Social Science
Products
This section provides information about publications, documents and other materials available from the NPS Social Science Program. Hard copies of the documents listed below are housed in the Social Science Studies Collection in the Social Science Program office in Washington, DC. Select publications are being made available for downloading in PDF format. The reports below, in addition to the rest of the Social Studies Science Collection, can be viewed electronically on the NPS Focus Digital Library & Research Station Web site. For more information about these materials, please contact Megan McBride.
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The Program
In 1996, the National Park Service approved a plan for the NPS Social Science Program, entitled Usable Knowledge: A Plan for Furthering Social Science and the National Parks. A summary (98k) of this plan is available. Policies regarding NPS Social Science and the Social Science Program are contained within Director's Order #78: Social Science (103k).
In August 2007, the NPS Social Science Program convened an external review team to review the important issues associated with the various activities of the NPS Social Science Program. In particular, the review team was charged with "suggesting future strategies that will mitigate or remedy important problems confronting the Social Science Program and take full advantage of opportunities likely to emerge by the NPS Centennial year of 2016". External Evaluation of the National Park Service Social Science Program: Review Team Report is the final report, outlining the team's findings and recommendations.
Click here for a copy of the Social Science Program Annual Report for FY 2006 (408k).
Technical Assistance
The NPS Social Science Program provides technical assistance to parks, NPS clusters and regions, the Department of the Interior, and NPS partners. Below is a list of documents that have been completed as part of this technical assistance. Electronic copies of these documents are available.
Visitor Use and Evaluation of Interpretive Media (3.2mb), commissioned by the NPS Harpers Ferry Center, prepared by the Social Science Program and the Visitor Services Project (VSP). This report is an analysis of data from 23 VSP studies conducted in 1997, 1998, and 1999.
Trends in Demographics and Information Technology Affecting Visitor Center Use: Focus Group Report (1.4mb)commissioned by the Park Planning and Special Studies Program and prepared by Dr. James H. Gramann, NPS Visiting Chief Social Scientist.
Visitation Forecasting and Predicting Use of NPS Parks and Visitor Centers: Focus Group Report (843k), commissioned by the Park Planning and Special Studies Program and prepared by Dr. James H. Gramann, NPS Visiting Chief Social Scientist.
The Role of Crowding in Visitor Displacement at Mount Rainier and Olympic National Parks (649k), commissioned by the NPS Social Science Program, conducted by Dr. James H. Gramann, Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences and Department of Rural Sociology, Texas A&M University.
A Comprehensive Study of Visitor Safety in the National Park System: Final Report (495k), commissioned by the NPS Social Science Program and the Risk Management Division, conducted by Dr. Seth Tuler and Dr. Dominic Golding, The George Perkins Marsh Institute, Clark University.
An Analysis of Visitor Risk in the National Park System (769k)
An Inventory of Hazards and Risk Conditions in the National Parks (798k)
A Survey of Visitor Safety in the National Park System (1.6mb)
The Association of Race/Ethnicity, Gender, and Social Class in Outdoor Recreation Experiences: State of the Knowledge Report (577k), commissioned by the NPS Social Science Program and prepared by Dr. Donald Rodriguez and Ms. Nina Roberts at Colorado State University.
Burning Questions: A Social Science Research Plan for Federal Wildland Fire Management. For a copy of the 253 page report, please contact Sheila Williams.
A Look Ahead: Key Social and Environmental Forecasts Relevant to the National Park Service (492k), prepared for Discovery 2000, The National Park Service General Conference.
Expedited Approval for NPS-Sponsored Public Surveys, Annual Report, FY 2006 (402k) Expedited Approval Annual Reports for previous years are available on the Social Science Research page.
