Coded analytical matrix of Environmental Impact Assessment reports for managed free-roaming cat colonies in protected natural areas of Gran Canaria, Spain (2025)

This dataset contains the complete analytical coding matrix used in the study: Structural bias outweighs ecological evidence in assessing the environmental impacts of managed free-roaming cat colonies in protected natural areas (Manzanares-Fernández et al., 2026, Environmental Science & Policy).

The dataset covers the full corpus of 72 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports produced between June and October 2025 by the consultancy ECOS Estudios Ambientales y Oceanografía SL on behalf of 11 municipalities in Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain), under the mandate of the 2024 Canary Islands Regional Resolution on the management of community cat colonies in protected natural spaces.

The reports evaluated registered managed free-roaming cat colonies located within the Canarian Network of Protected Natural Spaces and Natura 2000 sites (Rural Parks, Protected Landscapes, Natural Reserves, and Natural Monuments).

Each of the 72 reports was coded independently across 19 variables organised in five analytical dimensions: (1) impact construction (definition mode, evidence type, empirical grounding); (2) risk framing and burden of proof; (3) animal representation and welfare incorporation; (4) procedural standardisation (structural, textual, and measures-level); and (5) assessment quality indicators (internal coherence and normative silences). Coding was applied holistically at the document level following a critical discourse analysis framework. Inter-coder reliability was assessed on a 14% sub-sample; Cohen's kappa values ranged from 0.71 to 0.82.

The workbook comprises four sheets. The README sheet provides dataset metadata, variable definitions, and citation information. The Dataset sheet contains the full 72 × 19 coded matrix, with one row per report and anonymised report identifiers (RPT_001–RPT_072). The Codebook sheet documents each variable's data type, description, category labels, and coding notes. The Summary_statistics sheet provides cross-tabulations of all categorical variables by conclusion type (Incompatible, n = 34; Compatible, n = 21; Deferred, n = 17).