Alta sita resident survey

Resident Survey for Alta Sita Neighbors, Inc.

Conducted February 19-20, 1999

Purpose:

The success of planning efforts in Alta Sita depends on the level of participation and input received from residents of the neighborhood. The planning team is committed to making sure that the comprehensive plan embodies the actual perceptions, goals and visions of the residents living in Alta Sita. The goal of the random interviews is to collect both quantitative and qualitative data regarding the strenths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing Alta Sita. Specific objectives of the the interview process include:

Gathering resident perceptions of current neighborhood conditions and services;
Gathering resident input on the desited goals and directions of the plan so that planning efforts can be based on these desires;
Gathering resident input on resources and barriers that might serve to enhance or hinder the revitalization efforts; and
Enhancing community awareness of the revitalization project and Alta Sita Neighbors, Inc to elicit community participation in future planning efforts.

Methods:

To achieve a representative picture of life in Alta Sita, thirty students from UP 378, ARCH 374, LA 338 and UP 199 conducted 142 resident interviews in Alta Sita and the adjacent unincorporated areas of East St. Louis township. The interviews were conducted door-to-door in teams of two students and/or one student paired with a resident of the neighborhood. Each student and resident participant received training in how to use the survey form, the scantron and on effective interviewing techniques. Each survey took approximately 30 to 60 minutes. The survey consists of 87 questions, 18 of which are open ended.

Resident Participation:

At the February 9th Alta Sita Neighbors, Inc. meeting, residents were asked to volunteer to accompany students on February 20th for the door-to-door interviews. Ten residents were paried with U of I students for the interviewing efforts. The planning team sees this level of participation as a very effective way to spread the word about current planning efforts, resident to resident. The students who were paired with residents also commented on how much they had learned from their "expert" partners.

Data:

The interviewers used scantron forms to collect the responses to close-ended questions. These forms were then scanned at the University of Illinois and entered into a spreadsheet. This data format enables the planning team to conduct analysis of the data. The open-ended questions and exact resident quotes were entered by each of the students in UP 378, ARCH 374 and LA 338. This data is then coded to identify the major themes sited by local resident. The richness of the qualitative data is enhanced by the use of direct quotations in the Plan document.

Training:

All participating students received training on how to conduct the resident interviews: "Interviewing Logistics" and "How to be a Great Interviewer". The training was conducted on February 18, 1999.

"Interview Logistics"

This weekend you will embark on what may be the most exciting part of your studio or workshop this semester!
For 2 days we will have the chance to interview residents of the Alta Sita neighborhood. Going door-to-door, we will ask residents about everything from how they feel about their housing situation to what they would like to see in the neighborhood to their fondest memories of living in Alta Sita. This is a wonderful chance for all of us to connect with the residents of Alta Sita, make a record of their insights and ideas and learn from people committed to improving their neighborhood. Over the past few years, students have repeatedly sighted resident interviews as the best part of the course because of how much fun they had talking to residents and how the feedback they received during the interviews was invaluable to the work they did back on campus.

In order for all of us to make the most of this opportunity, students in the Urban Planning Workshop and ESLARP staff have created an interview form that is easy to use and covers a wide range of questions.
The interview form provides plenty of room to record all resident comments and we strongly encourage all of you to write everything down.

Ken will discuss "How to be a Great Interviewer". First, I briefly want to walk through the interview guide.

1. When you arrive at Buell Friday morning you will be paired with another student and assigned to a van. This person is your partner for the entire weekend - no switching please.

2. Upon arrival in ESL, you and your partner will receive two clipboards, surveys, scantron forms, Alta Sita brochures, flyers and 2 manilla envelopes.

3. One envelope will contain blank surveys and scantrons. When you complete an interview, place the survey and scantron into the other envelope marked "completed surveys".

4. If you run out of survey forms and scantrons, your van driver is equipped with more blank forms.

5. A map will be taped to your clip board that marks the area of the neighborhood that you and your partner are assigned to interview.

6. On Friday you and your partner will begin in that area marked on the map and you will return to the same area on Saturday to interview residents who were not available on
Friday. Please make a list of addresses that you will return to on Saturday.

Now we will start our first interview.

7. When approaching your first house, remove a survey and scantron form from the envelope marked "blank forms". Place these on the clipboard, scantron form in back of survey. The partner not holding the
clipboard should have a blank survey form to refer to and Alta Sita brochures and flyers.

8. Write the reference number from the survey form (e.g. 101) on the scantron form in the "section" block. This number links the multiple choice questions (scantron form) to the open-ended questions on the
survey form. The reference number is very important.

9. If the resident is home and willing to be interviewed, record the address at the top of survey form. You can do this at the end of the interview if it is more convenient. If the address is not known, quess the
address based on the closest house address on the same side of the street.

10. If the resident is not home, write the house address on the "NOT HOME" list taped to the clipboard - this will be the list of homes you will return to on Saturday.

Assuming the resident is home....

11. At the top of the survey form, record the date of the interview, the start time, and you and your partner's name (Interviewer #1 and Interviewer #2). Proceed to question #1 - this is a multiple choice question
and the answer should be recorded on the scantron form at the end of your packet. Fill in the appropriate circle.

12. Question one is a multiple choice question - it is shaded in grey. All answers to multiple choice questions should be filled in on the scantron form. After asking the question, record the answer on the
scantron line #1 and check the box to the left of the question number.

13. Question #2 is an open-ended question. Write the entire response directly on the survey form. RECORD EVERYTHING THE RESIDENT SAYS REGARDLESS OF WHETHER OR NOT IT DIRECTLY
ANSWERS THE QUESTION.

Let's move to page 3 of the survey form.

14. Questions #6 - #8 are multiple choice and their answers should be recorded in lines 6 to 8 on the scantron form.

15. Question #9 is an open-ended question and thus, record the response directly on the survey. LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN!

16. When the interview is over, thank the resident, let them know that they can call the telephone numbers on the flyer for more infomation and encourage them to join the next Alta Sita Meeting on March 9th at
6:00pm in St. Regis Church.

17. Put the finished survey form and scantron in the "completed survey" envelope.

18. Start the process all over at the next house.

Remember to have fun, be respectful, LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN and write everything down correctly.

Document author(s) :Janni Sorensen
Last modified: 01.21.01

EAST ST LOUIS ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT