East, Anna. 1999 - Rethinking Compliance Archaeology: A GIS study of the validity of using FDOT road right-of-ways as research transects. Abstract: This thesis examines the validity of using FDOT road right-of-ways as research transects that provide a representative sample of the local archaeological database. A representative sample would facilitate the use of FDOT-sponsored archaeology to address archaeological questions derived from regional research designs. To test the feasibility of using road right-of-ways as research transects the archaeological resources in two road right-of-ways (I-75 in Hillsborough County and SR 44 in Citrus County) were compared to archaeological resources in the respective five mile (8 kilometer) radius project areas. The five mile radius is an arbitrary boundary selected to stay within a county's boundaries and a local environment. Four criteria were chosen to test the comparability of the archaeological database in the right-of-way sample and local area in each five mile radius project areas. The four comparative criteria used were the density of culture types, density of site types, density of archaeological contexts, and mean distance to water. The criteria were chosen because researchers in the CRM industry primarily rely on them to evaluate the probability of locating sites in different areas. The study results indicate that the Citrus County SR 44 project area cannot be interpreted either to support or reject the hypothesis that the archaeological resources within FDOT road right-of-ways are representative of the surrounding area (the 8 kilometer radius project area). The SR 44 site sample size outside the right-of-way was too small and the data for sites inside the right-of-way were insufficient for comparative analyses. However, the SR 44 results demonstrate the importance of using region specific models to generalize about settlement patterns. The results of the Hillsborough County I-75 right-of-way study suggest that the resources in the road right-of-way are representative of the resources outside the right-of-way. The density of individual culture types, site types, and archaeological contexts is typically greater inside the right-of-way; therefore, they should represent the potential density in the project area. In addition, the mean distance for sites in the 8 kilometer radius project area. Based on the I-75 data, state roads have the potential to provide useful research transects where interpretations of the archaeological resources inside the a road right-of-way can be generalized to the surrounding area and, therefore, can be used to address regional research questions. The I-75 results provide an example of the minimum criteria and sample size necessary for valid statistical analyses and can be used as a model for similar projects.