California Graduate Student Survey on Environmental Data Practices

A 2019 survey of 445 graduate students in California analyzed their understanding and use of advanced technologies and data management in environmental science. The dataset captures responses on topics including data life cycle completion, data archiving, metadata creation, sensor use, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Results were analyzed by student research status and university type.

Use Cases

• Analyze the relationship between students' research status and their reported completion of the data life cycle.
• Model the likelihood of a student archiving research data online based on university type and collaboration outside their expertise.
• Investigate correlations between the use of environmental sensors and plans to create metadata for research datasets.
• Segment the 445 respondents by university type to compare rates of interdisciplinary collaboration.

Strengths

• Survey responses from 445 graduate students provide a substantive sample size.
• Includes specific, quantified findings such as 64.3% data life cycle completion and 30.5% data archiving rates.
• Data is focused on a defined population (California graduate students) and time period (2019).

Limitations

• The sample is geographically limited to California, limiting generalizability to other regions.
• As a one-time survey from 2019, the data may not reflect current practices or technological advancements.
• No raw column-level data or sample records are available to verify response structure or conduct granular analysis.

Provenance

Source

Dryad digital repository.

Collection Method

Survey analysis of graduate student responses.

Time Range

Survey conducted circa 2019.

Freshness

Data reflects a survey conducted and published in 2019.

Geography

California, United States.