Fieldwork Execution and Data Collection

Fieldwork Execution and Data Collection

This lesson covers how to carry out your approved capstone project in a real field or facility setting. By the end of every session you must have clean, signed data, a completed safety checklist, and a journal entry your instructor has initialed. Precision and discipline here directly reflect the standards set by PADI and ADCI for professional dive and marine science work.

Pre-Entry Safety Checks

Before any water entry or facility work begins, every student must complete the program's pre-dive or pre-entry safety checklist. This is not optional and not a formality. Work through each item in order: inspect all equipment for damage or missing components, confirm your buddy or supervisor is present and briefed, and reassess site hazards that may have changed since the last session (weather, current, vessel traffic, new chemical additions to a tank system). Log every item as pass or fail. If any item fails, correct the deficiency before proceeding—no exceptions. The supervising instructor signs the completed checklist, and that signature stays in your logbook. This protocol aligns with lockout/tagout principles: you verify the environment is controlled before you expose yourself to it. Always wear the PPE specified in your Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) for the site.

Collecting Biological and Water Quality Data

Your project will require some combination of the following measurements. Use the instrument specified in your project plan, and use only calibrated instruments.

Dissolved oxygen (DO): Measured with a polarographic or optical DO meter. Units are typically mg/L or % saturation. Calibrate to local barometric pressure before each session or per the manufacturer's schedule.

Temperature: Most multiparameter meters (such as the YSI ProDSS or equivalent) log temperature automatically. Record in °C to one decimal place.

Salinity: A refractometer or the conductivity sensor on a multiparameter meter gives salinity in parts per thousand (ppt) or practical salinity units (PSU). Rinse the refractometer prism with deionized water and calibrate to zero with deionized water before readings.

pH: Use a calibrated pH meter with fresh two-point buffer calibration (typically pH 7 and pH 10, or pH 4 and pH 7, depending on your expected range). Record to two decimal places.

Turbidity: A Secchi disk gives a simple transparency depth in meters. Lower the disk on a shaded side of the vessel until it disappears, note the depth; raise it until it reappears, note that depth; average the two for your Secchi depth. Optical turbidity meters give results in nephelometric turbidity units (NTU).

Biological counts and transects: Lay transect tapes along predetermined bearings. Within each quadrat or belt transect, count or estimate percent cover of target organisms following your project protocol. Record species, life stage, and position.

Enter all raw readings on your pre-printed field data sheet the same day they are collected. Never transcribe later from memory. Date, sign, and note instrument serial number and calibration status on every sheet.

Maintaining the Field Logbook

Your bound waterproof logbook is a legal-quality record of your project. Write in waterproof ink. Do not erase—draw a single line through errors, initial them, and write the correction. Each page must include the date, site name, weather and water conditions, personnel present, and a reference to the corresponding data sheet.

At the close of each session, photograph key observations (organisms, equipment setup, site conditions) in a protective housing if near water. Calibrate or rinse and store instruments per the manufacturer's protocol, and update the instrument calibration log with the date, reading, and your initials.

Finish each session with a field journal entry of at least 150 words covering: what you observed, anything that deviated from your project plan, and what adjustment you will make next session. Be specific—vague entries earn low rubric scores. Your instructor will initial each entry at the next meeting.

Safety Standards and Zero-Tolerance Policy

Zero recorded safety violations is a non-negotiable program threshold. Any uncontrolled safety breach stops fieldwork immediately pending instructor review. "Uncontrolled" means a hazard that was present but not identified on the checklist, or a control measure that was skipped. Examples include entering water without a buddy when required, using uncalibrated instruments that could lead to a missed environmental hazard, or removing PPE before work is complete.

For dive activities, all PADI and ADCI standards apply: never dive outside your certification limits, maintain the buddy system, perform the PADI pre-dive safety check (BCD, weights, releases, air, final OK—often remembered as BWRAF), and log every dive with depth, time, and surface interval. ADCI standards additionally require compliance with any applicable dive table or computer limits and documented dive supervisor oversight.

Weekly Rubric and Corrective Process

Your instructor scores your logbook and data sheets weekly on a 10-point rubric: entries present for every session, raw data legible and signed, calibration records complete, field journal narrative present, and safety checklist signed. A score of 8 or higher each week is satisfactory. If you score below 8, you will meet with your instructor to identify the gap. Two consecutive unsatisfactory weeks require a written, instructor-approved remediation plan before fieldwork resumes. Meet the standard every week by treating each session with the same professionalism you will be expected to show on a commercial dive vessel or a research vessel.