Generation of travel behavior data by means of empirical surveys is an important element of transportation planning. At the same time, relatively little attention has been paid to the rules for collecting and determining the methodological quality of the data. The methodological design of such surveys is relatively complicated because of a number of influence factors that may ultimately be reflected in the validity of the results. The issue of survey instrument design is discussed in detail. A number of methodological tests are examined that were intended to improve one of the weak points in surveys of travel behavior - the design of such instruments. Initially, it was concluded that a diary-type instrument would have to be used to ensure proper recording of trip details. An ideal diary was developed that was used in several surveys. But it became evident that this instrument design, in spite of its high methodological quality, was unsuitable for large-scale surveys, such as those frequently used in transportation planning, because of organizational and cost problems. Therefore, an additional series of tests was developed to simplify these diaries and to transform them into a form suitable for large-scale mail-back surveys. Each test series was tested empirically with detailed documentation of reporting deficiencies. Thus it was possible to present in an understandable manner the development of a survey instrument of desirable quality. The final version of the instrument design, which was the outgrowth of the empirical tests, has been used subsequently in numerous large-scale applications in several countries. In the course of these applications the methodological quality of the design was confirmed, which ultimately justified the development costs.
Abstract