Data collection for seed system network analysis

Plant Pathology Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, United States
Institute for Sustainable Food Systems, University of Florida, Gainesville, United States
Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, United States
DOI
10.7287/peerj.preprints.2806v2
Subject Areas
Agricultural Science, Microbiology, Plant Science, Statistics, Coupled Natural and Human Systems
Keywords
agricultural development, communication networks, epidemic networks, farmer decision-making, metadata, multilayer networks, network analysis, sampling strategies, seed systems, survey methods
Copyright
© 2018 Buddenhagen et al.
Licence
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ Preprints) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited.
Cite this article
Buddenhagen CE, Andersen KF, Fulton JC, Garrett KA. 2018. Data collection for seed system network analysis. PeerJ Preprints 6:e2806v2

Abstract

We present survey questions useful for describing agricultural seed systems. The questions are designed so that they can be used for standardized comparisons among seed systems, addressing both networks for seed movement and networks for the communication of information related to variety selection and integrated pest management. This approach provides information that can be used in multilayer network analyses of how information influences seed system success. Also provided are example data sheets with field descriptors that should provide for straightforward statistical analysis after data collection.

Author Comment

This version has an updated discussion of the rationale and methods.