Measuring Specialization among Birders: Utility of a Self-Classification Measure

By David Steven Scott, R. Ditton, J. Stoll, T. Eubanks. 2005

152 citations recorded by the source corpus.

This article sought to determine the efficacy of a self-classification measure of recreation specialization, relative to two-multi-item approaches, in predicting other aspects of recreation participation (in this case, motivations). The sample was drawn from birders who traveled to the Platte River (Nebraska) to experience the annual crane migration. The self-classification measure had birdwatchers categorize themselves as a committed birder, an active birder, or a casual birder. Factor analysis of six behavior, skill, and commitment items resulted in a single factor solution; thus, an index of recreation specialization was created by summing respondents’ standardized scores for these items. Respondents were divided into categories of high, medium, and low specialization. Also, cluster analysis was used to create another multi-item indicator of specialization. Each of the three measures was significantly related to motivations. The self-classification measure of specialization was somewhat stronger in predicting activity-specific motivations; there was little difference among measures in predicting more generic birdwatching motives. This research was funded by Fermata with a contract from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Subfields: Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis, Social Psychology, Sociology and Political Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/411f037cd840ae39e228a451feebefeef149d3b1

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis

1. C. Oh
2. Robert Arlinghaus
3. L. Hunt

In Social Psychology

1. Robert Arlinghaus
2. W. Haider
3. B. Beardmore
4. L. Hunt
5. C. Oh
6. R. Ditton

In Sociology and Political Science

1. Robert Arlinghaus
2. W. Haider
3. B. Beardmore
4. L. Hunt
5. C. Oh
6. R. Ditton
7. S. Katircioğlu
8. Robertico Croes

Citations in the corpus

• Using Recreation Specialization to Understand Multi-Attribute Management PReferences (2006, result): “The three groups used were consistent with previous study efforts (e.g., Hvenegaard, 2002; Martin, 1997; Scott et al., 2005) and perhaps more amenable to management with each implementation.”
• Evaluating the Ability of Specialization Indicators to Explain Fishing Preferences (2013, methodology): “Despite these limitations, the use of self-classification methods is becoming more popular (e.g., Kerins, Scott, & Shafer, 2011; Needham et al., 2009; Scott et al., 2005).”