CONDUCTING ANALYSIS

The first step in conducting your analysis is to complete your Benchmark Tool (Step 7). Many analyses may use the results of the Benchmark Tool directly (Step 8).  If you are doing a weighted analysis to obtain estimates of the percentage of the resource in a given condition, please continue to Steps 9 and 10.

Step 7: Apply benchmarks using your Benchmark Tool

You should have all the necessary information to complete your benchmark tool from the Preparing For Analysis section.

1. The Terrestrial Benchmark Tool (please contact Alexander Laurence-Traynor for the most recent version of this tool):
   1. Stores and uses Monitoring Objectives (including benchmarks, benchmark groups, and percent achieving desired conditions)
   2. Can be used for multiple reporting units
2. The Lotic Benchmark Tool (for access, please contact Janet Miller):
   1. Stores and uses Monitoring Objectives (including benchmarks, benchmark groups, and the number of sampled reaches in different conditions)
   2. Can be used for one reporting area. Note: One benchmark tool can include multiple reporting units if your benchmarks and monitoring objectives DO NOT change between reporting units. Otherwise, use one tool for each reporting unit.

More information about the Benchmark Tools can be found on the Tools Used in Data Analysis page.

Step 8: Use conditions obtained from the Benchmark Tool

1.  If you are using a plot/reach specific or unweighted approach, your analysis is completed once you have completed your Benchmark tool, and you can now move on to interpreting your results and reporting on them, which may include making figures from the data and conditions contained within your Benchmark Tool.
2. If you are conducting a weighted approach, please continue to step 9 and send your completed Benchmark Tool to the NOC for further analysis.

Step 9: Submit data to the NOC for proportional estimates of resource condition

After you’ve completed your Benchmark Tool and gathered all the information on the Preparing For Analysis page, please contact the resource-appropriate analyst to start communications with the NOC regarding this analysis.

Step 10: NOC computes proportional estimates

After you’ve gathered the necessary information on the Preparing For Analysis page, request an analysis by contacting the resource-appropriate analyst.

Once your request has been received, the NOC will:

1. Ensure you’ve completed all the required documents and sent all the required data
2. Fill in the design database with your updated Plot/Design Tracking Spreadsheet
3. QC the data, specifically your benchmark and reporting area(s)
4. Analyze the data based on all the above information using R:
   1. Calculate weights
   2. Calculate proportional estimates
   3. Generate figures and tables with the results
5. Send a summary of the results back to the individual requesting the analysis.