Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
in the viewer. It would be difficult for them to realize all the capabilities of this type
of online GIS system, especially if they had never seen a tool such as this, in such
a short time. The use of an online survey proved to be cost effective and timely.
The outside source, SurveyMonkey, was easy to use and provided the database
capabilities that might have taken the author ample time to produce, such as
spreadsheets and tallies for every question with percentages, not to mention com-
piling the open ended response questions. The exporting of results to spreadsheet
format in both summary and detailed form provided options for the user when
analyzing the responses.
When the initial survey was sent out, there were a few email responses with
notices of incorrect email addresses and of councilmen who recently had taken
office. This helped in making sure the lists that were given were as accurate as
possible and that the number of possible participants were recorded correctly.
One respondent sent me a list with the new Board of Trustees with their email
addresses. Another respondent replied to the email expressing that he couldn't
finish the survey because the answers he wanted to give weren't possible choices.
Although he did not complete the survey, he did email asking for any support with
another GIS project he was involved with.
Whether or not people responded could be from the fact that they didn't know
the author who was sending them the survey. Therefore, the survey could have
gone straight to their “junk mail.” If the survey had come from another address,
one more official than a “hotmail” address, there may have been a better response.
Next time, it would be better to use a University of Toledo address sent by a well-
known professor who is actively involved in watershed planning efforts in the area.
One idea to expand the survey to those who might not have participated in this
study is to link it to the Maumee Basin GIS webpage, so that the project team can
receive continuous feedback from people involved in watershed planning, the
public and others who are browsing the web page and the viewer. This feedback
could give the project team a fresh perspective on what data layers need to be
updated to the viewer, what could be added as useful to the site, and what could be
changed to the look and functions. Another idea for the survey would be to use it at
a kiosk type computer like the AREIS kiosk in the Government Center in downtown
Toledo. If it were set up at a statewide GIS conference, watershed planning
committee meeting or ESRI User Group session, this would expand the sample
into a larger population with a wider range of answers concerning GIS use in
watershed planning efforts.
The Maumee Basin GIS project should look at exploring the various additional
data sets and websites mentioned by the respondents from the survey. Investigating
collaborations for web services and expanding ArcIMS capabilities would aid in the
overall usability of the website. A further component to advance the project would
be to host or offer training sessions to watershed groups or non-experienced GIS
users to show them the capabilities that this kind of system can provide.
Using GIS in watershed planning efforts is still scattered in experience and
scope. Every organization or group seems to be working on their own watershed
issues and using GIS in different ways. If the Western Lake Erie Basin Partnership
