We are having to rearrange our research plans to suit the new circumstances, but the original research methods for our data collection was semi-structured interviews, observations and urban tours.
The two transport companies we had hoped to interview were GVB and RAi, in which we have previously contacted regarding a meet up. RAÍ has not been responsive and as for GBV, they answered with the following message: “Thanks for contacting us. Unfortunately, we are really busy with our concession and our strategies. However, I would like to help you with your research, can you share your questions here with us and we will try our best to help you as best as possible. Via the following page, you can find already some information regarding our sustainability plans: https://over.gvb.nl” . Which means that despite the field trip being cancelled, it has not effected the process in which we would have gained insight from this company. Also, we had expected to interview residents of Amsterdam through the “We Live Here” organisation to understand what transport they use on a daily basis, yet we will have to get in touch and see if an interview by other means is possible.We had also looked for potential Coffee shops who specialised in being sustainable in aim to interview the owner or a worker. Through Facebook we searched and found the business “Back to Black” ( https://m.facebook.com/backtoblackcoffee/ ). We then messaged them via fb messenger asking if they were available for an interview in the time we would be in Amsterdam, since a post on their home page revealed that one of their key values was “to work as sustainable as possible”, however they haven’t yet got back to us. Also, whilst browsing through Facebook we came across an organisation named “Sustainable Amsterdam” in which led us to their website ( http://sustainableamsterdam.com/ ) the organisation provided a lot of information significant to our research topic, so we messaged the organisation via fb messenger, also asking them if a member would be happy to partake in an interview, however they too failed to contact us back. This means that unfortunately, so far we only have one possible participant willing to be involved with our research.
As for changing our interview plans, perhaps we will contact those that didn’t respond with the proposal of doing an email interview, phone-based interview or a Skype conversation, to see whether this might alter their decision, as the time frame is made more lenient. As well, it might be beneficial for us to contact different businesses in case that our low response rate stays the same.
As for the observation side of our research, we had thought of documenting and capturing the reality of the transport in Amsterdam by using a go-pro. Then with the images and videos we would had collected we might have made a short video displaying the experiences within the trip, very much provided a visual insight of our findings, plus it would of shown sustainable transport in action rather than just in writing.
But instead, we may have to be creative in thinking of other ways to observe the transport in Amsterdam without actually being there in person. One thought, is that we could use secondary data, such as already existing YouTube videos that show Amsterdams transport through other people’s experiences and too we could compare the videos out there to see if there are any similarities and differences, moreover we could monitor if sustainability is regarded throughout their travelling choices or whether it is other factors that make up their mind in how to travel. By searching transport in Amsterdam on youtube, a selection of different videos are recommended, with those being “travel transport guidelines” and “travel tips” ( https://m.youtube.com/results?search_query=transport+in+amsterdam ) and with the wide range of videos available, I scrolled through and found that, all the types of transport we had hoped to experience, are all recorded on film (bus, tram, train, ferry, bicycle); this will for sure be very helpful in enlightening us on Amsterdams travel systems, as well as at the same time becoming aware of many other people’s opinions. Moreover, we could use our own past experiences to Amsterdam, as I have personally been 4 times, which means that I have experienced the transport systems on several different occasions, therefore I have primarily built up an opinion on the types of transport I have used there, plus I can consider what aspects are the most memorable from my previous trips. Having said this, I have actually found a travel guide from the GVB transport company; which I kept as a keepsake, suggesting that I would have believed it to be a reminder of my experience; which shows that transport was featured within my impression of the City.
An additional method we had chose to utilise was urban tours, however there was a consistent pattern and that was the prices of the tours, with almost all of them being expensive, usually costing between £40-£75 each, so we decided to ask for an interview with someone from the Lonely Planet Experiences: In the City of Bikes tour ( https://www.urbanadventures.com/Amsterdam-tour-in-the-city-of-bikes ) ,as for their eco-friendly approach, but unfortunately we didn’t get a response. What’s more, is that we had organised to do a walking tour with PIC, which means that we will be missing out on the valuable information and feelings that would of been provided and generated doing this. We may have to see if there are any substitute tours in Liverpool which will explore similar themes.
At this moment of time, I feel as if our research is all up in the air, having only one source of data (GVB) being responsive and I’m worried that this will go against us in the long run and when coming to doing our final report. I think that our group now needs to meet up and solidify a more up to date plan on how to progress towards our research objectives, despite the obstacles getting in our way. I view Mondays lecture (16th of March) as an important opportunity to do exactly this, as it will set us up with a plan for the week, as well as coming to terms with virtual fieldwork and what it entails. More so, it will help us to get our heads around the changes and hopefully restore confidence in what our intentions are.
Faye's International Fieldwork Blog 