INTERVIEWER TRAINING WORKBOOK
National Visitor Use Monitoring Program
July 2007
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Section 1
Q1. Name 3 people or places you can get help when you have a question about
NVUM?
1.
2.
3.
Q2. Give 3 examples of how the data collected in the NVUM program is used?
1.
2.
3.
Q3. Does the data collected ever give site specific use numbers? If so, give an
example?
Q4. What is the role of the Interviewer in the NVUM program?
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Q5. What is the Forest NVUM manager’s role?
Q6. Give two examples of when you may already have participated in sampling?
1.
2.
Q7. What is bias? Give some examples of how an interviewer might introduce
bias into the interview process.
Section 2
Q8. What is a national forest visit?
Q9. What is a site visit?
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Q10. What is a trip?
Q11. What is a GFA?
Q12. What does proxy code FR5 mean? Where can you look up the meaning of
proxy codes?
Section 3:
Q13. Name 3 items that must be prepared and approved in the office before
beginning field interviews?
1.
2.
3.
Q14. What are “quarterly reports”? What dates are they due? Who do you send
them to?
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Q15. What do you do with completed interview forms?
Section 4.
Q16. What is a survey calendar?
Q17. Name 4 pieces of information that are contained on a “survey calendar”.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Q18. When can you use a “backup calendar”?
Q19. What are 4 of the 10 steps in the basic Field Procedure process?
1.
2.
3.
4.
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Q20. Explain how you would go about determining the distance needed between
signs when setting up a roadside survey.
Q21. Why do we use traffic counters during survey days?
Q22. Why do we use hand-tally counters during survey days?
Q23. Do you use traffic counters on PROXY days?
Q24. Name 3 common problems with traffic counters and the solution to fix
them.
1.
2.
3.
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Section 5.
Q25. What do you do as an interviewer if you can’t seem to get the respondent
to answer the question you are asking?
Q26. What do you use “flash cards” for?
Q27. Explain the right way to mark answers on the interview form.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Q28. What is the Daily Summary Form? When is it used?
Q29. Where do you find the information needed to be filled in at the top of the
Daily Summary Form?
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Q30. What is the View Corridor Observation Form? When is it used?
Q31. When would you use the View Corridor Interview Form?
Q32. When do you use the Basic Individual Interview Form? How many
versions of this form are there?
Q33. Explain the procedure to use when doing a View Corridor Survey Day
without an interview location. Explain how this would differ from a VC day WITH
an interview location.
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Q34. How do you know what time of day to do interviews?
Q35. Can you adjust interview hours? Explain the exceptions to using set hours.
Q36. Whom do you interview?
Q37. How do you get people to agree to be interviewed?
Q38. Name 4 qualities of a good interviewer.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Q39. If a person does not agree to be interviewed, do you fill out an interview
form?
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FIELD PROBLEM SOLVING EXAMPLES:
Example 1.
R4- DUDS nonproxy - Cottonwood Cove Picnic Area
Situation: You are sampling the Cottonwood Cove Picnic Area. There are 5
picnic tables but the parking area is large and mostly used by boaters,
swimmers, fishermen, and campers. There are upwards of a thousand people in
this parking lot on hot weekends.
Questions:
1. Where should you set up the traffic counter?
2. What do you count on the hand tally counter?
3. Where do you set up for interviews?
4. Who do you interview?
5. If a person at the picnic area also went boating and swimming, would
they still qualify for the DUDS interview?
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Example 2
R5-Sierra NF
Dorabella Proxy Campground & Nonproxy Day Use Areas
Situation: You are sampling the Dorabella Campground (OUDS Proxy). This
campground is located in three separate loops along a single entrance road,
which also accesses a day use area at Shaver Lake.
1) Where should the traffic counters be placed for counting
campground use?
2) Where would you set up your interview location?
3) If day users come by, would you interview them? Explain why or
why not.
Situation: Now, you are sampling the Dorabella Picnic Area (DUDS Non Proxy).
This picnic area is located at the end of a road, which also accesses an OUDS
area. Campers do drive over and park at the day use site and use it for the day
also.
1) Where should the traffic counter(s) be placed?
2) Where is a good location for the DUDS nonproxy interview site?
3) How do you separate out the campers from the day users? Would
you interview a camper that used the day use site? Do they count as
a day users?
