Survey Designer/Researcher

Motivf is seeking a highly skilled and detail-oriented Part-Time Survey Designer/Researcher to support the planning and execution of an onboard origin-destination and demographic survey for a local Transit System. This role is instrumental in ensuring the development of scientifically robust sampling strategies and the creation of effective, user-centered survey instruments.

Key Responsibilities

• Survey Design & Instrumentation

  • Design comprehensive, accessible, and accurate survey instruments for origin-destination and demographic data collection.

  • Incorporate respondent characteristics (e.g., language, literacy, travel patterns) and transit environment constraints into instrument design.

  • Ensure alignment with a county’s data requirements, Environmental Justice, and Title VI standards.

  • Propose appropriate data elements, question wording, and layout for clarity and usability.

• Sampling Plan Development

  • Develop statistically valid sampling plans that reflect travel, person, and household characteristics across all fixed county transit routes.

  • Address potential biases, such as non-response from low-income or short-trip riders, and propose mitigation strategies.

  • Calculate appropriate sample sizes to maintain desired levels of statistical confidence and accuracy.

• Data Framework Integration

  • Work with the database team to incorporate survey weights and intermediate fields/tables into the project’s Microsoft Access survey database.

  • Ensure all variable definitions, ranges, and error codes are clearly documented and logically integrated.

• Recommendations & Reporting

  • Provide evidence-based recommendations on survey methodology and approach, drawing from previous origin-destination survey experience.

  • Draft and revise supporting materials for pilot and full deployment.

  • Collaborate with QA/QC teams to ensure survey instrument performance and data quality.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree (Master’s preferred) in Statistics, Sociology, Transportation Planning, Data Science, or related field.

• Minimum 3 years of experience in survey design and research, preferably for transit, demographic, or origin-destination studies.

• Demonstrated ability to design sampling frameworks and analyze sampling error.

• Proficiency with Microsoft Access and experience in survey data structure and weighting methodology.