Data is the new oil in today’s world. With data, we answer important questions that guide policy making. It shall not be surprising to anyone to know that how we ask questions matter! Heard of this saying: garbage in, garbage out? Though it seems everyone can ask questions and collect data, it shall be also pointed out that how we ask questions is a science itself: it is called “Instrument Design”. If questions are not asked in an objective way, there are biases. Therefore, in instrument design, a fundamental rule is to borrow as much as we can from “authoratative sources” whose questions have been repeatedly tested and validated. This is one area where our “own innovation of question design” is needed in the minimum. 

With this spirit, this page compiles survey work that is completed by students of CET512 class (Transportation Data Collection) since winter 2021. In this class, groups of students identify alternative sources for asking sections of questions (e.g., socio-demographis of a household or a person, travel related) that are often used in household travel surveys, and then recommend which source shall be used and if there are any modifications needed. The questions compiled here serve a guide for future students of this class, as well as anyone who wants to see what question formats have been used to ask certain questions.