as well as most commonly applied methods and their respective advantages and drawbacks. The authors then present a shadowing approach with specific characteristics and implementation. Additionally, three case studies are described to illustrate potential fields of application. Finally, ongoing efforts to enhance the method through the use of additional sensors and features, as well as potential future developments, are described.

Using Digital Tools in Qualitative Research

Digital tools can help simplify qualitative researchers’ work. They can also add depth and richness by capturing data in a way that can be viewed and reviewed without preliminary transcription. This chapter shares an approach to working with digital data that honors participant voice and the lived experiences of those under study. The chapter also suggests new tools and common software applications. Further, it suggests a workflow to guide researchers as he or she begins to work to incorporate digital data into their studies.

Citizens on YouTube

Videos on YouTube can be analysed at two connected levels: (1) the content of the video, and (2) its context, which comprises viewers’ comments and replies, tags, and related videos, and is both visual and textual. In order to comprehend the meanings of a video, researchers should focus on both levels and on all contextual facets. This chapter provides some suggestions on how to plan research pertaining to YouTube videos, with reference to videos focused on urban and planning issues.

Video-Enhanced Self-Administered Computer Interviews

In video-enhanced computer interviews, questions are presented by virtual interviewers by means of pre-recorded video sequences. To date, two strands of scientific interest in video-enhanced data collection are identifiable. On the one hand, video-enhanced data collection is employed for interviewing respondents with special needs (especially deaf respondents) and young respondents. On the other hand, research is focused on the impact on data quality. Following previous results on enhanced data quality with audio-enhanced computer interviews, video-enhanced surveys are seen as a logical extension. In this chapter, previous research on both strands of applications of video-enhanced computer interviews is summarized to gain insight into preliminary evidence about the impact of these methods.

Infrastructure for Survey Data Processing in Urban and Planning Studies

Applied social science research has increasingly come to rely on surveys to generate detailed data, especially on firms, persons, and households, needed to study social phenomena. The methods used to collect survey data have changed substantially in the past quarter century and appear on the cusp of changing again with the rise of Web-based technologies. These changes can be best implemented by adopting computational methods designed for relational databases. This is true not only for survey data, but also administrative data that government agencies collect, store, and use. In this chapter, the author explains how these changes are best accommodated and how new telecommunications technologies, including Voice over Internet and smart phones, fit into this new paradigm. These techniques dominate survey data collection for urban studies and other fields.

Research Methods for Urban Planning in the Digital Age

The chapter provides an overview of online research methods for urban and planning research. In examining different digital technologies and Web-based research methods, applied in different stages of the research process, in particular during data acquisition and data analysis, the chapter discusses critical differences and similarities between conventional paper-and-pencil research settings and online research environments. In this outline, the chapter addresses methodological procedures and ethical concerns in research conducted online with respondents or human participants, and ends looking to future directions for online research methods in the field of urban and planning studies.

Ethical Considerations in Online Research Methods

Online research methods are gaining popularity in several disciplines as they offer numerous opportunities that were not feasible before. However, online research methods also present many challenges and complexities that give rise to ethical dilemmas for online researchers and research participants. This chapter discusses key ethical considerations in the four stages of the research process: research design, online data collection methods, data analysis methods, and online communication of research outcomes. Issues of power, voice, identity, representation, and anonymity in online research are discussed. The relationship between information and power and its implications for equity in online research is also examined. Rather than providing prescriptive recommendations, the authors use questioning as a strategic device to foster critical awareness and ethically informed decision-making among online researchers.

The use of Electronic Brainstorming for Collecting Ideas in Scientific Research Teams

The purpose of this chapter is to present an under-used technique for collecting ideas in scientific research teams, namely electronic brainstorming. This technique employs networked computer terminals and software designed to allow group members to communicate electronically during idea-generation tasks. A large number of studies have demonstrated that electronic brainstorming is a useful non-verbal technique for improving the efficacy of e-collaboration, but there are very few situations in which this technique has been used to collect ideas in scientific research teams. Writing articles, reports, white papers, and other scientific documents requires good ideas that can be generated through effective brainstorming. Brainstorming is also recognized as a problem-solving technique which can help researchers find solutions to complex problems by listing their potential causes. Although it is a simple technique that can gather ideas from a group of individuals rapidly by letting them express their ideas freely, it has not been widely used to collect ideas for complex research projects involving researchers working together or in geographically dispersed teams. After reviewing the literature in the field of (electronic) brainstorming, the challenges and opportunities for extending this technique to online research by scientific teams are discussed.