Study Design
Writing a Study Design is basic to any scientific study and should be done by all volunteer monitoring groups.
A study design involves researching and writing down information such as:
- what are the goals of our monitoring program?
- what parameters will we monitor?
- who, where, when and how will we monitor?
- by whom, where, when, and how will the samples be analyzed?
- what quality assurance steps will we follow?
- by whom, when and how will our data be managed?
- by whom, where and how will our data be interpreted?
- how will we share our results?
- what action do we expect to result from our monitoring program?
- when and how will we evaluate our program?
MassWWP can consult with groups to develop a Study Design, and a comprehensive guiding document is available from the Pennsylvania Citizens' Volunteer Monitoring Program.
A Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) is a document that outlines the components of your monitoring program, including what steps you will take to insure the quality of the data you will generate. It is more involved than the study design but is often required by funding agencies. See more on our QAPP page.
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