Where has the time gone? Since I last posted, I've passed my transfer from year 1 (provisional PhD) to being a second year PhD student in October 2015. My ethics application process got extended as I diverted attention to preparing a presentation and paper submission for the UTSG (Universities Transport Studies Group) conference in Bristol in January 2016.
In my paper I used QGIS to prepare some maps showing journeys made by people who cycled combined with rail journeys and based on NRTS (UK's National Rail Travel Survey) data from 2005-6 was politely received and led to some friendly and encouraging conversations with a number of experienced researchers from UWE and elsewhere. I'm extremely grateful to Matthew Whittle, a new PhD student for sharing some of his know-how about QGIS with me - my learning curve coincided with a blank period for relevant training courses. Later in January, I did attend an organised course on ArcGIS and later in May I will discover how R can be used to create analytical maps and other visualisations based on travel activity data - looking forward to it!
I finally submitted my full Ethics pack to the AREA Ethics committee in late February and after just a couple of weeks I got some feedback indicating a few details needed further thought. By late March I had received the final approval, enabling me to go ahead and start recruiting participants for Focus Group workshops, Household Interviews, Cycling Mobile (go-along) Interviews and activity record-keeping using either diaries or the mobile phone app "Moves".
Here today I'm posting copies of my participant documentation, including the Participant Information Letters (adult and child versions) for the Focus Group Workshop activities, and Household Interviews (for possible later implementation). Locating these here enables me to refer to them with a link from the web-notices I am asking various cycling voluntary groups and other organisations to host on websites or mail out to their members.
Next step is to prepare a focus group to help me refine and strengthen a questionnaire I'm developing (and have piloted with responses from some friends, ITS colleagues and existing cycling contacts) for people who have experience of combining cycling with public transport in a number of UK city-regions. Initially in Leeds, then later in Nottingham, Edinburgh and another city t.b.c., further Focus Group Workshops will explore my research questions with families and their children within differing regional contexts.
In my paper I used QGIS to prepare some maps showing journeys made by people who cycled combined with rail journeys and based on NRTS (UK's National Rail Travel Survey) data from 2005-6 was politely received and led to some friendly and encouraging conversations with a number of experienced researchers from UWE and elsewhere. I'm extremely grateful to Matthew Whittle, a new PhD student for sharing some of his know-how about QGIS with me - my learning curve coincided with a blank period for relevant training courses. Later in January, I did attend an organised course on ArcGIS and later in May I will discover how R can be used to create analytical maps and other visualisations based on travel activity data - looking forward to it!
I finally submitted my full Ethics pack to the AREA Ethics committee in late February and after just a couple of weeks I got some feedback indicating a few details needed further thought. By late March I had received the final approval, enabling me to go ahead and start recruiting participants for Focus Group workshops, Household Interviews, Cycling Mobile (go-along) Interviews and activity record-keeping using either diaries or the mobile phone app "Moves".
Here today I'm posting copies of my participant documentation, including the Participant Information Letters (adult and child versions) for the Focus Group Workshop activities, and Household Interviews (for possible later implementation). Locating these here enables me to refer to them with a link from the web-notices I am asking various cycling voluntary groups and other organisations to host on websites or mail out to their members.
Next step is to prepare a focus group to help me refine and strengthen a questionnaire I'm developing (and have piloted with responses from some friends, ITS colleagues and existing cycling contacts) for people who have experience of combining cycling with public transport in a number of UK city-regions. Initially in Leeds, then later in Nottingham, Edinburgh and another city t.b.c., further Focus Group Workshops will explore my research questions with families and their children within differing regional contexts.