Standard Operating Procedure SHR08 Data Management

Proper data management and standardization are essential to the effective utilization of information gained through long-term ecological monitoring activities. This standard operating procedure (SOP) provides guidelines to the GULN data manager and to the GULN project leader for the development, storage, and distribution of monitoring data associated with the network’s shoreline position monitoring protocol. The SOP describes how the many disparate pieces of information that are generated at various points in the data-gathering, analysis, and reporting processes are to be organized, stored, and disseminated. More specifically, this SOP describes the overall file management system for the protocol, as well as the details of monitoring-data storage in a Microsoft Access database. The SOP also outlines data Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC) procedures, archiving the various spatial and tabular datasets, and making the data publicly accessible via an NPS information portal. A formal information management plan for all GULN monitoring protocols is available at https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2194250 (Granger 2007) and should be consulted for more detailed procedural and policy information.