This document is meant to be a quick reference for volunteers doing inventory and basic data entry. For a complete guide to Specify, please refer to either the NPL Specify guide or the Specify website.
Collection Object Form >> Collecting Event Subform
Explain difference between Locality Number and Field Number
Every Collecting Event now must have a field number. Sometimes the collector provides the number, but when we aren't given a number, we have to create one.
As a general rule, a field number contains up to four parts with dashes in between (ZACH = Lou Zachos):
NPL-000001 (if you have a locality, but no collecting info)
ZACH-NPL-0001 (you have a collector, but no other collecting info)
ZACH-NPL-date-01 (you have a collector and a date)
ZACH-NPL-localityNumber-01 (you have a collector, and a locality number)
ZACH-NPL-date-localityNumber-01 (you have a collector, date and a locality number)
If the collector does provide field numbers, then write the field number:
ZACH-field number (in whatever format you are given)
Use these standards:
1. Use first four letters in the main collectors last name in all-caps.
2. NPL - to indicate that this is not a collectors own field number, but one we generated ourselves.
3. Date, if you have one, should be written full year/month/day with the month written using the first three letters. Ex: June 20, 2014 = 2014Jun20
4. incremental numbers (01, 02, 03, etc) if needed
EXAMPLES:
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NPL-000001 - no collector, no date
The first set of digits is taken directly from how Specify sent the original batch to us. That batch (NPL1-000813 - NPL1-109163) uses six digits. So with all new additions I have used the same pattern (six digits), but I use "NPL" instead of "NPL1". The current list NPL-000001 - NPL-000175.
This keeps all the new additions together and in order, so it's easier to find which number to start on when creating new field numbers.
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ZACH-NPL-0001 - collector, no date
Use first four letters, then a dash, then NPL, dash, followed by four digits rather than the six used above. Six digits seems a bit excessive when you have a collector in the field number. Example comparison:
NPL-000123 (six digits)
ZACH-NPL-0123 (four digits)
I don't think it matters all that much though, because there is plenty of space in the field, and we could go with 6 digits if preferred. It just seemed like a good idea to keep the numbers smaller when possible.
Examples:
SHEP-NPL-0003 = Sheppard
SHER-NPL-0003 = Sherman
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ZACH-NPL-date-01 - collector, with date
when you do have a date, it's important to keep in mind that there can be many collecting events on the day, month or year. Therefore, it makes sense to add an "01, 02, 03" to the end of the number. In this case, it doesn't seem necessary to have more than two digits. It's highly unlikely that someone will go to 100 or more locations in a single day or even a month. It may need to be reevaluated for situations where a person gives you a bunch of stuff all from the same year.
Example comparison:
ZACH-NPL-1977-03 vs. ZACH-NPL-1977-0003
Again, not a big deal either way. It just seemed like a good idea to keep the number smaller.
Date format examples: June 20, 2014 = 2014Jun20; June 2015 = 2015Jun
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ZACH-NPL-localityNumber-01 and ZACH-NPL-date-localityNumber-01
Sometimes you can use a collector's personal locality coding system as part of the field number. This makes things really simple.
examples:
ZACH-NPL-2003-FL-J-01
ZACH-NPL-2003-FL-J-05
In this case, Zachos traveled to the same location (locality number: FL-J) at different times that same year, but I don't have specific dates.
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Here's the recap for those whose brains are starting to bleed.
NPL-0000001 (six digits)
ZACH-NPL-0001 (four digits)
ZACH-NPL-date-01 (two digits)
ZACH-NPL-localityNumber-01 (two digits)
ZACH-NPL-date-localityNumber-01 (two digits)
Notes on Field Numbers:
1) There will always need to be some adjustments depending on the collector, but the important thing is being able to find stuff from a collector when you're looking for it later.
2) The Field Number field allows for a lot of variation and length. This means that you can be very specific, which makes things easier in the long run.
3) Field numbers are NOT indexed. This means that you need be careful about creating duplicate field numbers. Again, the more specific the number, the better. If in doubt, always create a new number rather than trying to use an existing one that may not be exactly the same. Workbench WILL NOT tell you if a field number has already been used. It will simply create a new event with the same field number. It isn't the end of the world if you do this, but it is probably best to keep the number of duplicates down by simply running a query of your new numbers before upload, just to be sure you haven't made any mistakes.
4) This is more of a reminder. If you need to make changes to an event that is already in Specify, make sure that EVERYTHING connected to that event also requires those changes (the Collecting Events window has a list of all connected objects, so it's easy to check). This is especially true for all the NPL1 Field Numbers generated and sent to us by the Specify folks. It's better to create a new event if you're not sure.