Microsoft Word 2007 ichrie conference Proceedings Final-Final 06-06-07. doc

METHODOLOGY 
Data.
Visitors to a Philadelphia tourism marketing website (
www.gophila.com
) were recruited for this study.
Initially, a panel of 1500 website users was formed for a marketing study. Following the events of September 11, 
2001 a follow-up self-administered survey was sent via surface mail. This mailing included a cover letter that 
described the study as well as a preaddressed postage paid return envelope. A survey form that collected 
information on travel behavior, changes in travel behavior due to the terrorist attacks of 9/11, anticipated future 
travel behavior, level of worry about being victimized by terrorism, and perceived airline safety was enclosed. An 
open ended question that asked the respondent to describe “how the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 affected 
you” in the context of traveling and vacationing, was also part of the survey. Information about the respondent’s 
gender, age group, education level, and income level were collected via the initial web-based survey.
Analysis.
One of the key steps in the analysis involved the content analysis of responses to the open-ended question 
on how the respondent had been affected by the events of September 11. A “Mental Models” approach was adopted 
(Carley, 1997; Carley & Palmquist 1992; Wright, 2004). This method assumes that people use their respective 

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