Innovation in the Measurement of Community Contextual Features

描述（由申请人提供）：准确测量个人生活和互动的社会环境对于理解许多重要的幸福结果很重要。尽管社区环境和活动空间数据对社会、行为和医学研究具有相关性，但数据收集仍面临一些问题。首先，邻里环境和活动空间的精确空间测量很难收集，特别是在没有全面的号码地址系统的环境中。收集邻里环境和活动空间数据的第二个挑战是，工具没有充分利用可能增加被调查者空间回忆的视觉线索、地图和图像。该项目旨在直接解决这些挑战。首先，该项目设计了一种创新的计算机辅助访谈（CAI）工具，可以方便地由采访者和受访者使用。该仪器将能够以被调查者提供的任何精度水平测量特征的位置，从精确的点到具有更高程度不确定性的一般空间位置。其次，本项目正式比较了使用CAI仪器收集的数据与使用标准纸质仪器收集的数据的质量。第三，为了证明这些数据可以如何用于推进知识，我们测试了假设，比较了我们研究地点重要人口亚群的住宅邻里环境和活动空间的重叠。居住区环境与活动空间的差异程度是一个重要因素，因为扩展的活动空间可以被理论化为一种变化机制。我们对假设的检验可能建议在活动空间方面进行更多的研究，作为在许多发展中环境中正在迅速改变的婚姻、生育、健康寻求和其他行为差异背后的因素。该项目能够通过利用最近可负担得起的两项重要技术来实现这些目标：高度详细的基于现场的地理信息系统（GIS）和多点触摸显示器。我们希望这个新工具能够改善调查人员收集社区背景和活动空间数据的测量方法。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Accurate measurement of the social context in which individuals live and interact is important for understanding many important well-being outcomes. Despite the relevance of neighborhood context and activity space data for social, behavioral, and medical research, several issues challenge the collection of data. First, precise spatial measures of neighborhood context and activity spaces are difficult to collect, particularly in settings without comprehensive number address systems. A second challenge to collecting neighborhood context and activity space data is that instruments have not taken full advantage of the visual cues, maps, and imagery that are likely to increase respondent spatial recall. This project's aims directly address these challenges. First, the project designs an innovative computer assisted interview (CAI) instrument that can easily be used by both interviewers and respondents. The instrument will be able to measure the location of features at whatever level of precision the respondent provides, from exact points to general spatial locations with higher degrees of uncertainty. Second, this project formally compares the quality of data collected using the CAI instrument to data collected using a standard paper-based instrument. Third, to demonstrate how these data can be used to advance knowledge, we test hypotheses comparing the overlap in residential neighborhood context and activity spaces among important population subgroups at our study site. The degree to which residential neighborhood context differs from activity spaces is an important factor because expanded activity spaces can be theorized as a mechanism of change. Our tests of hypotheses may suggest additional research in activity spaces as factors behind differentials in marriage, fertility, health-seeking, and othe behaviors that are rapidly changing in many developing settings. The project is able to meet these aims by taking advantage of the recent affordability of two important technologies: highly detailed field-based geographic information systems (GIS) and multi-touch displays. We expect this new tool to improve measurement methods for investigators who collect neighborhood context and activity space data.