The impacts of varying survey design on reported trip satisfaction

Abstract

Research has shown that the way in which a question is asked or the order in which it is received can influence the answer of respondents. Surveys are frequently used by transport professionals to better understand the psychology behind travelers’ level of satisfaction and derive policies. An awareness of how survey design impacts individuals’ responses to satisfaction-related questions is vital for any future policy analysis and development. This study uses travel data collected through a university travel survey, which was carried out during the fall and winter of 2017/2018, to examine the effects of seasonality, question wording, and question order on travel satisfaction. To test for question wording and seasonality, respondents were asked to rate their satisfaction with their last trip and satisfaction with their typical commute to work or school under either “warm and sunny” or “cold and snowy” conditions, depending on season of survey completion. To test the effect of question order, respondents were randomly assigned one of two survey versions in which the order of the two aforementioned trip satisfaction questions were switched. Our results confirm the presence of question order and wording effects on reported satisfaction levels, and to a lesser degree, differences in trip satisfaction due to seasonality. Results of this study highlight the need to practice caution when designing travel surveys, particularly with respect to how transport survey respondents are impacted by seasonality, question wording and order.