National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Socioeconomic surveys of human use, knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions in Puerto Rico from 2014-12-08 to 2015-02-20 (NCEI Accession 0161544)

Data were collected via telephone using random digit dialing, and the total sample size for this survey was 2,494 with a response rate of 2.05%. For a complete description of the data collection method, see Gorstein et al. (in review). Resident surveys took place in Puerto Rico in the regions of Aguadilla, Arecibo, Bayamon, Caguas, Carolina, Humacao, Mayaguez, Ponce, and San Juan in 2015. These nine regions encompassed Puerto Rico’s 78 municipalities including the Puerto Rican mainland and the islands of Vieques and Culebra. The potential respondent universe for this study was adults, eighteen years or older, who live in one of the nine above regions for at least 3 months out of the year. Due to the importance of understanding all potential users of the coral reefs who may be affected by activities related to NOAA’s CRCP, the survey was not restricted to those who live directly on the coastline. Therefore, all adults in these regions were included in the potential respondent universe. Residents of the nine aforementioned Puerto Rican regions over the age of 18 were surveyed via telephone from December 2014 to February 2015. Census data benchmarks were established to obtain a representative sample across the key geographical regions and to develop guidelines to ensure proper representation of landlines and cell phone users Phone number lists were purchased for the nine regions containing both landline and cell phone numbers to be representative of the distribution of the use of landlines and cell phones throughout the Puerto Rican population (approximately 80% cell phone and 20% landline). Each number from the list was called up to three times, at which point the number was dropped from the calling process if it had not yet been answered. Contracted surveyors used Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) software and offered the survey in two languages: English and Spanish. A total of 2,494 interviews were completed, yielding a response rate of approximately 2%. No names or personally identifiable information were collected during surveying. Data analysis of both survey and secondary data included descriptive analyses (e.g., measures of central tendency, examination of distribution), as well as examinations of statistical relationships between variables (e.g., cross tabulations, correlation, regression analyses).

Submission Package ID: KB93PX