Methods Development in Using Constructive Survey Approaches to Value Nonmarket Environmental Resources

调查工具，从那些旨在引出或有价值的工具到那些收集关于政策选择的态度和意见的工具，都被用作确定环境政策和方案行动的信息来源。然而，目前的调查方法并不能准确地反映政策制定过程中必须考虑的资源价值的多维性和非货币性。因此，本项目就两种有前途的新环境调查方法制定了一项研究方案，这两种方法似乎在提供关于公众对决策者期望解决的问题和关切的反应的全面和重点数据库方面具有明显的优势。决策路径方法向应答者提出一系列相互关联的问题，每个问题都有几个答案。答案的选择为每个应答者创建了一个决策路径，这反过来又揭示了首选的资源管理选项和推理策略。价值整合方法首先确定与问题相关的价值组成部分，并帮助受访者利用这些知识在可选的环境政策之间做出明智的权衡。两种建议的调查方法都反映了行为决策理论的见解，并认识到复杂环境价值的建设性本质。本项目由EPA/NSF环境政策评估基金资助。

Survey instruments, ranging from those designed to elicit contingent valuations to those that collect attitudes and opinions about policy options, are used as information sources to determine environmental policy and program actions. However, the current survey methods do not accurately represent the multidimensional and nonmonetary nature of the resource values that must be considered in the policy process. Therefore, this project develops a research program on two promising new environmental survey approaches, which appear to offer distinct advantages in providing comprehensive and focused databases on public responses to the issues and concerns policy makers are expected to address. The decision pathways approach asks respondents a series of interrelated questions, each of which has several answers. The choice of answers creates a decision path for each respondent, which in turn reveals the preferred resource management options and the reasoning strategies. The value integration approach begins by identifying the components of value relevant to the issue and assists respondents in using this knowledge to make informed tradeoffs across alternative environmental policies. Both proposed survey approaches reflect the insights of behavioral decision theory and recognize the constructive nature of complex environmental values. This project is supported by the EPA/NSF Valuation for Environmental Policy funding opportunity.