Submitting records to the Recording Scheme How to submit records? Records can be submitted in a number of formats: 1) Excel spreadsheet This is by far the most useful format. Each record should occupy a single row, with the different components of the record (species name, location, date etc) assigned to different pre-labelled columns:

  

Species	Date	Site	Grid reference	Quantity	Stage	Recorder	Determiner	Comments
Ledra aurita	08/07/2009	Wimbledon Common	TQ226717	1	adult	T M Bantock	T M Bantock	swept from oak

You can download the standard recording form that has been customised for recording this group. It includes a complete list of species known to occur in Britain and Ireland. 2) Word (.doc/docx) or Text (.txt) file These files should be arranged with character-delimited fields i.e. where all fields are present (whether containing information or not) and separated by a consistent character (e.g. tab, semi-colon, comma):

species    date    site    grid reference    quantity    stage    recorder    determiner    comments Ledra aurita    08/07/2009    Wimbledon Common    TQ226717    1    adult    T M Bantock    T M Bantock    swept from oak

3) MapMate and Recorder output The Recording Scheme is not currently in a position to receive files directly from these software systems. However, it is usually a simple matter to export data from either of them into one of the above two formats. 4) Other formats Finally, you are welcome to pass on data in virtually any other type of format (letters, notes, tables etc.) by email or conventional post. See contact.

For which species does the Recording Scheme want data? That’s an easy question to answer: ALL of them! There is a common misconception amongst recorders that recording schemes do not want data for common species, either because ‘common’ is equated with ‘uninteresting’, or because it is assumed (usually incorrectly) that the scheme already has data for that species in that particular area. In the case of a comparatively small scheme such as this one, data are welcome for all species. Even the commonest species, which in reality probably occur in virtually every 10km square in the country, have distribution maps with plenty of gaps that need filling. Right: Even records of very common species such as Eupteryx aurata are important.

Locational information Recorders should always try to pinpoint accurately where a species was found. Nothing can replace an accurate and detailed grid reference, as opposed to simply the name of a site that may cover a very large area. Six-figure grid references (e.g. TQ123456) specify a location to an accuracy of 100 metres, which is perfectly adequate for most purposes. With the recent arrival of relatively inexpensive Global Positioning Systems (GPS), many recorders now submit records with 8-figure grid references (defining a location to within 10 metres), which can be useful in certain circumstances (e.g. pinpointing a particular tree) but is certainly not essential for most biological recording.

What happens to records once they have been submitted to the recording scheme? Before incorporation into the main Recording Scheme database, a series of checks are run on the data. These are essential to ensure that data are as accurate and ‘clean’ as possible: 1) Data validation This is the first step in checking incoming data. It means confirming that all records contain valid entries in each field; for example, making sure that grid-references are supplied in the correct format, dates are valid (e.g. not April 31st) and that location names correspond to the declared grid reference and county.

2) Data verification This next step involves screening the data for rare species, species that have been recorded in unlikely locations (e.g. not the usual habitat or outside the currently known range) or species that are known to be difficult to identify. Nearly all records are submitted to the scheme organiser without voucher specimens. This means that some decision has to be made about which records can be accepted without checking and which ones need to be investigated further. This in turn depends upon the identification skills of the recorder and the relative ease with which the particular species can be identified. Thus, the only records from an experienced recorder that would need to be checked would apply to particularly problematic taxa or records from locations that are substantially outside the previously known range of the species. On the other hand, most records received from a novice recorder (except perhaps those for species that are easy to identify) should really be checked by an expert. Right: Edwardsiana rosae - one of 20 species in this genus. Almost all are impossible to identify conclusively without dissection of the male genitalia.

3) The National Recording Scheme Database Once the data have passed these checks and have been formatted to be compatible, they can be incorporated into the national database, allowing the production of up-to-date distribution maps. Queries can also be run on the database, such as selecting records with particular field entries (e.g. all records for a species between certain dates) and then sorting the results in whatever way is required (e.g. by species, date or location). 4) NBN Gateway A medium-term goal of the Recording Scheme is to make its data freely available through the NBN Gateway. This will allow anyone to view maps of individual species at a basic 10km level. Updates will be incorporated as new data become available. Ownership and copyright In the spirit of biological recording, namely to increase our knowledge and understanding of the natural world in Britain and Ireland, all records submitted to the Recording Scheme are assumed to be given without restriction on ownership, copyright or ultimate usage. Users of the information, whether supplied directly from the Recording Scheme or through the NBN Gateway, will be encouraged to acknowledge original recorders wherever this is logistically feasible. Data suppliers who wish their data to remain confidential or restricted in some way (e.g. for locational information to be available only at a specified level of precision) should make this clear when submitting their records.