Glerum, A., Atasoy, B., and Bierlaire, M. (2012)

Using semi-open questions to integrate perceptions in choice models

This research investigates the measurement of perceptions by means of adjectives freely reported by respondents in semi-open questions. The objective of this work is to use these adjectives as indicators of perceptions in hybrid choice models (HCM) in order to derive demand indicators. Perceptions are indeed assumed to impact choice significantly and this type of data has not been integrated yet into HCM.We exploit a quantification of the adjectives performed by external evaluators (called ‘experts’). Given the subjectivity that is involved, we analyze the sensitivity of the results across experts who rated the adjectives. We observe that the aggregate indicators of demand, such as market shares, elasticities and values of time, are rather robust across experts. This is not the case for the disaggregate indicators that may vary substantially across experts.