Comprehensive data validation of a combined weekly time use and travel survey

Kay Axhausen,Florian Aschauer,Reinhard Hössinger,Basil Schmid,Sergio Jara-Diaz,Regine Gerike

doi:10.1016/j.tra.2021.08.011

Abstract

A well-known problem in Household Travel Surveys (HTS) is item-nonresponse, which occurs when complete trips are not reported or only partial information for trips is given. This article presents a comprehensive data validation effort (data completion and correction through immediate call-backs of the survey participants) on travel and non-travel information as part of a one-week Mobility-Activity-Expenditure Diary Survey. Validation recovered 2.5 percent reporting days of mobile persons with complete information on trips and increased the number of trips of pre-existing mobile reporting days by 3.5 percent. The characteristics of these trips confirm and extend the findings from item-nonresponse studies without validation: The majority of the new trips begin in the afternoon; they are mainly short and irregular; the most important trip purposes are home, work, shopping, and leisure. 37 percent of the new trips generated completely new tours; females seem to under-report less than men do. The analysis of the information on the time use (activities) between trips showed that the data was recorded with high accuracy and completeness even before validation. This study confirms typical item-nonresponse patterns and provides a solution for their mitigation through direct follow-up validation. The validation effort increased the time and cost of fieldwork by 12 percent.

Highlights

Household Travel Surveys (HTS) have been an important data source for transport planning and research since the 1970s
Validation recovered 2.5 percent reporting days of mobile persons with complete information on trips and increased the number of trips of pre-existing mobile reporting days by 3.5 percent. The characteristics of these trips confirm and extend the findings from item-nonresponse studies without validation: The majority of the new trips begin in the afternoon; they are mainly short and irregular; the most important trip purposes are home, work, shopping, and leisure. 37 percent of the new trips generated completely new tours; females seem to under-report less than men do
This study focuses on one important non-sampling error; the item-nonresponse problem either when complete trips are missing in respondent answers or when the information provided on trips is incomplete

Summary

Introduction

Household Travel Surveys (HTS) have been an important data source for transport planning and research since the 1970s. Survey methods have been improved continuously, and current HTS are mainly mixed-mode surveys which are combinations of interview types such as computer-assisted personal (CAPI), telephone (CATI), web (CAWI), and, to some extent, paper-and-pencil (PAPI) (Armoogum et al 2014; Eisenmann et al 2018). Innovative tracking methods with dedicated GPS-devices or smartphones are not yet fully established in HTS practice but are widely used in research (Gershuny et al 2017; Safi et al 2017). As in all types of surveys, HTS are subject to a variety of errors. The standard mixed-mode HTS is subject to several error types

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Conclusion