Questionnaire surveys

Questionnaire surveys were conducted among the populations of the three local communities through structured interviews (98 in Krenides, 102 in Dispilio and 84 in Delphi). A pilot survey of 1% of the population of Krenides took place in September 2007. A shorter version of the preliminary questionnaire was finally adopted and used throughout the survey.

The questionnaire included both open-ended and closed questions and was divided into four parts: demographic data; perceptions of archaeology and its relevance to contemporary life; relationship with local archaeology and level of engagement with it’ and engagement with other local cultural stimuli. Demographic data included: gender; six age groups [13]; employment by sector [14] and groups for unemployed, undergraduate/graduate students, retired and housewives; education attainment in four groups and years of living in the local community into three groups. Finally, a grouping of visitor types was included according to similar research [15]. Similar research conducted in the United States, Canada, Britain, Italy and Greece was consulted and questions from them were intentionally incorporated so that the results are comparable. [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] The data was analysed using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) 14 and 17.

Data is presented in its most raw form and in any other grouping that is used in the thesis for the purposes of running statistical tests with meaningful outcomes. Tables of metadata explain the content of each column included in the spreadsheets.

In-depth Interviews

Twenty-eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with archaeologists from the local and the central services of the Ministry of Culture, archaeologists from other institutions that conducted research in the areas, influential members of the local communities, such as mayors and other members of the municipal council, representatives of the church, members of research associations and educational centres. All interviews were conducted in person except for one, which was returned by email.

Interview scenarios were drafted according to each interviewee’s role. Interviews lasted for approximately one hour. Interviewees were given an information sheet and a copyright consent form at the beginning of the interview. Participants’ personal data have been retained under the provisions of the UK Data Protection Act. Descriptive qualifiers have replaced names and other biographical information have been removed for purposes of confidentiality where possible. Question marks in square brackets [?] indicate transcription gaps. Three full-stops in a row in square brackets […] indicate removal of irrelevant information or information that would allow the identification of the interviewee. Words in square brackets indicate replacement of mainly names by the researcher for the purpose of confidentiality. Only features relevant to the analysis have been disclosed. Initials refer to names of individuals whose role is deemed to fall outside the remits of this piece of research.

Concealment of the archaeological sites and the local communities was rejected because it was deemed that it would compromise the analytic potential of the case studies by rendering unusable a series of their features. Three interviews were recorded on an analogue cassette recorder and the rest by an Olympus DM 20 digital recorder. Recordings were downloaded and replayed over the Olympus DSS Player computer software and transcribed in Word documents. All qualitative data was analysed in Nvivo 7.

Documentary Data

Archival data from the Municipalities of Makednon and Philippi was also included.

Case Studies

The case studies were chosen because the author’s personal work experience indicated them to be appropriate for eliciting the topic of investigation. First, they represent all periods of ancient Greek history: Dispilio is a Neolithic site, Delphi is mainly dated to the Classical times and Philippi to the Roman and Early Christian ones. Their archaeological remains differ accordingly from less to more monumental ones, and the type of archaeology practiced ranges from theoretically informed archaeology to history of ancient art and architectural history. Consequently, their role as archaeological sites in Greek and world archaeology, in the national imagination and in domestic and international tourism, and the level of intervention by the archaeological service also vary. The above features additionally influence to a certain degree social, economic and political features of the local communities. Delphi was chosen for the additional reason of extending the scope of research in geographical terms to southern Greece, the older part of the modern state (northern Greece was annexed in 1912). Therefore, the three cases present contrasting characteristics and it was presumed that they would elicit a wide range of attitudes and perceptions and thus presented the project with unique potentials.

Questionnaire Surveys

Stratified random sampling was used on the basis of gender and age groups according to the population profile of the local communities from the last national census. [21] [13] Every second person that walked by after the end of an interview was approached. The survey was conducted in open public spaces at all times of the day in all three communities: streets, cafes, taxi stands, bars, supermarkets, produce markets, bus stops but also back roads. A strict geographical definition of a ‘local community’ was applied and so only people who lived in the modern settlement next to each archaeological site were included. Potential participants were approached by asking them the question whether they permanently lived in Dispilio, Krenides or Delphi accordingly. If they turned out to be members of the local community, the researcher went on to explain that she was a research student and that she was conducting a survey regarding the relationship of the local community with the archaeological site and the archaeologists for the purposes of her studies.

In-depth Interviews

Interviewees were selected according to the role they played in the local communities and in local and central management of archaeology.

Questionnaire Surveys

A refusal rate was not recorded because its importance was underestimated at the beginning of the survey. However, it is the author’s conviction that local community members’ refusal rate was very low either because of the originality of and high interest in the survey (Delphi), according to participants’ own comments, or because the local communities were unaccustomed to the presence of a social researcher and willingly agreed to participate. It proved to be extremely difficult to include immigrants in all areas except for Delphi. Immigrants were approached in Krenides but refused to participate for reasons of understanding and expressing themselves in Greek.

Data type

Primary and secondary data

Format names and versions

Adobe Reader PDF, txt, csv

Creation dates

04/08/2008 – 09/12/2009

Dataset Creators

Anastasia Sakellariadi

Language

Greek (interview transcripts) and Greek with English translation (questionnaires)

License

CC-BY

Repository location

DOI: 10.7910/DVN/27040

Publication date

(09/02/2015)