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Dorabella Campground (OUDS Proxy)
and Day Use Area (DUDS Nonproxy)
Day Use
Sites
Campground Loops
Shaver Lake
Campground
Campground
Entrance Station
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Example 3:
R5-Sierra NF
Dinkey Creek CG, Resort, DUDS Complex
Situation: You are sampling the Dinkey Creek Complex. The area is a dead-end
FS road that provides access to several campgrounds (proxy), Day Use sites,
recreation residences, a resort (proxy), general forest area, and a forest service
work center.
Scenario A: You are assigned an OUDS (overnight developed site) survey day
with FE4 proxy code. All the family CGs are handled by the same
concessionaire and were listed as one site- Dinkey Creek CG.
1) Would you use a traffic counter?
2) Where would you set up for interviews? Hint: You need to capture ALL
campers except group site users.
Scenario B: Today you are assigned the Dinkey Creek nonproxy Day Use sites
for sampling.
1) Do you need a traffic counter for this survey day? If so, where should it
be set up?
2) Should you use a hand tally counter on this sample day? If so, what is
counted with the hand tally counter (be very specific)?
3) Where should the interview site be set up?
4) How can you be sure people used the developed day use sites targeted
for this sample day (ie: they were not just day users at the resort or
handing out with friends at the campground?
Scenario C: Now you are assigned the Dinkey Creek nonproxy GFA interview
day.
1) Where should the traffic counter be placed?
2) Where would you conduct the interviews?
3) Would you count a visitor who stayed in the campground or resort as a GFA
user? If so, under what circumstances?
4) Demonstrate how you would go through the interview form to find GFA
visitors.
5) On the interview form how would you record someone who said they were just
staying at their recreation residence?
6) On the interview form how would you record someone who stayed on the
private property?
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Example 4:
Coronado National Forest
Bell Mountain Wilderness and General Forest Area
Nonproxy
Scenario: New Sedona Arizona Bell Mountain is a major hiking attraction.
People come from all over the world to explore the “vortex”, climb, and enjoy the
beautiful red rock country. A major high speed highway parallels the mountain.
There is a large vista and parking area as one point of access. The other access
is totally unmanaged. Many visitors park on the highway shoulder along a 3
miles stretch of road. They come and go in all directions. There can be over
100 vehicles parked at any time. You have a Forest Service road with no
designated parking.
1. Where would you place traffic counter(s)? Is there anything special
that should be done prior to placing the counter(s)?
2. Is there an alternative to using traffic counters? If so, explain. Also
explain how reliable that estimate might be.
3. Where would you conduct interviews? Describe the site setup.
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Coronado National Forest
Bell Rock Cliff Climbers
GFA/ Wilderness NP
Viewpoint, trailhead
Major through
highway 55mph
Informal roadside parking,
informal trails
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Example 5:
Winter General Forest Area sampling: skiing, snowmobiling, snow-play
Scenario: It’s the middle of a wonderful cold winter with over 10 feet of snow on
the ground and more coming tonight. You’ve been assigned a sampling day at
the snowpark on Mystic Mountain.
1) Describe how you would prepare for the sample day (what you would bring,
how you would check out with your boss, etc.). Describe any special safety
considerations.
2) You’ve arrived at the site and snowplows are running. Snow is falling lightly
with a midday storm predicted. Would you use a traffic counter? If so, which
type? Where would you locate it? What special things would you consider as
you set it up?
3) After you set up the traffic counter a snowplow came by and pulled it off the
road into never never land. How will you get the traffic counts now?
4) The snowpark has mixed uses: cross country skiers, snowmobilers and
tubers. Some folks are just using the warming shelter while their kids play in the
snow. Which of these users would qualify for a recreation interview?
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Example 6:
Ochoco National Forest: Major Potty-stop/trailhead/DUDS
Along highway 26 there is a beautiful trailhead in old growth ponderosa pine.
The Ochoco NF provides 5 picnic tables and a restroom. There are also 3 trails
taking off into the woods. The site is both a summer hiking/horse/mt bike site
and winter cross-country ski site. The site is accessed by a pullout from the
highway with undesignated parking. Vehicles can pull into the site in either
direction. Lots of people stop here just to use the bathroom but some do take a
picnic break or go for a hike/ski on one of three trails. Trail #3 is used about 3
times more than trails #1 and #2.
1. For a DUDS interview day where would you place the traffic counter?
2. How do you account for people just stopping to use the restroom?
Do you interview them?
