ABSTRACT
The purpose of sampling and surveying in radiological environments is to generate data. Sampling and Analysis Plans focus on specifying how data will be generated, and to a lesser extent how they will be used. Less attention is typically paid to how data will be managed during fieldwork and after fieldwork is completed. Radiological data management serves two basic objectives. The first is to ensure that data collected as part of sampling and surveying programs are readily available to support the site-specific decisions that must be made. The second is to preserve information in a manner that ensures its usefulness in the future and satisfies regulatory requirements for maintaining a complete administrative record of activities at a site. Data management for decision making has the following requirements. Decision making requires the integration of information from sources that will likely go beyond just the data generated by a sampling and survey program.
