Design and Analytical Methods Synopsis

In brief, a seven-page questionnaire consisting of 37 open and closed format questions was designed for a statistical survey to measure the range of associations Mexican visitors and local residents of the Teotihuacan Valley form with the World Heritage site of Teotihuacan. Based upon and augmenting participant observation and pre-survey interviews, the statistical survey’s goal was to break down the ambiguous concept of ‘heritage’ into these specific associations, and to allow quantitative comparison of these associations as well as causal inference concerning the primary factors responsible for these associations. The questionnaire was administered using a stratified-systematic sampling procedure to permit generalization to the population of the valley and the ‘population’ of Teotihuacan visitors as a whole. A total of 471 questionnaires were collected, exceeding the minimum required (450), using this sampling technique and allowing for non-response, for a confidence level of 95%. An over-sampling of individuals aged 18-29 (17.6% greater representation in the survey), however, diminishes somewhat the representativeness of the survey and cautions against inferences to the population. Once collected, the responses to the questionnaire were numerically coded to create a database. The majority of responses were then utilized for exploratory purposes as descriptive or univariate statistics. Questions related to the primary explanatory concepts or associations were rendered into scales, using multivariate factor analysis and tests of unidimensionality and reliability, so that the relative strengths of these associations could be assessed. Finally, to get at the possible factors, whether demographic or socio-cultural, responsible for these associations, inferential statistics, consisting of partial and multiple correlations and regression analysis, were utilized. All of these steps, with their respective methods and goals for the analysis, are summarized in Table 6.3. The preceding sections of this chapter have outlined the initial steps of the design and analytical methods of the survey. ‘Data Analysis’ is presented in the following chapter (Chapter 7).

Table 6.3: Summary of methods used in survey

Forward to Chapter 7: Inheritage: a Case Study of Teotihuacan’s Contemporary Associations

Containments

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