Correcting Biographic Survey Data Biases to Compare with Cross-Section Travel Surveys

Abstract

Purpose — The purpose of the chapter is to make retrospective data from biographic surveys comparable with traditional cross-section travel surveys, by correcting some biases attached to the biographic collection method. This is applied to a biographic survey passed in France within the 2007–2008 national travel survey.

Methodology/approach — The methodology implemented deals with three specific biases: the general survey sampling and response rate, the survival bias, due to differential surviving rates according to generations, and the geographical bias, as biog‘raphies were not passed in all regions. All biases were corrected by computing specific weightings.

Findings — One main finding is that with these three corrections, biographic data can yield modal shares for commuting trips to work and for commuting trips to education that are similar to those derived from the historical cross-section surveys about regular trips.

Research limitations/implications — Though biographic collection suffers from the memory effect, this effect remains low and does not disturb the modal shares derived from biographies.

The most challenging issue is that of missing generations that contributed to past mobility. But they can be replaced by modeling with an age-period model.

Practical implications — The chapter provides methodology to correct biographic data to reconstitute historical behavior.

Social implications — Exploring the memory of living people is essential to save data about the past, that otherwise could be lost, although they may be useful to understand present behavior and future likely trends.

Originality/value of chapter — Investigating biographic surveys is a new topic in the field of transport survey methods.

Citation

Papon, F. (2013), "Correcting Biographic Survey Data Biases to Compare with Cross-Section Travel Surveys", Zmud, J., Lee-Gosselin, M., Munizaga, M. and Carrasco, J.A. (Ed.) Transport Survey Methods, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 321-336. https://doi.org/10.1108/9781781902882-017