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Methods Background Form an interdisciplinary team The first step in developing and planning a physical activity and environment study is to form an interdisciplinary team. It is important that you work with experts in the following fields:
Studies to identify how environmental attributes influence physical activity will not succeed without the involvement of relevant research disciplines. In public health research, behavioral scientists, epidemiologists, demographers and experts from other disciplines have begun to study the spatial determinants of health-related behavioral choices. In transportation and urban planning, researchers from social geography, urban studies, architecture, transport engineering and other disciplines have carried out many studies on how urban form can influence active or inactive commuting choices. In leisure studies and related areas, researchers have built a broad body of knowledge, concepts and methods relating to active uses of leisure time in parks, on trails and in community facilities. These disciplines, with apparently diverse interests, are now coming together and finding new common ground. A key objective of IPEN is to encourage the interdisciplinary linkages that will allow the best behavioral, social and spatial data to be gathered. Please tell us about your experiences of successful (or unsuccessful) networking so that we can develop a list of tips for IPEN members. It is important that you learn a bit about each field so that you can ask pertinent questions. It is also important that you agree on common definitions and clearly explain key words and concepts from the start. The recent Institute of Medicine and the Transportation Research Board special report “Does the built environment influence physical activity? Examining the Evidence” (2005) outlines some of the issues involved in transdisciplinary research and has a glossary of terms that may be useful. Downloadable from the following link: http://books.nap.edu/html/SR282/SR282.pdf The following references may also help in understanding the nature of transdisciplinary research. Theoretical approaches to the promotion of physical activity: Forging a transdisciplinary paradigm Forging trandisciplinary bridges to meet the physical inactivity challenge in the 21st century The first Active Living Research Conference: Growth of a transdisciplinary field The public health roots of zoning: In search of active living’s legal genealogy Perceived and objective environmental measures and physical activity among urban adults Linking objectively measured physical activity with objectively measured urban form: Findings from SMARTRAQ From walkability to active living potential: An “ecometric” validation study Evaluation of the California Safe Routes to School legislation: Urban form changes and children’s active transportation to school Economics and physical activity: A research agenda Contributions of leisure studies and recreation and park management research to the active living agenda The significance of parks to physical activity and public health: A conceptual model Increasing walking: How important is distance to, attractiveness, and size of public open space? Evaluating change in physical activity with the building of a multi-use trail Influences of building design and site design on physical activity: Research and intervention opportunities Preventing childhood obesity: A solution-oriented research paradigm In vivo studies of transdisciplinary scientific collaboration: Lessons learned and implications for active living research Active living research and the urban design, planning, and transportation disciplines Land use, the built environment, and physical activity: A public health mixture; a public health solution Commentary on active living research Other Methods Backgrounds
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