The Nitrogen Scoping Study consisted of 14 different field campaigns, each of 3-7 weeks duration undertaken between November 2001 and March 2005 at 8 sites of the Canadian Air and Precipitation Monitoring Network (CAPMoN). The objectives of the study were: (1) to characterize the ambient concentrations of oxidized and reduced nitrogen species at CAPMoN sites, (2) to estimate the contribution of the different nitrogen species to nitrogen wet, dry and wet+dry deposition at CAPMoN sites (with a view to understanding which nitrogen species should be added to the CAPMoN suite of measurements) and (3) to measure the size distribution of various inorganic ions in particulate matter at CAPMoN sites. The resultant data sets provide short-term characterizations of air quality at the 8 rural/remote locations in Canada and are provided in collaboration with the National Atmospheric Chemistry (NAtChem) Database and Analysis Facility of Environment and Climate Change Canada.