As part of the development of a contingency plan for oil shortages, the ontario ministry of energy undertook a study to identify anddevelop research methodologies that could be used before, during, and after a shortage to monitor public attitudes and behavior. The study consisted of an information needs assessment, methodology development, and implementation plan. The needs assessment was based on contingency management experience in ontaroio and elsewhere, and on a shortage simulation session in which the utility of hypothetical research results was evaluated. Methodological development involved thereview and modification of existing survey methods with which public response to a shortage and demand restraint interventions could beassessed. These included a home interview survey and an interview-game method--both directed at households and with a major emphasis ongasoline consumption--and a telephone survey directed at individualconsumers. In addition, a brief driver interview conducted in service stations was developed to monitor problems at the retail level. The study further specifies the use of both public and expert panels to provide information when contingency events make more formal research methods difficult to implement, and proposes a design for an organized network of key informers to keep emergency operations staff up to date. These methodologies are not all active at the same time.the implementation plan assigns different sets of methods to six shortage stages for evolving contingencies, and to four stages for shock contingencies. This paper appeared in transportation research record no. 1155, transportation energy. For covering abstract see irrd no 818421.
Abstract