From Cross-Sectional to Longitudinal: The Impact of Sampling Strategies on Measuring Mobility Choices

Respondent surveys continue to serve as a main source of data for a variety of applications in the transportation field. However, the reliability of these surveys, which is dependent on the assumption that they are representative of the population under study, is becoming increasingly questionable. This is due to the ever-growing heterogeneity of today's populations, where diverse lifestyles, norms, values, attitudes, and perceptions evolve within niche subgroups. Thus, ensuring that a respondent sample is reasonably representative has become a significant challenge. Traditional survey sampling practices, which often rely on socio-economic and demographic attributes as control variables to mirror the aggregate population distributions, may not capture the complexity of an increasingly diverse population. This limitation potentially reduces the generalizability of survey findings to the broader population and may introduce unforeseen biases into the data. This study aims to explore the potential systematic biases introduced by current survey data collection methods. It uses data from a large-scale nationwide panel survey collected over three waves during the COVID-19 pandemic. This survey is unique in that its respondents were recruited through three different channels, and it is longitudinal, allowing the research team to examine not only the representativeness and inherent biases of various sampling strategies but also to observe how these samples evolve over time in terms of mobility choices. With this dual focus, this research offers a deeper understanding of survey representativeness amidst an increasingly heterogeneous population and evaluates the impact of sampling strategies. The (expected) findings aim to enhance existing research and inform future approaches to data collection in travel behavior research.

• Record URL:
  • https://tbd.ctr.utexas.edu/research-product/from-cross-sectional-to-longitudinal-the-impact-of-sampling-strategies-on-measuring-mobility-choices/

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $200,000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  69A3552344815

  69A3552348320

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  Center for Understanding Future of Travel Behavior and Demand

  University of Texas
  Austin, TX  United States 
• Project Managers:

  Bhat, Chandra

• Performing Organizations:

  Arizona State University, Tempe

  Tempe, AZ  United States 
• Principal Investigators:

  Pendyala, Ram

• Start Date: 20240901
• Expected Completion Date: 20260531
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers Program

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Data collection; Longitudinal studies; Mobility; Sampling; Surveys; Travel behavior; Travel demand
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Planning and Forecasting; Society; Transportation (General);

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01954310
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Center for Understanding Future of Travel Behavior and Demand
• Contract Numbers: 69A3552344815, 69A3552348320
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: May 5 2025 4:10PM