Survey

Results from the LDA and database analysis were ground-truthed with an electronic survey sent to researchers who work throughout LAC. Survey methodology is a sound assessment of ideal, individual values despite some logistical challenges (Mostert, 2018). Survey questions were about scientists’ research experience, publication history, and opinions on funding and interdisciplinarity in the field of water resources.

Design

Researchers received IRB exemption for protocol 1335782-1 which described the survey questions, consent waiver, and research methodology. The survey included 16 questions, was available in three languages (English, Spanish, and Portuguese), and took approximately 4 minutes to complete.

Data Collection

The survey was sent to corresponding authors from 22,324 papers, a subset of the final corpus, using Qualtrics survey distribution software. The breakdown of email contacts according to language of paper were 20,332 English, 1,293 Spanish, and 699 Portuguese.

Data Cleaning

Survey analysis

The survey analysis involved multiple steps. The survey responses in Spanish and Portuguese were translated to English. The document was then cleaned and imported into Atlas.ti. Responses were then coded and analyzed. Issues related to access to funding and to research collaboration were found to be particularly important to respondents.

Reporting back to Respondents