3. On a DUDS day, if someone is hiking the trails but didn’t use the
picnic tables do you interview them?
4. For a GFA interview day where would you place the counter or
counters? Do the 3 different trails pose a sampling problem?
5. Where would you conduct interviews?
6. For the GFA day how would you record traffic count information on
the daily summary form?
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Day Use Nonproxy Site
and
General Forest Area
Hiking
Trail #1
Parking Area
Hiking Trail #2
Restroom and
picnic area
Hiking Trail #3
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Example 7:
Mt. Lassen Ski Area – Proxy SV1
Situation: Beautiful Mt. Lassen has some premier skiing December through
June. People travel from the Bay Area and all parts of northern California and
Nevada to ski here. The ski area actually has 2 large parking lots to serve it’s
visitors. The upper lot is 10 miles north of the lower lot just off highway 206. The
lots access different sides of the mountain providing a wide choice of ski terrain.
The lower lot is open from November through June because it’s higher elevation.
The lower lot also has a Nordic ski area which is operated by the same ski
company as the downhill area. There is also a free pass through area on the
groomed Nordic trails that accesses forest service ski trails (which are non-fee).
The upper lot is usually only open from early January through mid April
depending on lower elevation snow conditions. Skiers can ski both sides with the
same ski pass.
1) Your sample day is January 20 for DUDS proxy. Where would you
conduct the interviews (upper or lower lot or both?) and during
what time of the day?
2) Your sample day is Dec 15 and it’s a DUDS day. Do you count the
fee Nordic system people in your interviews?
3) Do you interview people parking in the lot but just going to ski FS
dispersed trails?
4) Do you interview people who are just building snow caves and
sledding in the parking lot snow banks?
5) The temperature has now hit -5 and your fingers are freezing. It’s
snowing and no one wants to be interviewed in the parking lot
now. Where would be an alternative interview location?
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Mt. Lassen Ski Area
DUDS - Proxy
Upper lot
generally open Jan 5 - April 1
Ski Lodge
Lower Lot
generally open Nov 24 -June 15
Nordic trail system - counted in with
downhill skier proxy SV1
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Example 8
Chequamegan & Nicolet National Forest
Bass Lake Day Use Area, nonproxy
Situation: Bass Lake Day use area is a very popular fishing, swimming, and
boating area on the forest. In fact, it was rated a very high use area for most of
the summer and shows up 42 times on the survey calendar. The site is
accessed by slower speed Forest Service roads. One road accesses a boat
launch and the other the Picnic Area/ Beach.
1) Do the people using the boat launch count as part of the DUDS use?
2) Where should the traffic counter be placed? Since it’s going to be setyup 42 different times, would you do anything different?
3) Since the site gets about 80% local use and lots of repeat use do you
have any special concerns about sampling here so many times? If so,
what are those concerns and how might you address them?
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Example 9
Huron Manistee National Forest
Tawas Road 27 General Forest Area - nonproxy
Situation: This GFA site at the junction of sandy Tawas Road 27 and Highway
59. It is deer hunting season and this area is very popular. Hunters tend to
drop members of their party along this road, everyone walks through the woods
and meets back at another point. There is a group of recreation residences on
FS land about 5 miles down Road 27.
Questions:
1. Where would you set up a traffic counter? Are there any special conditions
you need to check?
2. People in the vehicle that just pulled over are coming from the recreation
residence homes. Do they qualify for a GFA interview? Explain.
3. A truck full of hunters had stopped for an interview. How do you determine
whether they are completing their GFA visit or not? (Hint: Q5). These hunters
have camped in a private campground every night for the last 5 nights. Each day
they come and hunt on the national forest. How many different national forest
visits did they have? How many GFA visits? Today, as you are filling out the
interview form what would you record for Q5? For Q6? Q7? Q8? Q9?
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YIELD
Survey Site
Please Stop
sandy FS Road
Suburban Home
House
Building 2
Suburban Home
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Example 10
Prescott National Forest
Lynx Lake DUDS nonproxy
Situation: Lynx Lake Day Use Site is actually a store with picnic tables and an
interpretive exhibit located on FS land near the lake. Developed Day Use
activities include use of the picnic tables and viewing the large interpretive
exhibit.
Questions:
1. How would you prepare for this interview day ahead of time? What special
contacts might need to be made?
2. Would you use a traffic counter? If so, where would you set it up?
3. Where would you interview people?
4. Who would you interview?
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