Data dictionary
A data dictionary is an easy to follow way to understand the sometimes large datasets that will be delivered when requesting or downloading Water Rangers data. Our citizen scientists are diverse: some use our Water Rangers testkits, while some use more complex monitoring tools and protocols. This means there can be a lot of data to understand! Here, you will find each parameter reported in our datasets.
When you download or request Water Rangers data, it will be delivered in comma separated values (CSV) format. This type of file is best opened in MS Excel, another spreadsheet software of your choice, or processed in a data analytics language such as R or Python. Individual observations are presented as rows, with relational data specifying location and time along with individual parameter values in each column.
Below, you can access our data dictionary on Google Drive. In this file, each parameter is specified with its corresponding column key, data type, and if applicable, a link to the standard Water Rangers protocol. Note that not all parameters are measured at every site.