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CHAPTER TWO METHODOLOGY AND SAMPLE
Introduction
2.1 The attendee surveys were conducted both during and after Tartan Week using a range of quantitative and qualitative methodologies which are summarised below.
Event: | Face to face interviews with attendees at selected Tartan Week events Mini groups/paired interviews with attendees at selected Tartan Week events |
Post-event: | Online survey of Tartan Week attendees VisitScotland's online survey of Tartan Week competition entrants Depth telephone interviews with Tartan Week 2007 attendees and non-attendees |
Face to Face Interviews at Events
2.2 Face to face interviews were conducted with 500 visitors to Tartan Week event by a New York based field company commissioned by Scotinform. It was agreed that the interviews would be conducted at five events which were selected to represent a range of different types of events that were accessible to the general public. The events are shown in the next table with the target number of interviews and the number actually achieved.
Table 2.2: Interview locations
Event | Target number of interviews | Number of interviews achieved |
|---|
Scottish Village, Grand Central Station | 225 | 404 |
|---|
Scotland Run, Central Park | 150 | 82 |
|---|
Silver of the Stars, Forbes Gallery | 50 | 4 |
|---|
Scotland Rocks, Bowery Ballroom | 50 | 10 |
|---|
British Memorial Garden Concert | 25 | 0 |
|---|
Total | 500 | 500 |
|---|
2.3 Interviewers reported a range of problems in interviewing at four of the selected venues which resulted in the interview numbers at these locations not being achieved:
- Scottish Run: weather was cold and damp and it was difficult to interview people as they were moving round to keep warm. Visitors left sooner than expected after the Run.
- Silver of the Stars: virtually no visitors during the scheduled interview times
- Scotland Rocks: attendees refused to be interviewed as they wanted to get inside the venue
- British Memorial Garden: concert cancelled due to bad weather
2.4 2007 was the first time that face to face interviews were conducted at Tartan Week, and the problems in fulfilling the interview programme highlighted the difficulties in using this methodology. Some of the problems could be overcome by making sure that the venues chosen for interviews have sufficient footfall for interviews and the interview schedule reflects the peak times for attendance. Other issues, particularly the weather, can always affect interviewing at events which are on for a short period of time.
2.5 The 500 interviews form the main part of the attendees survey work and, although they were largely completed at the Scottish Village, they provide an interesting snapshot of attendees' image of Scotland and the effectiveness of communication for Tartan Week. The questionnaire used for the interviews is shown in the Appendix to this report.
2.6 The results for the face to face interviews should be considered as principally the views of people attending the Scottish Village: it is not appropriate to extrapolate these results to other events which were of a significantly different nature to the Village. Evaluations of future Tartan Weeks should address the issues encountered in conducting surveys of attendees in order to look at ways of increasing the spread of interviews. The report makes reference to the results for the visitors to the Scotland Run where relevant, but the small sample size (82 respondents) should be noted.
Mini Groups at Events
2.7 The qualitative research during Tartan Week was conducted through holding mini groups at the Scottish Village and the Scotland Run. The groups were conducted by members of the Scotinform study team, with participants recruited during their visit to the event.
2.8 A total of 77 participants took part in 30 mini groups/paired interviews. Eight mini groups were conducted at the Scotland Run and 22 mini groups were conducted over two days at the Scottish Village. The groups lasted between 15-35 minutes.
2.9 The mini group methodology was an effective way of discussing attendees' views on Tartan Week and their image of Scotland to add depth to the quantitative findings. They were most effective at the Scottish Village where they could be conducted indoors: at the Scottish Run the interviews were conducted out of doors in damp and cold conditions in which it was difficult for the participants (and facilitators) to relax. The topic guide used is shown in the Appendix to this report.
Post-event Online Survey
2.10 An online survey (using Snap Surveys) was sent to 6,090 attendees. The main part of the sample was the 5,718 people who completed the Scottish Run, with additional contacts from the Scottish Book Trust database and people who had taken part in the event research. The survey was sent out in the first two weeks of June, with the aim of assessment the impact of Tartan Week two months after it had finished.
2.11 A total of 1,432 completed questionnaires were returned, a 23% response rate. The results from this survey should be considered in the light of the bias towards Scotland Run competitors which means that the data represents the views of a very specific segment of attendees. Scotland Run competitors were very unlikely to have been to other events in Tartan Week and the results should be seen as a reflection on views on the Run rather than the wider programme of Tartan Week events.
Post-event VisitScotland Online Survey
2.12 VisitScotland's online survey was sent to people responding to its activities during Tartan Week. This included those who entered the 'Win a stay in a Scottish castle' competition, either online or in person at the Scottish Village and those who entered the Edinburgh and Glasgow city breaks competition. VisitScotland allowed the Scottish Executive to insert four questions into the online questionnaire and have provided a report on the results.
2.13 The VisitScotland survey was sent out during April with the aim of gathering visitors' reactions to Tartan Week, in particular the website and the Scottish Village, and to look at how people had heard about the website and Village. The Scottish Executive's questions focussed on the impact that Tartan Week events had on perceptions of Scotland.
2.13 A total of 391 responses were received to the VisitScotland online questionnaire. Respondents were predominantly people who had visited the Scottish Village (88% had been to the Village), meaning that these results have a similar bias to the face to face interviews during Tartan Week.
Post-event Depth Interviews
2.14 Twenty depth telephone interviews were conducted with people who had attended Tartan Week. The aim of the depths was to explore the impact of visiting Tartan Week and look at any actions taken as a result of visiting events.
Notes on Reporting
2.15 Throughout the report the term 'respondents' refers to the results from the quantitative research (face to face and online surveys) and 'participant' refers to the results from qualitative research (mini groups and depth interviews). * denotes less than 1% of respondents.
2.16 Chapters Three - Five describes the results of the face to face interviews and mini groups conducted during Tartan Week. Chapter Six summarises the results of the post-event surveys.
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