Data from: 'Drowning in Drought': County-level drought vulnerability and adaptive capacity of New Mexico Ranchers

To capture the nuances of drought experiences across New Mexico, semi-structured interviews were conducted with New Mexico State University (NMSU) Cooperative Extension Service (CES) agents (livestock, 4-H, Tribal) across the state in June-September 2020. The interviews were guided by the questions “does region matter [for drought adaptation differences], and on what?” Interview questions were phrased to gauge county ranch and rancher characteristics; clientele perceptions of climate change and drought; ranchers’ relationships with agents; challenges posed by drought, climate, and climate change; adaptation strategies; informational sources and other resources; and climate/drought solution visions for the future. Upon the conclusion of data collection, 15 Extension professionals were interviewed. The purpose of collecting this data is to understand sources of variability that influence vulnerability at more localized scales. With this understanding, the ability to withstand drought impacts across heterogeneous landscapes can be improved.

• Resource Title: Interview Transcriptions.

  File Name: Drowining in Drought_Transcription Set.pdf

  Resource Description: Interviews were transcribed verbatim and reviewed by participants for accuracy. Interviews were guided by the question “does region matter [for drought adaptation differences], and on what?” We phrased our interview questions to gauge county ranch and rancher characteristics; clientele perceptions of climate change and drought; ranchers’ relationships with agents; challenges posed by drought, climate, and climate change; adaptation strategies; informational sources and other resources; and climate/drought solution visions for the future. Personally identifiable information has been redacted.

  Resource Software Recommended: Acrobat Reader,url: https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/pdf-reader.html




• Resource Title: Data Dictionary.

  File Name: Data Dictionary.docx

  Resource Description: This document provides definitions to the terms used in this repository.

  Resource Software Recommended: Microsoft Word,url: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/word-b?adobe_mc_sdid=SDID=1CA030C0EA7CC4ED-4843D0B575C03BD7|MCORGID=EA76ADE95776D2EC7F000101@AdobeOrg|TS=1654881120&adobe_mc_ref=https://www.google.com/&activetab=tabs:faqheaderregion3




• Resource Title: Codebook for Interview Analysis .

  File Name: Final Codebook.xlsx

  Resource Description: On the first iteration of interview analysis, interview transcripts were read through and focus-coded text based upon explicit answers to interview questions. This process resulted in a series of structural (question-based) codes. For instance, text that described the perceptions in local climate were coded as ‘Precip_Less’ or ‘Precip_Shift.’ The step was repeated, but shifted to open-coding, allowing information to organize naturally into themes and crafting a series of thematic codes. These codes were organized under encompassing themes through a process of axial coding. Structural and thematic codes were organized into this codebook which includes the code names, description of the code, an example of interview text, and why creating this code is important to the study. The initial codebook was reviewed, and codes were deleted, merged, or edited to make the most streamlined, accurate, and meaningful version of codes for further coding. Using this updated codebook, each interview transcript was re-read, applying the updated codes where necessary.

  Resource Software Recommended: Microsoft Excel,url: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/excel