LoginSign Up
← Back to all sparks
S

spsurvey

ANALYTICS
Velocity0.0

Spatial Sampling Design and Analysis

github.com/usepa/spsurvey ↗

spsurvey has spent four years consolidating after its 5.0.0 rewrite rather than adding to it

rsurvey samplinggrtsenvironmental monitoringstatisticss3 classes
◆Current state
spsurvey implements design and analysis for spatially balanced environmental survey samples, the GRTS methodology used in large-scale monitoring programs. The 5.0.0 rewrite is the defining event in its history, and everything in this window is aftercare. 5.6.0 in September 2025 finally removed the startup message warning users about that upgrade, several years on.
◆Where it's heading
The direction is toward standard R idioms and away from bespoke ones. 5.4.0 introduced sp_frame and sp_design classes so plot() and summary() work directly, keeping sp_plot() and sp_summary() only for backwards compatibility; 5.5.0 moved warnings from cat() to message() so they can be suppressed normally, and added adjwgtNR() for non-response weight adjustment. Documentation is being pushed off CRAN onto the package website, with only the Start Here vignette remaining. Release cadence is slow — five releases across roughly four years.
◆Prediction
With the migration messaging retired and the class system settled, further releases are likely to stay in maintenance and statistical-detail territory. Nothing in the entries suggests another rewrite.

◆Recent moves

  1. 3mo ago

    Example and unit test updates

    Updates the testname argument in a cont_cdftest() example to its default and makes minor unit test changes. No functional change.

    View source ↗
  2. 10mo ago

    5.0.0 migration warning retired; vignettes moved to the website

    Removes the startup message warning about the 5.0.0 upgrade, closing out a migration period that ran for years. Adds vignettes on statistical surveys and design weighting, moves all but Start Here off CRAN to the package website, and softens adjwgtNR()'s MAR class error into a warning with a sensible default.

    View source ↗
  3. 2y ago

    Fixes for revisit_dsgn() panels and empty geometries in grts()/irs()

    A bugfix-only patch covering panel printing in revisit_dsgn(), empty LINESTRING and POLYGON geometries in grts() and irs(), and coordinate return when the geometry column is non-standard.

    View source ↗
  4. 3y ago

    adjwgtNR() for non-response weighting; messages moved to message()

    Adds adjwgtNR() for non-response weight adjustment and switches warnings and errors in the design and analysis functions from cat() to message(), so they can be suppressed like any other R condition. Continues the move toward standard idioms that 5.4.0 started with the class system.

    View source ↗
  5. 3y ago

    Citation updated to Dumelle et al. (2023)

    Citation information only, pointing at the package's Journal of Statistical Software paper.

    View source ↗
  6. 3y ago

    sp_frame and sp_design classes make plot() and summary() work directly

    Introduces sp_frame() and sp_unframe(), renames design output to sp_design objects, and makes base plot() and summary() work on frames, designs and CDF output, with the sp_-prefixed functions kept only for compatibility. Summary formulas can now include sf geometry columns. The structural cleanup that the releases since have been consolidating.

    View source ↗