Coastal Community Professionals’ Use of, Satisfaction with, and Requirements for In Situ Chlorophyll Fluorometers.

Abstract

This study was conducted for the Alliance for Coastal Technologies (ACT) to assess how various parties commonly use in situ chlorophyll fluorometers, their satisfaction with the capabilities of existing models, and their requirements for instrument performance. The study entailed a survey of 50 coastal community professionals knowledgeable about in situ chlorophyll fluorometers. For the survey, telephone interviews were conducted. The telephone survey questionnaire was developed cooperatively by Responsive Management, the ACT, and knowledgeable professionals. Interviews were conducted Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., all local time. The survey was conducted in August and September of 2004. Responsive Management obtained a total of 50 completed interviews. The software used for data collection was Questionnaire Programming Language 4.1. The analysis of data was performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software as well as proprietary software developed by Responsive Management.