What methods were used to collect data for the BASE data study?

A Standardized EPA Protocol for Characterizing IAQ in Large Office Buildings (PDF) - www.epa.gov/iaq/base/pdfs/2003_base_protocol.pdf was used to collect the data for the BASE study. The protocol provided an outline for selecting and recruiting buildings, physically characterizing buildings, selecting study area(s) within buildings and monitoring locations within the area(s) how to monitor the study area(s), survey occupants of study area(s), and how to validate data and combine data in the EPA database. The EPA-developed standardized protocol ensures that studied aspects of the building and its HVAC systems will always be characterized in a uniform manner. A set of checklists included in the appendix of the protocol were developed to consistently collect information on the whole building and on the study area(s). In addition, the details specified in the protocol provide researchers the opportunity to collect and compare the results of non-EPA sponsored large building studies.

Many of the data collected by field investigators in the study buildings were entered directly into a portable computer using a data collection system called the Indoor Air Data Collection System (IADCS). This program was developed specifically to support data collection and data entry into a readily accessible database associated with EPA’s BASE Study and was operated on computers with 386 processors that may not operate on today’s computers. However, the IADCS Environmental Monitoring Reference Manual (PDF) - www.epa.gov/iaq/base/pdfs/iadcs_master.pdf and IADCS Building Survey Reference Manual (PDF) - www.epa.gov/iaq/base/pdfs/iadcs_survey.pdf that accompanied the software may be useful in understanding the data collection procedures.

Read more about the BASE Study at www.epa.gov/iaq/base

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What methods were used to collect data for the BASE data study?

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