Data Entry Query

[Thiers, Barbara]

 I completely agree that quality taxonomic judgements are key to the
usefulness of any specimen databasing endeavor, and that the importance of
such judgements, and the level of expertise required to render them is often
overlooked as a component of specimen cataloging projects, and biodiversity
inventories as a whole.

However, I don't subscribe to the idea that databasing should be deferred
until one is certain that all specimens are determined and curated
correctly.  Specimen determinations are hypotheses, and organizing these
hypotheses into a searchable and plottable format should be seen as a tool
to improve taxonomy, not a definitive answer to what grows/lives where.
Specimen databases become more authoritative over time as users of these
data subject them to scrutiny, just as they do with data they acquire from
other sources, and then report the results of their analyses.We receive many
updates and corrections to our specimen data every week, and thus our data
are improved through use.

There are some ways to target specimens whose determination is most likely
to be suspect.  We have developed a profile for specimens most likely to be
misdetermined:  they lack complete data (e.g., lacking an authority, or date
or a collector name or number, or only a vague locality), they were
collected and/or determined by unknown people (i.e., those not already
represented in the database); and they have not been annotations by an
expert in the taxon or the floristic region represented.  We database such
specimens anyway -- sometimes they turn out to be types!  However, we can
pass along this profile to users who need help with their interpretation of
our data.

As to the question posed in the original post, two bottlenecks that we
encounter are nomenclature (what is the correct name to use, when the
taxonomy of a group is currently in flux?) and most importantly,
georeferencing.  In a herbarium like NYBG (and BM) with many historical
collections, the proportion of specimens with geocoordinates is small.
Other bottlenecks are deciphering handwriting and incomplete names of people
-- e.g., when a collector or an author is given just as "Smith" obviously
additional work has to be done to figure out which Smith is meant (or to
determine that the data are insufficient to figure it out).  Extensive
authority files help with these bottlenecks, and as data in these authority
files accrue, the bottlenecks are lessened.  Constant editing of authority
files is key, however.

-----Original Message-----
From: Daniel Janzen
To: TAXACOM at USOBI.ORG
Sent: 1/8/03 10:14 AM
Subject: Fwd: Data Entry Query

Fran, the time/cost bottleneck that dwarfs all other costs so much as to
make them almost irrelevant is that of the time/cost of quality
taxonomic
action by taxonomists revising/curating the collection to where you KNOW
that the specimens being databased are what you say they are (including
that when two different specimens are both called species X, whatever is
species X, those two specimens are conspecific) - at least for
retroactive
data capture of insect collections from the tropics.  Data capture for
incoming specimens is a totally different matter and needs to be treated
as
such.

Not meaning to be disrespectful, and a non-taxonomist's observation.

Dan Janzen



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>Date:         Wed, 8 Jan 2003 11:10:33 +0000
>Reply-To: Fran Kern <F.Kern at NHM.AC.UK>
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>From: Fran Kern <F.Kern at NHM.AC.UK>
>Subject:      Data Entry Query
>To: TAXACOM at USOBI.ORG
>Status:
>
>Hello.
>
>I'm currently working on a project to identify and quantify time/cost
>bottlenecks in data-basing natural history collections.
>
>Would anyone know of similar projects happening elsewhere?  Or be able
to
>point me in the direction of relevant articles,  journals,  or
meetings?
>
>Thank you for your help,
>Fran
>
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>Francisca Kern
>Rapid Data Entry Assessment  Project,  Department of Botany
>The Natural History Museum,  Cromwell Road,  London SW7 5BD
>