On researching bicycle-sharing systems...

I understand that some of our Business students are doing a marketing project involving bicycle-sharing systems. The core of that assignment requires primary market research (surveys, etc.), but we all know that secondary research is still important in such cases: to provide the context for the primary work; to learn from the methodologies used by others (sample questions, variable descriptions, etc.); and to avoid re-doing work that has already been done to an acceptable degree. So, with all that in mind, I thought I'd post a few thoughts on places and ways to research bicycle sharing systems from a marketing/consumer perspective. I'm doing it in a blog so that even those who aren't in the class can use this as an example as they explore some of our less-known databases. 

Resources:

1. TRID: Transportation Research
   
   Try this search for "Bicycle Sharing" to start. This database is often my first stop when I'm dealing with any sort of a transportation topic. It covers both the US Transportation Research Board and the OECD's Transport Research Centre. Many of the resources they list are freely available online. In cases where the resource isn't free, be sure to check the SFU Library to see if we have access.  When in doubt, ask! (Other terms to try in this database: Bicycle commuting; Bicycle facilities; Vehicle sharing.)
   
     
2. Local Governments & Organizations
   
   Go straight to the source! Local governments often study key issues like this and release lots of data and statistics publicly. * Check out the City of Vancouver’s bike-sharing page. (Be sure to scan the links on the left side for more on bikes and other forms of transportation in Vancouver.) * Metro Vancouver’s publications include some titles that may be of use for this topic, both directly (e.g., check out Travel Times and Transit Ridership in the Key Facts section) and indirectly (the data on things like population growth, etc. may be useful for your analysis). * Translink’s study from 2008. * UBC public bike system feasibility study
   
     
3. GEOBASE
   
   Geography researchers often get involved in such transportation topics, so it makes sense to check a geography database.  GEOBASE search results will have some overlap with TRID (above) on this topic, but it's still worth trying this database.  Try "Bicycle Sharing" as your initial search term again, but you may also need to use combinations of terms such as Cycle Transport, Public Transport, Urban Transport, and Sustainability.  And don't forget that this isn't a marketing database, so you may need to look closely to find information that will help you with your decision.  Do any of the articles talk about the barriers to implementation or the nature of the people who use such services the most?
   
     
4. Canadian Public Policy Collection
   
   This database provides reports from Canadian research institutes, think tanks, and government agencies.  I came across some interesting reports from places such as Transport Canada in my initial search.  When you see a relevant report from a specific institute or agency, make sure you search the web for that organization's web page in case they have more to offer there.
   
     
5. PsycInfo
   
   How do people behave and feel when it comes to sharing transportation/commuting methods? Does that vary by culture, age, income?  Are regular bikers different from other folks in some way?  I have no idea! But the folks who might have studied this sort of thing tend to get their work published in business or psychology journals that are covered by PsycInfo.  Again, remember that even a vaguely relevant article may have some methodology or other details that you could learn from -- think broadly when you scan your list of results.  Check out this rough exploratory search I just did.
   
     
6. News
   
   This tends to be a newsworthy topic, so it makes sense to check news databases. Start with the Canadian newspapers in our Canadian Newsstand database. (Check out this exploratory search I just did in Canadian Newsstand.)  Also try Factiva for much more international coverage. Remember that the value of news stories is often in the names of any organizations or studies that they mention. Be sure to follow those clues!
   
     
7. Theses
   
   Summit, our Institutional Repository, contains copies of recent theses done by SFU graduate students, including at least a couple that are on this topic.  Also check Digital Dissertations for theses done at other schools (sample search).  Always remember to scan the reference lists in any thesis that seems even a bit close to your topic!
   
     
8. SimplyMap-Canada
   
   This one may be a bit of a stretch. SimplyMap has very little on biking specifically (I see only data by neighbourhood on the percentage of the labour force that bicycles to work), but it has some other census and psychographic data that may prove useful. Perhaps your other research resources will help you identify a core demographic description of the typical bike sharer -- SimplyMap may have a PRIZM category (psychographic data) that covers the same variables.
   
     
9. Business Source Complete
   
   I bet you thought I'd start with our main Business database, right? BSC is definitely worth a shot in a case like this, but the topic is unusual enough that I'd probably start with the sources above first.  Nevertheless, BSC does have lots to offer -- the results will overlap with some of the sources above, but you'll also get lots of unique results, both academic and more "newsy" non-academic publications. Start with this rough search I just did to get articles like:

• *  Efthymiou, D., Antoniou, C., & Waddell, P. (2013). Factors affecting the adoption of vehicle sharing systems by young drivers. Transport Policy, 2964-73. doi:10.1016/j.tranpol.2013.04.009

Search strategies and skills:

• As with any research, you should first spend a few minutes thinking about your questions.  Searching over and over again with terms like "bicycle sharing" may not uncover peripheral material that could help you be innovative. Don't spend all your time walking the same, well-worn paths!
  
   
• Maybe you will want to focus also on the demographics and behaviours of bike-riders in general (or bike-commuters), leaving the "sharing" part out of some of your searches?
  
   
• Or maybe you'll want to investigate the much more plentiful research done on how people choose between mass transit and driving?  The methodologies and findings of such studies may be relevant to your bike topic.
  
   
• How about studies/polls done on people's commuting choices, for instance this one by local firm, InsightsWest: Overwhelming majority of drivers would green their commute if employer provided incentives.
  
   
• Would studies/polls on people's opinions around dedicated bike lanes (a contentious topic in Vancouver, so one that is likely to have some data behind it) possibly have methodology or conclusion details that would be relevant to your topic? See, for example, this post on another InsightsWest poll: Your Insights on Separated Bike Lanes in Vancouver.
  
   
• And as you find specific companies in your initial searches (e.g., Bixi), be sure to use them in future searches in many of the sources above (plus in Google).

Extra stuff added after the original post:

• Check out Airbnb, Lyft, Uber, bike-share and beyond: Research roundup on the sharing economy. Part of the Journalist's Resource, a Harvard site that lists scholarly research on hot news topics, this page highlights key academic research done on the sharing economy.  Remember that if you are off campus, you will need to either add the following in front of the journal article URLs [http://proxy.lib.sfu.ca/login?url=], or search for each journal via the library. (Or try these other approaches.)