In recent months, we at Bicycling Life have seen
published statistics about bicycling from the analysis of data collected in surveys
performed by various government agencies and individuals.
Frequently the results so differed from our personal experience that we had a hard time
believing the data.
In digging deeper, we always found flaws in the design or the conclusions drawn from
those surveys.
We were also bothered by the fact that the surveys were so narrowly defined that they
measured only one aspect of cycling, or in some instances, totally missed the point of
riding a bike. In short these surveys often focused on certain negative aspects of
cycling, such as accidents, and usually had a hidden agenda lying somewhere in the weeds.
So we at Bicycling Life, the Icebike
Site, De Clarke (a
software engineer at the Lick
Observatory), and Riley Geary (our statistics consultant) set out to design our own
survey with the tools at hand.
It is said, that when the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to look at every
problem as if it were a nail. To this we plead Guilty as Charged, your Honor.
We have no recourse but to use the Internet as our Tool. We are, after
all, a creature of the web.
We realize that this choice limits the the population taking this survey. Not only will
our respondents need to be interested in cycling, they will also have to have Internet
access. Hopefully there are enough Internet Cafes, public library terminals, etc. that
most urban dwellers will be able to respond; we recognize that many rural people will be
left out. We don't have the resources to correct this bias.
We hashed out the survey structure over months of wrangling over almost every word.
Someone's research interest is reflected in every question. We tried to match the
degree of precision available in the choice of answers to the requirements of the data
analysis and the your ability to remember your cycling experiences.
- It's easy.
- It takes about 15 to 20 minutes.
- It's all multiple choice.
- You can stop and restart later if you can't complete it in one session.
- You will be able to look at the cumulative results when finished.
- We respect your privacy.
Our survey is designed to minimize (or at least make inconvenient) the deliberate
"spamming" of the instrument. It will ask you for an email address, and will
email you an access key. This is the only use we will make of your email address,
and your email address will not be given out to any third party nor will you receive any
"spam" from us.
It took several months to put this survey together, and it will be available on line
for several months so as to collect a wide sample.
We encourage you to take the survey,
and we further encourage you to email a link to this page to your cycling friends or publish
a link to this page on your mailing list or web site.
Click Here for the Survey
Our
Survey
