@article{ref1,
title="How Much Observation Is Enough? Refining the Administration of SOPARC",
journal="Journal of physical activity and health",
year="2011",
author="Cohen, Deborah A. and Setodji, Claude M. and Evenson, Kelly R. and Ward, Phillip and Lapham, Sandra and Hillier, Amy and McKenzie, Thomas L.",
volume="8",
number="8",
pages="1117-1123",
abstract="BACKGROUND: The Systematic Observation of Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC) was designed to estimate the number and characteristics of people using neighborhood parks by assessing them 4 times/day, 7 days/week. We tested whether this schedule was adequate and determined the minimum number of observations necessary to provide a robust estimate of park user characteristics and their physical activity levels. METHODS: We conducted observations every hour for 14 hours per day during 1 summer and 1 autumn week in 10 urban neighborhood parks: 2 each in Los Angeles, CA; Albuquerque, NM; Columbus, OH; Durham, NC; and Philadelphia, PA. We counted park users by gender, age group, apparent race/ethnicity, and activity level. We used a standardized Cronbach's alpha and intraclass correlation coefficients to test the reliability of using fewer observations. RESULTS: We observed 76,632 individuals, an average of 547/park/day (range 155-786). Interobserver reliability ranged from 0.80 to 0.99. Obtaining a robust estimate of park user characteristics and their physical activity required a schedule of 4 days/week, 4 times/day. CONCLUSION: An abbreviated schedule of SOPARC was sufficient for estimating park use, park user characteristics, and physical activity. Applying these observation methods can augment physical activity surveillance.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1543-3080",
doi="",
url="http://dx.doi.org/"
}