FLOOD10351

• County: Statewide
• Community: Statewide
• Title: Statewide River Rehabilitation & Flood Plain Management Needs Inventory
• Date: 12/1/1998
• Prepared For: State of Colorado Department of Natural Resources
• Prepared By: McLaughlin Water Engineers
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Floodplain Report/Masterplan

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CHAPTER V
"NEEDS ASSESSMENT DATABASE
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Once the various communities filled out the questionnaires, a method was needed to categorize and store
the information contained in each questionnaire, Microsoft Access97 was used because of the great
diversity the database program lends to its users. The database was divided into two main parts,
communities and organizations. The questionnaires for the two groups were slightly different, warranting
separation in the database.

The database was designed to incorporate all of the answers given on the questionnaires, with the ability
to query the entries to produce usable data. A few communities sent additional information, such as
maps, and notes were made in the database to indicate their existence and location.

TYPE OF INFORMATION OBTAINED

The number and quality of the responses was generally very good. There were some responses that were
very detailed, and others, due primarily to inexperience or lack of familiarity with floodplain management,
did not fully answer particular questions or sections of the questionnaires. There were communities that
did not return questionnaires. The reasons for this were varied, with the most common reason being a
lack of time.

DATABASE CONTENTS

Questions were phased differently throughout the questionnaires. In an attempt to get the most use out of
the questions, different types of responses were stored in the database. In the Needs Assessment
Database, there are four basic types of responses: text, yes/no, listed, and descriptive. Below are
descriptions of each type of response, followed by a brief table of contents for the community
questionnaire and the organization questionnaire.

Types of Responses

Text ResDonses. Text responses are very short and contain exact information. Most text responses allow
only 30 characters to be typed. Examples of text responses can be found in most of the community or
organization information responses. Items such as the address, telephone number, and respondent's
name are not questions that need to be deciphered into smaller ideas.

Yes/No ResDonses. Yes/no responses were the checked items in the questionnaire. Some of these
Questions were paired with a descriptive response for explanations or a text response to include a cost,
length, or location. All yes/no responses used a list box. Respondents were only able to select from the

Section V - 1