You are here

Harvard Forest >

Harvard Forest REU Symposium Abstract 2016

  • Title: PING2.0: Utilizing Ecological Momentary Assessment to Investigate How Private Woodland Owners Engage With Their Land
  • Author: Kathryn Rawson (Mount Holyoke College)
  • Abstract:

    Private woodland owners are a unique group because the decisions they make about their land have the potential to determine the future of forests in New England and the rest of the nation. We are interested in studying how private woodland owners engage with their land because of the important impact their activities and decision-making related to their woods may have on larger scales. Past research on private woodland owners has primarily utilized survey methods that rely on participants to retrospectively recall acts and decisions that may have occurred years in the past. Retrospective recall studies (such as the National Woodland Owner Survey) may introduce biases and limitations simply because of the nature of human memory. Our project this summer (PING2.0) tested a method of surveying woodland owners that would minimize these biases and provide a more accurate snapshot of how participants are engaging with their land. This method is based on the approach of Ecological Momentary Analysis (EMA) that is typically used in psychological research and involves frequent short contact with participants in their natural environment. We sent out a series of surveys via the Qualtrics platform over the course of 5 weeks to woodland owners recruited in various ways. Ping 2.0 is a continuation and development of our mentors’ previous Ping 1.0 study and serves as a proof of concept for using EMA as a way to reach woodland owners. Our results provide a clearer direction for future applications of EMA in ecological social science.

  • Research Category: Group Projects; Conservation and Management

  • Figures:
  • %22research in action%22 pic copy.jpg