This Smith_et_al_MarConsPaleobio_PerspectivesOnLong-termData_Readme.txt file was generated on 20170216 by Jansen A. Smith ------------------- GENERAL INFORMATION ------------------- 1. Title of Dataset: Data from: Conceptions of long-term data among marine conservation biologists and what conservation paleobiologists need to know 2. Author Information Principal Investigator Contact Information Name: Jansen A. Smith Institution: Cornell University Address: 1142 Snee Hall, Ithaca, NY 14850 Email: jas933@cornell.edu Co-investigator Contact Information Name: Stephen R. Durham Institution: Cornell University Address: 1142 Snee Hall, Ithaca, NY 14850 Email: srd77@cornell.edu Co-investigator Contact Information Name: Gregory P. Dietl Institution: Paleontological Research Institution Address: 1259 Trumansburg Road, Ithaca, NY 14850 Email: gpd3@cornell.edu 3. Date of data collection: 20150915 - 20160515 4. Geographic location of data collection: Paleontological Research Institution, 1259 Trumansburg Road, Ithaca, NY 14850 5. Information about funding sources that supported the collection of the data: This project was conducted without funding support. -------------------------- SHARING/ACCESS INFORMATION -------------------------- 1. Licenses/restrictions placed on the data: There are no restrictions or licenses placed on these data. If used, please cite the dataset as listed below. 2. Links to publications that cite or use the data: n/a 3. Links to other publicly accessible locations of the data: n/a 4. Links/relationships to ancillary data sets: n/a 5. Was data derived from another source? No If yes, list source(s): 6. Recommended citation for the data: Smith, J.A., Durham, S.R., & Dietl, G.P. 2017. Conceptions of long-term data among marine conservation biologists and what conservation paleobiologists need to know, In: Marine Conservation Paleobiology (Topics in Geobiology). Springer Verlag, New York. Tyler, C.L., Schneider, C.L. (eds). --------------------- DATA & FILE OVERVIEW --------------------- 1. File List A. Filename: Smith et al. Long-term data survey questions Short description: This file is a PDF version of the survey that was distributed between 20150915 - 20160515 to marine conservation biologists in the United States. The survey includes 23 questions. B. Filename: Smith et al. Long-term data survey responses Short description: This file contains the responses of 90 persons who fully completed the survey. Persons who did not choose to “Submit” their responses were omitted from analysis. For open-ended questions, authors’ categorizations of responses are also given. Responses to the demographic questions 1, 2, and 4-6 have been removed to maintain respondents’ anonymity. C. Filename: Smith et al. Categorization Rationale Short description: This file provides a description of the authors’ rationale for categorizing open-ended responses for questions 3, 7, 9, 10, 12, 14, 17, and 20-23 of the survey. 2. Relationship between files: The first file (Smith et al. Long-term data survey questions) is a PDF version of the survey that was distributed. The responses to that survey are held in the second file (Smith et al. Long-term data survey responses). The third file (Smith et al. Categorization Rationale) describes how those survey responses were categorized by the authors. 3. Additional related data collected that was not included in the current data package: n/a 4. Are there multiple versions of the dataset? No If yes, list versions: Name of file that was updated: i. Why was the file updated? ii. When was the file updated? Name of file that was updated: i. Why was the file updated? ii. When was the file updated? -------------------------- METHODOLOGICAL INFORMATION -------------------------- 1. Description of methods used for collection/generation of data: The web survey was open for responses during three periods. The initial (September−November 2015) solicitation targeted marine laboratories and researchers in the United States with academic, governmental, and non-governmental affiliations. In response to the distribution of respondents from the first solicitation, which included few academics, two additional solicitations were sent out during January 2016 and April 2016, to an academic listserv (ECOLOG-L) and to members of the National Association of Marine Laboratories, respectively, to reach more academics. We report the combined results of all three solicitations. The survey consisted of 23 questions on six broad topics: demographics, conservation goals, long-term data, environmental stressors, baselines, and the challenges of applying LTD in marine conservation. Several question types were used, ranging from multiple-choice to short written responses. Survey responses were categorized for each question and all three authors reviewed each of the categorizations. First Solicitation In order to establish our survey population, we searched the Internet for organizations conducting research or management in marine systems. All institutions, agencies, laboratories, etc. were based in the United States and included National Estuarine Research Reserves (e.g., Chesapeake Bay NERR), Sea Grant programs (e.g., Alaska Sea Grant), governmental departments (e.g., Alaska Department of Fish and Game) and their divisions (Division of Habitat), and academic marine laboratories (e.g., Darling Marine Center, University of Maine). For each organization, we contacted the director, president, or positional equivalent via email prior to the activation of the survey (n=202). If we received a positive response (agreement to distribute the survey within the organization) from an organization (n=54), we sent a solicitation to the contact upon activation of the survey. If we did not receive an initial response (n=136), we sent a second email to the contact with a solicitation at the time of survey activation to encourage participation. We did not contact those who responded negatively (n=12) to the initial solicitation. The survey was open September – November 2015. Second Solicitation We opened the survey a second time during January 2016. In this period, we sent a solicitation to the Ecological Society of America listserv, ECOLOG-L, in an attempt to reach marine conservation biologists who we may not have been reached by our first solicitation. ECOLOG-L is distributed internationally, however, the solicitation explicitly requested participation from researchers and managers working in the United States of America. Third Solicitation During April 2016, we opened the survey for a third time. We sent a solicitation to the president of the National Association of Marine Laboratories (NAML) and he distributed the survey to the directors of the member laboratories with a goal of increasing participation from the academic demographic. NAML includes governmental laboratories but its more than 50 members are primarily associated with academia. Visit [http://www.naml.org/index.php] for more information on NAML. 2. Methods for processing the data: Data were used in their raw form for multiple choice questions and were categorized for short answer questions. For a complete, question-specific description of the categorization process, see “Smith et al. Long-term data survey responses” 3. Instrument- or software-specific information needed to interpret the data: n/a 4. Standards and calibration information, if appropriate: n/a 5. Environmental/experimental conditions: n/a 6. Describe any quality-assurance procedures performed on the data: n/a 7. People involved with sample collection, processing, analysis and/or submission: Jansen A. Smith, Stephen R. Durham, Gregory P. Dietl ----------------------------------------- DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: Data from: Conceptions of long-term data among marine conservation biologists and what conservation paleobiologists need to know ----------------------------------------- 1. Number of variables: There are 18 questions, with categorizations when appropriate. Data for four demographic questions, on ethnicity, gender, education, place of employment, years of experience, have been removed to maintain respondents’ anonymity. Please contact the authors if you would like access to these demographic data. 2. Number of cases/rows: 90 3. Question List For a list of survey questions see “Smith et al. Long-term data survey questions” and for a description of response categorizations see “Smith et al. Categorization Rationale” 4. Missing data codes: Blank cells indicate that the respondent chose not to answer any given question. 5. Specialized formats of other abbreviations used: n/a