Francie Turk had no prior experience with researching Americans with disabilitie

Question

Francie Turk had no prior experience with researching Americans with disabilities. Assume you have similar background, what would you have done in the exploratory phase of this project to become familiar with the frustrations and hurdles that adults with disabilities face when traveling? Compare your research process with what ODO did. What could ODO have gained from incorporating your methods?

>The Scenario te the last decade, companies have expenled training dellars to address amerous social issues, including sexual harassmen and diversity, In the hospitality industry, firms have been less than enthusiastie abour alleeating budgets for training and oher inialives designed to make adulis withdisabalaies feeleomfoeuble or welcomed. Providing the incentive for airlnes, hotel, cruive lines, and setaurants to take sotice of this underappeeciated and often inviuble market seyment was one o the mokivations hehind the Adus winh Disahilities: Trovel nd Hospitelity Stodly funded and coordinaed by Open Doors Organization (ODO)2 a disability ascess advocacy organication. Eric Lipp, esecutive director of OD0, shares that the population of adults with disabilkies is growing, Aswuming incident rates by age remain as they are no,by 2030 nearly 24 percent of the total U.Spopulation will have a disability (and more tham 15 percent will be severely disabled). Oher studies contribute to our understanding of increasing disability incidenoe as age of a popalation increases.As the U.S. population ages, more semiors anelikely to develop disabilities that limit or sestrict movemeet or pose travel hurdies. Stroke caased by cercheowascular disease is the leading cause of disabiliny among adurs Incidence of stroke in the United States is estimated at 70000 ea cases per yea. Little research had been done by coanpanies on the disability travel market segment before tbe ODO study. "We beleve that feaof the sensi vity af the issue]." explais Lipp. keep compunies from exploring the oppotunities. But to get them to hear the oppertunity, we'd have to show them the nambers. Francie Turk, voluneer stady coesuhant and principal with Consumer Connections, Inc concledes "The travel industry was intcrested, but they ogh it was politically incorrect to ask. But people, especially those who leel they haven't heen heard, appreciate beasg asked for thear 1eas." We winted to provide evidence that it was a good financial isvestmest to market to adults with disalities, esplainsLip Only if compunies understand the financial implications will they invest in disability initiatives. The ODO sdy had four ebjectives: Estimate the eccacaic impact of the disabilty community on the uavel indastry. hey rely industry üncduding airlines, cruise lines, restaurants, and botels) Memure the travel behavioes of adults wiah disabilises, including how afien they travel and with whoam, hon much thay spend and the sources of information on which Desermine how well the needs of alults with disatilities are being met by the travel Quantifywhtervices and pendacts wouldencourage adults with disabilities to travel pan Doors Extansing Hospkaity a Traera with Diaabios The Research "We decided todo a daal modality survey and my responsbility was to find an organiration to assit ODO, as well as guide the process, explaiss Turk. Using ber network of contacts Turk naowed the ield of suppliers to bree, eveically awanding the reseanch coeeract to Hamis Inteactive. "While Strategle Marketing. Inc. and Market Facts (now Synovate) are also wel-regarded reseanch fms,Haris Imteractive hadexperience surveying aduhs with disailities that tipped the scale To understand the disability community's travel frustrations and experiences, OD0 fia tumed to adults with disabilities. "Many on the ODO staff have disabilaies." explains Lipe mm penonal esperience, wv know that those with diubi ties often "tay home rather than tace the obstacles of restaurants, hotel rooms, and airplanes Bat Lipp also knew that while ODO could be the voce for pcople with sabilities, the organization might not have the full picture. Using the researchexpertise of volanteer Turk. ODO conducted its own focus groups. Thirteecn participants, all with disabilities, were iavelved in two groap sessions held at ODO headquartors "We needed to flesh on the critical issues, explains Tark. "Bat we aluo needed to be sure we derstood the right language to clarify those issues. ODO wanmed buy-in from those organizations that already addhess disability issues and hvose that could beoefit from knowing the study's indings, so it recruised represenatives to nfloence the qaestionnaire design. Lippand Turk spoke with nomrous esecutives fromairlines hotels, and travel destinatioes lake Disney to find ouhat they needed and wanted to know Then they formed a team to help develop the survey questions; i included Laua Light from Hais loteractive, adults with disabilaties, and individaals representing businesses in the hospitality industry Theough a series of conference calls and meetings, the survey was crufted. "At the beginning we had far too many questions. The survey would have beem far too long."describes Lipp. "Our focus was too broad. cootributes Turk. So they narrowed the focus to primarily irlines and botels, giving only cursocy atteatica to restaurants and cruises. The resulting edited questionie alter the inisial draft by Hanis leteractive and five revisioes, would takae 21 miuses to adminis (See ExhibtODO-1 In tems of sampling, ODO namowed its definition of an adult with a disailitWe wanled the disahility to he pemmanent, and we wanted to cover the full range of physically limiting disabilues," shares Turk. "Bat we duin't wani 0 iaclude thoe with mental er em uonal disondces, "Hais ateractive idencifiedan aduk wah adisabiliny purticipast by uing a variation of the 2000US.Census qeestions In the U.5.Cenus, a disability was defined as "Hindness dea ness, or a condition that suhstantially limits one or more bassc physical activities sach as walking, climbing tairs, reachine,ifting.or carying.'(see Exhibi ODO-2) Inta, 1037 sarveys were completed between Sepeember 23, 2002 and Ocsobe 9, 21002 534 wene conducted caline uning the Harris Interactive online database and scroening for Khults with disabilites, while 503 nteniews were conducted by telephoee. Snme of the telephone participants had previously participated in Harris Inieractive salies and agreed to participane in future polls related to disability isses." Harris Interactive regularly uses a hybrid methodology involving phone and osline participants. "People with disabilities are not all reachable by Ilone cr onlíte: b, tun, oftheir dahility will aset:mes exclude one metad or another. It was important to use both to achieve a represeniative sample, shanes Laur Light, research direcoora Harris Interactive oo the ODO stody. During analysis, Haris Inleraclive addresses the dual methodoogies by weighing the data using aproprietaryweighting process "All Hanis Interactive polls are weighted by demogrighics to ensare the sample is repeeventative But with online studies, we use propensity weighting as well explains Ligh Online paricipants tend tobe better-infomed, so Harris Interactive uses responses to attitedinal and behavioral questioas to weightonline participanns' responses compared to those of persoas tbey speak with by phone. Propensity weigtingajusts responses of an individeal online participant based on nacional data about that individoal's likelihood 8o be online.

Explanation / Answer

With comparable foundation and conditions one of the principal things that I would have done in the exploratory period of this task would have been to get comfortable with the populace that I would manage. I would attempt to get comfortable with every one of the things that utmost incapacitated people by tuning in and conversing with them. I would endeavour to hear their worries extraordinary and little; I would tune in to all that they needed to state. I would endeavour to discover how their necessities were being met on an everyday premise, and how those restricting components affected their lives financially, socially, as people of the more prominent society. As a major aspect of my examination exertion I would chat with the general population who run or give the administrations that the handicapped populace relies upon or visit the most. In this manner I trust I would have the capacity to pick up a superior understanding my getting direct data from specialist organizations, carriers, eateries, and lodgings and so forth.

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