Research project AG/JJ/150 (Research action AG)
The BELDAM project consists in carrying out a survey on the Belgians’ mobility. A survey of this type was alreadycarried out in 1999. This study on the “daily Mobility of Belgians” called MOBEL presented many assets: wealth of information as regards mobility (in particular chains of activity), response to the requirements of the international organizations, etc..It is essential to renew it as no other national survey was carried out since this time, and as, since 2000, Belgium does not conduct any more censuses. Indeed, the SPF Mobility and Transports must have recent statistics on mobility in Belgium to be able to justify its proposals and to support the transport policy.
Accordingly, this BELDAM survey about mobility in Belgium proposes to study the displacements carried out by the households, and more specifically by the members of these households of more than 6 years old, during one reference day. Other questions related on transport and mobility will be also asked to the respondents.
In the framework of this AGORA project, the research teams will be in charge, in a first stage, of the preparation of the surveay and, in the second time, of the analysis of the results.
The first phase coversn all the necessary stages for the setting-up of a survey and for the insurance of its success. It begins with a methodological thinking on the survey protocol. Indeed, the development of the survey protocol is one of the most important factor of success for a not biased data collection. Moreover, during this stage, the focus is put on the need for ensuring a methodological compatibility with MOBEL in order to guarantee the opportunity of comparing results and, consequently, of highlighting trends and evolutions. But the research teams will also take into account the potential improvements according to the weaknesses noted in the protocol of MOBEL. For example, the decreasing number of landlines as well as difficulty for the people little well-read of filling out a paper and pencil questionnaire will be taken into account
The research teams will then achieve the design and writing of the conducted questionnaires, in collaboration in particular with the SPF Mobilité and Transports. One of the great difficulty which will have to be solved in this phase will be to combine the wish to collect a maximum of information and the one of keeping a reasonable size at the questionnaire to avoid respondents’ burdening and thus to avoid decreasing the answer rate .
The question of sampling will also be taken into account during this first phase. The sample size will need to be determined as well as the measurement unit (individual or household), the stratification strategy and the base population. For this last point, it is obvious that the research teams will be in favor of using the National Register which guarantees exhaustiveness and thus to avoid some sampling biases.
This phase will be concluded by a help to the SPF Mobilté and Transports for the drafting of the call of tenders allowing to select the subcontractor who will be charged of the survey in the field.
After the second phase devoted to the data collection, the research teams will be in charge, in a third stage, of the analysis of the results. The work published on the main results of the MOBEL survey could be used as general model to be followed for the analyses having to be realized here. Discussions with the follow-up committee will also allow providing an outline on the expected results. It is also envisaged to set up a Web site on which the registered users would be allowed to submit on line statistical queries regarding their own needs (taking into accounts the privacy rules and the statistical significance). Whatever are the provided results, the main goal of the scientific team will be to guarantee the scientific accuracy of these results and also to highlight the care with which the provided statistics need to be interpreted.
Belgian Daily Mobility - BELDAM: Enquête sur la mobilité quotidienne des belges : rapport final
Cornelis, Eric - Hubert(, Michel - Huynen, Philippe ... et al Bruxelles : Politique Scientifique fédérale, 2012 (SP2522)
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