Gateway Opportunities: A Guide to Federal Programs for Rural Gateway Communities (1998) (228k)
Social Science Plan for Employee Safety in the National Park Service (1998) (258k)
A Social Science Plan for the Harpers Ferry Center (1997) (437k)
Looking to the Future of Virgin Islands National Park (1997) (1.1mb)
A Social Science Plan for South Florida National Park Service Units (1996) (437k)
NPS Comprehensive Survey of the American Public Reports
The NPS Social Science Program commissioned the first comprehensive survey of the general American public sponsored by the NPS in several decades. The telephone survey of 3,515 adults (a larger sample than many national polls) was conducted by Dr. Fred Solop and Ms. Kristi Hagen of the Social Research Laboratory at Northern Arizona University in early 2000. The survey dealt with a range of topics important to the NPS, including visitor and non-visitor demographics, barriers to visiting units of the National Park System, public attitudes toward fees, resource management policies, reservation systems, park planning and other issues, the public "image" of the National Park Service, public perception of problems facing the parks, and more. The following reports have been prepared by Northern Arizona University using data from the NPS Comprehensive Survey of the American Public:
The National Park Service Comprehensive Survey of the American Public, Technical Report (1.8mb)
National Park Service Fees: An Examination of Public Attitudes, Technical Report (295k)
Money Generation Model (MGM2) Reports
National Park Spending and Payroll Impacts for CY 2006 (579k) is now available. This study provides updated estimates of NPS visitor spending for 2006 and extends the analysis to include impacts of the NPS payroll on local economies. Visitor spending and local impacts are estimated using the Money General Model version 2 (MGM2) based on 2006 park visits, spending averages from park visitor surveys, and local area economic multipliers. Impacts of the NPS payroll are estimated based on 2006 payroll data for each park.
The Money Generation Model estimating economic impacts of park visitation is applied to selected Visitor Services Project (VSP) studies each year. Special reports are prepared for those parks choosing to incorporate the Economic Impact Analysis Module in the VSP study. Reports prior to 2003 are available on the NPS Focus Digital Library & Research Station Web site or on the MGM Web site.
Nicodemus National Historic Site, 2005 (431k)
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, 2005 (284k)
Johnstown Flood National Memorial, 2005 (533k)
Congaree National Park, 2005 (217k)
Lincoln Home National Historic Site, 2005 (231k)
Social Science Research Review Series
The Social Science Research Review Series includes specific review papers that focus on issues critical to the management of the National Park System. The purpose of each review is to provide the basis for scientific understanding of the issue. Experts are commissioned to write the review papers, and each paper is peer-reviewed. Copies of the reviews will be made available as they are completed.
Socioeconomic Atlas
The purpose of the Socioeconomic Atlas is to supplement the scientific knowledge of park managers with information on socioeconomic conditions in the regions surrounding national park units. Each atlas presents information about population, economy and commerce, social and cultural characteristics, recreation and tourism, administration and government, and land use for counties that surround a national park unit.
Visitor Services Project
The Visitor Services Project (VSP) has conducted over 140 in-depth visitor studies in units of the National Park System. The primary purpose of these studies has been to provide park managers with accurate information about visitors -- who they are, what they do, their needs and opinions. Park managers have used this information to improve visitor services, protect resources, and manage parks more efficiently. Copies of the VSP reports, report summaries, and survey instruments are available on the VSP Web site.
The Visitor Services Project produces an annual report, Serving the Visitor that describes how well the NPS is serving its customers. Serving the Visitor 2006 (1.84mb), the 12th annual report, is available.
For further information on the VSP, contact Margaret Littlejohn.
Visitor Survey Card
In FY98, the Social Science Program implemented a mail-back customer satisfaction card (referred to as the Visitor Survey Card or VSC) similar to surveys successfully used by major U.S. corporations. The survey is used annually by all NPS units to systematically measure and report performance related to the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) goals IIa1 (visitor satisfaction) and IIb1 (visitor understanding and appreciation). The customer satisfaction card enables parks, clusters, regions, and national program offices to measure their progress toward meeting annual and long-term GPRA goals. The FY07 (224k), FY06 (231k), FY05 (30k), FY04 (66k), FY03 (34k), FY02 (89k), FY01 (60k), FY00 (32k), FY99 (56k), and FY98 (52k) Systemwide Reports are available.
For further information on the Visitor Survey Card Project, contact Jennifer Hoger Russell, or visit the VSC Web site.
The VSC is part of the Visitor Services Project. The Visitor Services Project produces an annual report, Serving the Visitor that describes how well the NPS is serving its customers, and includes results from the Visitor Survey Card. Serving the Visitor 2006 (1.84mb), the 12th annual report, is available.
Public Use Statistics
The NPS Public Use Statistics Office produces a variety of reports ranging from monthly visitation summaries to annual statistical abstracts and in-depth analyses examining changes in visitation over the decades, current trends in park visitation, and short-term visitation forecasts. The annual National Park Service Statistical Abstract 2007 (1.24mb) is currently available. For further information on the Public Use Statistics Office, contact Butch Street, or visit the Public Use Statistics Office Web site.
For more information contact:
Megan McBride
Senior Research Associate
National Park Service
(c/o Air Resource Division)
PO Box 25287
Denver, CO 80225
Phone: 303-969-2814
Fax: 303-969-2822