At our August Club meeting, N.A.R.C. had the pleasure of hearing Katherine Robbins talk to us about her studies and how she is interacting with the P.A.S. to analyse the spatial distribution of finds across certain regions. To assist in her studies, Katherine has published an on-line survey for metal detectorists that she hopes will give her an insight as to both how we detect and record our finds. The survey is totally ANONYMOUS and she would welcome as much feedback as we can give her.

From the survey introduction:
This survey is being conducted a part of my PhD at the University of Southampton. I am looking at the spatial distribution of finds recorded by the Portable Antiquities Scheme using Hampshire, Northamptonshire and the Isle of Wight as case studies. My aim is to understand those biases that might affect where artefacts are buried, where they survive, where they are recovered by members of the public and where they are recorded with the PAS.

The vast majority of the data recorded by the PAS are recovered by metal detectorists and therefore an understanding of your methods and interests is essential for an understanding of the PAS dataset.