Hi Brian

The idea of being able to attach a controlled list to a given measurement type has been discussed before but is not included in the current Recorder application. Its a good idea though and I think it would be a useful addition.

The Provenance list is not controlled by a term list, its simply 'hard coded' into the application. You can, however, type your own entries in to the box.

Hi John (and Sarah),

Thanks for your responses at this busy time checking v.6.9.3.

This has arisen from discussions I have been having with Ken Thompson regarding formalising and standardising how we both enter data (he enters data for one of our sites in Bucks) to ease data exchange. Through discussions with him about this area he has pointed out that there seems to be a mis-use of the Abundance Qualifier in that it contains lots of items that should be in other Measurement Types instead, such as status of Breeding. In furthering these discussions it was apparant that there was a need to have this drop down list for the Data (as well as free text) as some items do not need a qualifier, just the Data. (This would enable a tidy up of the Abundance qualifiers, moving them to their correct places under other Measurement Types and in Data). Examples:

Meas. Type              Qualifier                 Data                 Unit
Length                    [of] Wing                 5                      Inches     
Breeding                 None                      Confirmed         None
Abundance              [of] Female              5                     Count

The only way of working this at the moment will be to run update queries every so often to correct mis-spelt Data items.

Would this change be a difficult and expensive one or something we may see in future releases?

Cheers

Brian

In response to Brian's initial posting:

Provenance is vital in establishing the context in which biological records are created and used; provenance may be defined as "A statement of any changes in the ownership and custody of theresource that are significant for its authenticity, integrity or interpretation." (Dublin Core).

ISO 15489 describes this as ‘the context in which the record was created, received and used should be apparent in the record, including the business process of which the transaction is part, the date and time of the transaction and the participants in the transaction."

The NBN data model describes Provenance as "Text field allowing the provenance of the taxon occurrence to be recorded.  For example, an occurrence may be recorded as Alien, Native or Vagrant.", in the Recorder Help file we are told we can "Select a value for the provenance for the species from the drop-down box." and "Free text, but with a list of frequently used values from which an entry may be picked. Used, for example, in BSBI plant recording schemes to note whether a specimen was planted or native".

These definitions conflict; rejection of the definition within the NBN data model seems most prudent since even a dictionary defines it as “source”.

I'm all in favour of creating a much more comprehensive list of terms for inclusion in Recorder by default. It would be a relatively cheap way of enhancing Recorder, making it both easier to get into for beginners (lots default examples are always useful in helping to prevent misuse). I've observed quite bad misuse of the measurements, with people trying to cram everything into the Abundance node. I've uploaded a screenshot showing some good and bad use of measurements. The key to my understanding how to use measurements well was in substituting the phrase "Measurement Qualifier" with the word "of". For example:

Presence of Active Burrows
Length of Hedgerow
Rate of Flow
Coverage of Taxon

You'll see what I mean if you look at the screenshot.

The DAFOR/DOMIN measurement is one I often see implemented in a variety of ways. What are others doing with this measurement? If you look at my screenshot, you'll see I've implemented it as Coverage of Taxon with a unit of DAFOR.

Charles

I found this thread when trying to work out the best way to record breeding statuses (e.g. 'Confirmed Breeding' and 'Probable Breeding') for bird atlas data. From Charles' post it seems that perhaps I need to establish the terms 'Confirmed Breeding' etc as measurement qualifiers under a measurement type of 'Status'. Is this the right way to go? I notice that this thread is from 2006. Has R6 moved on in any way that I should be aware of.

Charles, I'd love to see a picture like the one you posted that shows how you deal with bird breeding statuses.

Rich