Developing the Questionnaire

A questionnaire was designed as the primary measuring instrument of the study. The questionnaire acted as a way of providing supporting information for the simulator study to increase the validity and reliability of the research.

Research objectives and research questions are revisited as follows:

To assess the effects on drivers’ wayfinding of alternative airport road access design solutions.

1. Does road access design have an effect on wayfinding?

2. How should the effects of airport road access design on wayfinding be measured?

3. How does the receipt of wayfinding information affect driver navigation?

A questionnaire may be divided into two types, open-ended or closed. The open-ended questionnaire allows respondents to answer in any way they choose (Sekaran, 2003). The closed questionnaire is designed to permit only one form of response and allow the respondents to make a choice from a set of alternative responses (Frankfort-Nachmias and Nachmias, 1996; Robson and McCartan, 2016; Sekaran, 2003). The questionnaires were developed in order to explore, probe and acquire new knowledge or information in a systematic way. The participating respondents (i.e. senior drivers) were expected to answer the pre-arranged questions which were presented in a specific order.

The questionnaires were designed to be effective, approachable and easy to understand. Feedback and comments were acquired from senior drivers who volunteered to take part in the driving simulation test, and this was refined before the pilot test has been conducted on senior drivers.

A draft of the questionnaire was constructed at the beginning of January 2014.

The questionnaire was designed based on the literature review, research objectives, research questions and improvement of questions from pilot study. It was divided into three sections as shown in Table 4-2. The first section indicates respondent demographic profiles. General information is useful in obtaining data on the background of the respondents which might have a direct correlation with the responses to the questionnaire statement (Frankfort-Nachmias and (Frankfort-Nachmias, 1996; Sekaran, 2003).

Section 2 evaluates the impact of simulated airport road access wayfinding on senior drivers’ driving performance. The questions in this section were based on the simulated driving scenario experiment as well as previous experiences of driving to the airport. The questions were developed based on research questions; does road access design have an effect on wayfinding?, and how should the effects of airport road access design on wayfinding be measured?.

Table 4-2 The questionnaire design framework

Question Survey Rating

Section A

(Demographic background)

1 to 5

To identify the demographic background of the respondents to the wayfinding survey. The responses indicated respondents’ age, gender, frequency of travelling to the airport in a 12 month period, travelling purpose, and travelling time spent

to and from the airport.

Multiple choice (nominal/categorical

data)

Section B

(Based on simulated driving experience – Chapter 3)

1 to 20

To evaluate the impact of simulated airport road access wayfinding design on senior driver

behaviour.

Rank 1 to 5 (interval data) Section C

(Based on participants’ general experience to drive to the airport)

1 to 21

To evaluate the significant effect that exists between wayfinding provisions and driving behaviour in airport road access wayfinding design.

Yes or No (nominal data)

The Likert scale¹⁹ is a method designed to measure attitudes (Frankfort-Nachmias and (Frankfort-Nachmias, 1996). The Likert scale was used in this research to examine how strong senior drivers’ agreed or disagreed with the statements (Sekaran, 2003) on a 5-point scales; 1 (strongly disagree), 2 (disagree), 3 (neutral), 4 (agreed, and 5 (strongly agreed). These values expressed the

19 Likert scale is an interval scale used to summate rating scale designed to assist in excluding

relative weights and direction of the research objective and questions, which were determined by the favourableness or unfavourableness of the questions.

The responses were analysed and presented in frequency analysis and graphs (Section 4.6).

Section 3 examines the impact of wayfinding information and drivers’ navigation to the airport. The questions were developed based on research questions; how does the receipt of wayfinding information affect drivers’ navigation?. The dichotomous scale²⁰ was used to elicit a Yes or No answer. Simple questions were asked based on the drivers’ general and past experience of driving to the airport. The responses were analysed and presented in frequency analysis and graph (Section 4.6).

All questions in Section A, B and C were analysed based on senior drivers’

experience on three simulated scenarios (‘Less Complex’, ‘Complex’ and ‘More Complex’ scenario) (Chapter 3, Section 3.8.4) and general experiences of driving (Appendix E). The results were compared and presented in frequency analyses and graphs.

