Best practices for conducting secure and defensible long-term sound measurements

Long-term noise measurements (typically meaning unattended sound measurements for at least 24 hours) are often required for various types of acoustical analyses.  However, the very act of leaving an expensive piece of scientific equipment unattended outdoors for a prolong period of time presents obvious concerns regarding the quality of the measurement and the security of the equipment.  In this paper the authors present a collection of best practices for conducting typical long term sound measurements in a variety of settings that maximize the security of the equipment from theft, vandalism or other tampering, without compromising the quality of the results.  These best practices include obtaining permission to conduct measurements in a secure location, the proper use of tamper proof mounting equipment, acceptable alternatives to continuous long-term measurements, and other techniques.