The PING Project: Using Ecological Momentary Assessments to Better Understand When and How Woodland Owner Group Members Engage with Their Woodlands
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Department of Forestry, Michigan State University, Michigan, MI 48824, USA
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Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003-9285, USA
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Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Forests 2020, 11(9), 944; https://doi.org/10.3390/f11090944
Received: 23 July 2020
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Revised: 24 August 2020
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Accepted: 25 August 2020
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Published: 28 August 2020
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Management of Family Forests)
Research Highlights: Ecological momentary assessments (EMAs) are a fresh approach to measuring behavior by querying the subject in real time. Typical studies of FFO behavior use self-reported survey data. FFOs across the United States collectively own more forested land than any other ownership category, and their actions will impact the public goods these forests provide. Thus, better measures of FFO actions are critical to understanding how these public goods may be affected. Background and Objectives: In this pilot study, we evaluated the potential of ecological momentary assessments to understand family forest owner (FFO) engagement with their woods. We sought to test recruitment, attrition, and participant reaction to the method. Materials and Methods: FFOs belong to woodland owner associations were sent the same questions weekly for a month, asking about woodland engagement. Results: Nearly 90% of participants completed all four surveys and the majority found the method reasonable. Most participants thought about their woods weekly, but a longer time period is needed to measure temporal management trends. Conclusions: This approach may yield real-time and useful information about natural resource engagement to inform conservation-based programming and outreach.
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Keywords:
conservation behavior; ecological momentary assessment; family forests; recall bias; survey methods
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MDPI and ACS Style
Huff, E.S.; Kittredge, D.B. The PING Project: Using Ecological Momentary Assessments to Better Understand When and How Woodland Owner Group Members Engage with Their Woodlands. Forests 2020, 11, 944. https://doi.org/10.3390/f11090944
AMA Style
Huff ES, Kittredge DB. The PING Project: Using Ecological Momentary Assessments to Better Understand When and How Woodland Owner Group Members Engage with Their Woodlands. Forests. 2020; 11(9):944. https://doi.org/10.3390/f11090944
Chicago/Turabian StyleHuff, Emily S., and David B. Kittredge. 2020. "The PING Project: Using Ecological Momentary Assessments to Better Understand When and How Woodland Owner Group Members Engage with Their Woodlands" Forests 11, no. 9: 944. https://doi.org/10.3390/f11090944
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