Project Study Design

Study Design: Planning New Projects for
Different Types of Monitoring
Meiyin Wu, PhD
Director, Passaic River Institute
Professor, Department of Biology
Passaic River Institute pri@mail.montclair.edu 973-655-5423

What Should We Study?
•  What are other associations doing?
•  That is cool!
•  What does EPA/NJDEP recommend?
•  Do we have enough volunteers to do it?
•  Can we afford it?

Goal Driven Study
•  Identify study questions/problems
•  What do you wish to know?
•  What do you want to protect?
•  Determine study goals/objectives
•  What data do you need to answer your questions?

Data Driven Study Design
In order to answer the question,
•  What should samples be analyzed for?
•  When should samples be collected?
•  Where should samples be collected from?
•  How many samples should be collected?
•  What depth should samples be collected at?

•  Who will conduct the analysis?
•  How should samples be collected?
•  How should samples be preserved?
•  What are your data quality objectives?

•  How to pay for it?
•  Do you have a specific problem to clearly
communicate with stakeholders?
•  How can cost savings be incorporated
into the sampling approach?

All Data for One Goal
•  Understand the status and trend of your
ecosystem
•  Determine whether or not restoration/
management will be needed
•  Generate enough data to make data-driven
management decisions

Study Site Selection
Sampling locations:
–  Grid
–  Transact
–  Random
–  Area of concern
–  Historical importance

Site specific considerations:
–  Adjacent to the point of discharge
–  Topographically down gradient
–  Sediment depositional area
–  Locations of outlets/tributaries
–  Under tidal influence?

Consider target pollution migration pathways
–  Groundwater transport (sand, clay, silt)
–  Stormwater runoffs (topography, particle size)
–  Man-made structures (ditches, dikes, canals)
–  Food chain transfer

•  Understand characteristics of your target pollution
–  Volatile?
–  Sediment binding?
–  Water soluble?
–  Bioaccumulate?
–  Biomagnify?

Study Design & QAPP
Align work plan and sampling/analysis plan
with quality assurance project plan (QAPP).
If use a lab,
•  Understand the lab’s QC processes
•  Make sure the lab understand your QC goals
•  Expect differences in laboratory practices and
accuracy. Clearly document the changes
while switching labs.

Study Design & QAPP
Specify:
–  Equipment to be used
–  Equipment calibration
–  Field duplicates
–  Number of blanks, QC samples, replicates, check
standards, detection limits, and reference materials.
–  Sample management (field and lab chain of custody,
sample shelf life and preservation, etc.)
–  Data acceptance criteria (>90% completeness)
–  Data QC and management

Data Analysis
•  Sample along gradients
–  Topographic gradient (i.e. along a river)
–  Gradient of anthropogenic influence
–  Bedrock/sediment grain size gradient
•  What to compare with?
–  Control sites
–  Reference locations
–  True natural background
–  Use your professional judgment

What happen when something goes wrong?
•  Prepare for the worst
•  Have a contingency plan
•  Collect additional samples
•  Reconnaissance to make sure sampling plan will work
•  Identify access points
•  Identify potential health and safety hazards

What happen when something goes wrong?
•  Perform a dry run
•  Do field verification within short time frame of actual
sampling
–  Climate/weather (rain and drought)
–  Access location during/after a flood
–  Tidal cycles
–  Wind patterns

Data Driven Management Decision
•  Use all available data
•  Desktop vs. laboratory vs. field
•  Statistical consideration
–  Hypothesis testing
–  Sample size

Data Driven Management Decision
•  How well did the sample represent the conditions?
•  Clearly document and use field notes in the evaluation
•  Consider strengths and weaknesses of various pieces of
information
•  Include both qualitative and quantitative aspects
•  Make a decision among competing alternatives

Restore or Not?
•  Cost Benefit Analysis
•  Does the pollution affect the health of the aquatic
community?
–  Example: Is there a difference in benthic community compared to
upstream locations?
–  Example: Is toxicity observed in biota?

You are not alone!
•  Agencies are available to provide guidance
•  Equipment loan programs
•  Universities can serve as resources
Meiyin Wu
Director, Passaic River Institute
Montclair State University
wum@mail.montclair.edu
973-655-7117

Project Study Design

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (10)

Similar to Project Study Design

Similar to Project Study Design (20)

More from The Watershed Institute

More from The Watershed Institute (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Project Study Design