4.3. Research variables and data analysis

In November 2019 and March 2020, children from each school answered the ‘Perception, Health and Travel Survey’. With a focus on physical activity and leisure time, the questionnaire aimed to discover children’s leisure and physical activity patterns, their perceptions and experiences in daily journeys, their sleeping patterns and general outlook on active travel in the neighbourhood. Through a series of single-answer multiple choice questions, 5-point Likert scale matrix statements and a few open-ended questions, the survey presented pertinent subjects related to CIM. Relevant questions included their journeys in the neighbourhood in terms of length, mode of travel, escorting, frequency and, whether they were allowed to travel without an adult when going to organized activities, to visit friends and to play outside. The questionnaires were translated from Spanish for the present study by the author and reinterpreted according to relevant CIM themes found in the literature. In this way, questions considered unrelated to the research objectives were left out of the analysis, APPENDICES

Appendix 1, Appendix 2 and Appendix 3 presents the selected survey questions.

Parents and guardians, which included aunts, grandmothers, and older siblings, completed two separate surveys. The first comprised similar themes, such as trip information on school journeys and walking perceptions. It also gathered relevant information on household socioeconomics such as income, SES level, number of people and children in the family, as well as questions regarding neighbourhood and community cohesion. This survey presented similar Likert scale matrix statements to those of children, which allowed for comparisons between both. The second survey presented detailed sociodemographic information on every household member, such as age, gender, level of education, employment, main modes of transport and available vehicles in the home (Appendix 4).

4.3. Research variables and data analysis

Following the research framework, the questionnaire was interpreted through four main themes of discussion: Licence to walk and play, walking perceptions, walking experiences, neighbourhood and community. Both children and caretakers' responses were studied using descriptive statistical analysis performed with Excel and Tableau Prep and Desktop software. The latter was also employed in the visualisation of the data.

The categorical variables for children were: Age (“9-12 years old” and “13-16 years old”), gender (girls and boys), mode (walking) and independence (accompanied by parents/other