Evaluation of a GPS survey by means of focus groups

This paper presents the findings from a series of focus groups conducted with participants from a travel study which used personal Global Positioning System (GPS) devices. The focus group study was conducted during an on-going longitudinal GPS travel survey to understand the experiences of GPS users in our surveys, with a view to reducing the burden of the survey task, improving the quality of data collected, and capturing more complete records of travel. The feedback from respondents has guided our search for new devices, which are slimmer, easier to interpret, have longer battery life and are easier to carry. The focus group discussions made it apparent that more holistic and personal survey implementation, in which participants can contribute more to and receive more from the research project, would provide benefits to respondents by giving them additional confidence in using the devices and by building relationships between respondents and with the researcher. This will be of particular relevance in surveys employing a longitudinal panel design.