Viewpoints
Reponse to Notification of
Subsistence Survey
By Dave Person
January 08, 2006
Sunday
I am very glad to hear that BIA is sponsoring a survey of subsistence
resource use by local residents. Unfortunately Cheryl Haven's
announcement of the survey calls the objectivity of survey results
seriously into question before it has even begun. By indicating
that the results will be used to help decide Ketchikan's status
as rural or urban, she likely has unwittingly predisposed the
results. Anyone who desires rural status along with a rural subsistence
preference for Ketchikan will be tempted to inflate their reported
subsistence use. The survey is anonymous so there is no way
to verify the truth of answers given. Hopefully, those writing
the survey are sufficiently skilled in survey research to know
how to include questions that probe for contradictions that can
be used to evaluate the reliability of particular responses.
Dave Person
Ketchikan, AK - USA
About: Dave Person is a resident
of Ketchikan and a research wildlife biologist.
Related Viewpoint:
 Subsistence
Usage Study By Cheryl Haven - Ketchikan, AK - USA
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