A continuous effort of contact through e-mails was used to encourage better responses from respondents. In order to increase the response rate, the following techniques were adopted:

1. A cover letter of self-introduction, questionnaire purpose, assurance of confidentiality or privacy and expression of gratitude for their responses was provided (Kanuk and Berenson, 1975);

2. Instructions on completion of questionnaires were provided and explained;

3. A consent statement or form;

4. A direct and clear questionnaire was developed; and

20 Dichotomous scale allows respondents to choose one of two values or an answer to two different aspects of a concept (Beins and McCarthy, 2012).

5. Questionnaire was distributed to senior drivers after driving simulation tests were conducted. A verbal explanation was conveyed to senior drivers that the questionnaire was part of the research and their volunteering as a respondent was appreciated.

The following are the reasons to include the questionnaire into research:

1. The questionnaire is used as a supporting study to increase the reliability and validity of the research;

2. The research focuses on the easing wayfinding solutions into airport planning and development;

3. Quick access to the potential respondents; and

4. Various demographic backgrounds of the respondents and purpose of travel were acquired.

A combination of open and closed questions was developed which led to a quantifiable measurement of the research technique. Table 4-3 shows mapping of survey questions to research questions.

Table 4-3 Mapping of questionnaire to research questions

Research Question Survey Question Section

1. Does road access design have an effect on wayfinding?

2. How should the effects of airport road access design on wayfinding be measured?

It was easy to drive on the road

Section B (driving simulation) I noticed that the trees were blocking some of the road signs

There were too many traffic lights

Poor visibility along road because of terrain

At the junction on the road to the airport, I was able to make a fast decision The bend on the road did not affect my feeling of safety

The level of traffic did not make any difference to my driving I felt nauseous when driving on the simulator

I felt safe to perform the simulated driving exercise

I feel anxious while driving to the airport

Section C (general experience) I am not aware of street lighting

I plan the route before drive to the airport

I look for landmarks (e.g. buildings) to help me find my way I feel safe to drive at night with the street lights

Missing highway exits make me confused

The more complex to access to the airport, the less likely to drive to the airport I less likely to drive to airport if the traffic is heavy

3. How does the receipt of wayfinding information affect drivers’ navigation?

The signs were easily noticeable Section B

(driving simulation) I could not read the text on the signs

I was looking for the word “airport” on the sign Type of warning signs were adequate

The font of the road signs were clear and readable

The signage helped me navigate easily There were too many road-side adverts I could not read the adverts

I was distracted by the adverts

The frequency of warning signs were adequate The variable speed limit signs were noticeable

Airport signs should have the same style as normal road signs

Section C (general experience) I would prefer signs to be larger

Additional information in signage design is relevance Speed limit signs should be displayed frequently Adverts on the road are distracting

The directional arrow sign is useful I do not like the symbol sign

The airport text on the signs is too small The types of road signage does not help drivers A variable speed limit affects my driving behaviour Too many signs are confusing to drivers

Signs indicating directions to the airport should be displayed as far as possible from the airport

4.5.3 Pilot Study Validation

The content validity of the questionnaire was checked by asking experts in airport road access systems. For instance, a formal meeting with Birmingham Airport Transport Specialist was conducted on 3^rd April 2014. The highlights outcomes of meeting as follows:

1. No specific measurement was considered on airport road access wayfinding design. The signs are placed based on its requirement (such as junction, roundabout and pedestrian crossing) to ease traveller to make a decision on airport road network;

2. Types of signs (e.g. direction, information, warning and advertisement) are important as similar as conventional road;

3. No specific equation or measurement was considered on the number of signs. The signs are placed based on its requirement to ease traveller navigation on airport road network; and

4. The signs (e.g. font and size) are similar to national traffic signs design.

The airport directional signs colour is proposed to be pink in order to be identical and unique.

Content validity is considered as an important procedure to ascertain that the instruments (e.g. driving simulation and questionnaire) are measuring what they are designed to measure (Sekaran, 2003). The pilot study is vital because the combination of airport road access wayfinding simulation and questionnaires has never been tested before in the field, and original (self-designed by researcher) research enables researcher to make a contribution to the knowledge (novelty of the research).

To evaluate the driving scenarios, a pilot study was conducted with the aim of determining whether the outcome measures of simulated driving were sensitive to differences in the detection performances on driving behaviour during the

airport road access wayfinding process. A full simulated driving scenario was tested (Chapter 3) and subsequently followed up with the questionnaire.

Participant data from the pilot study was interpreted and analysed after the driving scenario simulations and the questionnaire had been completed. The respondents’ feedback was kept strictly confidential and used for research purposes only.