Specify Quick Guide - Collection Object Form
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.
What is a Collection Object?
A Collection Object may be composed of a single specimen, or many specimens. These specimens may be housed within a single preparation (box or vial) or several preparations. All preparations are part of the same Collection Object, and are given a single, unique Catalog Number.
The Collection Object Form
The Collection Object form is the general form used in Specify to enter or edit data within our collection. It can be found by clicking the Data tab at the top of Specify, then selecting "Collection Object" at the top left of the page.
The Collection Object Form is composed of the following sections. Click on the section to see detailed instructions for each.
General Collection Object and Accession Information
Who gave NPL the object, was it part of a larger collection, and when did NPL first receive and catalog this object?
Catalog Number:
Consists of three sections. The first indicates the Collection, the second indicates the actual catalog number, and the third is used under certain circumstances when numbers have been spit between two or more Collection Objects. Specify requires that all three of these sections be completed, and have the same number of digits. This means that adding a catalog number will require adding zeros.
Here are some examples:
| Catalog Number |
Specify Catalog Number |
| UT-43920 |
UT0 00043920 000 |
| NPL-31634 |
NPL 00031634 000 |
| NPL-1234.2 |
NPL 00001234 002 |
| UT-11576.b |
UT0 00011576 00b |
Other Catalog Numbers:
You will often see other numbers written on either the specimen or label, or both. These numbers need to be entered here, separated by a comma.
Accession Number:
this number is for tracking purposes and will be given to you. It is a number given to a collection that is acquired by NPL, generally before it is originally cataloged. If you don't know what to enter here, please ask.
Container:
this is for an object that is part of another object. For example: a slab would be given a catalog number, and it then becomes a container for any objects that are in the slab. Each object gets its own catalog number, but is associated with its "Container". See the
Container subform guide for detailed information on creating new events and field numbers.
Specimen Remarks:
Collection Object Attachments:
Are there any images associated with this collection object? You must be trained in our attachment protocol before you attempt to attach anything in Specify
Cataloger:
This is you. This section should auto-fill with your name. If necessary, enter your last name, then the Tab key, to select your name from the directory list.
Date Cataloged:
This is today's date. You can right-click on the date field and select "insert current date" or fill the date in manually.
Data Entry Issues:
Please enter any questions you have that need to be addressed by a data manager. Some examples may include problems with the specimen count, storage data inconsistancies, label data doesn't appear to match the specimen, you don't know where to enter something, etc. Any question that you have needs to go here so that it can be addressed, and corrections can be made.
Collecting Information
Who collected the object, where and when?
Collecting Event:
this links to a subform that contains locality, collector, date and other informtion concerning when the collection object was collected. It is a lookup table. Enter the Field Number for the event, and hit the Tab key. The event associated with the field number will populate the Collecting Event field. If you do not know the field number, please ask. See the
Collecting event subform guide for detailed information on creating new events and field numbers.
Field Notebook Page:
if there is a field notebook associated with this collection object, enter the page number here and hit the Tab key to select the page.
Collection Object Attributes
What type of collection object is it - plant, animal or mineral?
Collection Type:
select the type of object from the drop down list. If you do not know which to choose, please ask.
Biological Stage:
This field may be left blank, but if the label indicates a biological stage (for example: juvenile, larva, nymph) select the biological stage of object from the drop down list.
Determinations
What is the object, and who determined (identified) it?
A collection object will have a single, current designation (Taxon) that was determined by a researcher. If further research is done, and the object is determined to be something else, we will add a new determination, and list the new determination as "Current". For historic and research purposes, we never delete previous determinations. To create a new Determination, click the (+) button next to the Determinations heading.
Taxonomists are often combining (synonymizing) taxon names, and occasionally separating taxon names into two or more different designations. At the NPL, we track the original designation, as well as any synonymies that Specify lists as "Preferred Taxon". All taxonomic data is already entered into Specify, so you will not need to know how to add or edit this data.
Taxon:
Enter the genus and species of a specimen (or other designation you have been requested to enter). This is a lookup table, so you can begin typing the Genus and hit the "tab" key to bring up the list. If you do not find the taxon you are looking for, please indicate this in the Data entry issues field. A data manager will identify the problem.
When you enter a taxon, Specify will sometimes bring up a screen that indicates "Synonym Information". This means that although your entry is accurate, there may be a more recently accepted version of the taxon name. When you get this pop-up screen,
ALWAYS select the "Keep" button. This way both the taxon and the more preferred taxon will both be included in your entry. The preferred taxon field will be entered automatically by Specify.
Qualifiers:
This field will usually be left blank, but sometimes there will be extra information associated with a taxon designation; a qualifier that may include a question mark, or some other abbreviated word that the determiner assigned when there were uncertainties about the designation of the specimen. You may choose one of the items from the Qualifier drop-down list if necessary. If you do not see the qualifier you need on this list, please indicate your question in the "Data Entry Issues" field.
Determined By and Determined Date:
This is the person who determined (identified) the taxon, and the date it was determined. Do not make any assumptions as to who this may be. If it is clearly marked on the label, enter this info here.
Determination Remarks:
Citations
Is there any research associated with the object?
As a volunteer, you will most likely never need to fill this out.
Inventory and Preparations
Where is the object stored, how is it stored, and how many pieces are there in each preparation?
Most Collection Objects contain a single preparation (usually a box or a vial containing one or more specimens), however, specimens are sometimes separated from a preparation for research purposes and a new preparation is created. The original Preparation, and any new Preparations are cataloged here, under the same Collection Object catalog number.
Different Preparations may have different storage data, so it is important to fill out information accurately for each Preparation. To add or remove a Preparation, click the (+ -) buttons next to the Preparation Heading.
Prep Type:
Select the preparation type from the drop-down list. If you do not know, please ask.
Number of Pieces:
enter the number of pieces you have in your preparation. This is not necessarily the same as the number of specimens. For example, a bivalve specimen most likely be composed of two pieces. If your preparation contains two bivalve specimens, then you most likely will have 4 pieces. In the image below, the count would be 3 pieces.
Storage:
This is a look-up field. Search for the correct storage location by entering the drawer number. This will pull up a list of all the cabinets that contain that particular drawer number. Be careful to select the correct cabinet within the correct room.
When doing a storage search, you must enter the word "drawer" before entering the drawer number.
The drawer number must consist of 4 digits. When entering a drawer number that doesn't contain 4 digits, use leading zeros.
Ex: drawer #34 should be entered as "drawer 0034"
Ex: drawer #2 should be entered as "drawer 0002"
Inventory Remarks:
Previous Storage
Has a preparation been moved to a new storage location? When a storage location is changed in the Inventory and Preparations section, the old storage location is entered here for tracking purposes. Please fill in the necessary data. If there is more than one preparation, enter information concerning which preparation was moved in the remarks field (currently titled Label or Previous storage).
Conservation Data
Are there any conservation issues concerning the Collection Object, and what steps have been taken to resolve the issues?
As a volunteer, you will most likely never need to fill this out.
