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Comments aiding verification

Submitted by shannon.rae@ba… on

A number of conservation volunteers are starting to use iRecord to input records, however, they are wondering what can aid with verification. 

  1. Are the expert reviewers able to view the comment section for records for recorders to add information to support the identification?

  2.  Is there a way to contact or appeal a verification if the recorder disagrees with it? 

     

    Thank you. 

Comments

Submitted by James Emerson on Wed, 02/10/2024 - 13:36

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Hi Shannon.

For context, I am a verifier for a particular group of bugs for records in Norfolk.

  1. Yes verifiers can see all of the comments associated with a record. Generally the best thing to support a record is a photo or photos showing key ID features, but sometimes comments are crucial to accepting a record, for example if you had a plant gall where there are several similar ones on different host plants you would want a comment saying "found on Hazel" or something similar. Also knowing how it was identified is useful, so if something has been identified by looking at it under a microscope, or identified using a particular key or field guide that is worth noting too.

  2. Records are not locked, so it is possible to leave a comment on it after it has been verified, but this means the verifier has to look at it again so should only be used if really needed. There is no formal appeal process if a recorder disagrees with a verifier. If a record is not accepted typically there will be one of two reasons - either there is enough information for the verifier to be sure it is actually something else, i.e. the photo shows it is a different species, or does not have something that the suggested ID would have; or there is just not enough information for the verifier to be sure. In the latter case records with little information might be accepted from submitters who have already had lots of records verified, but not from people with no recording history (verifiers can see how many records have been submitted for that group in the past and how many were verified/rejected, to get an ID of knowledge level). 

    Many verifiers will give a brief reason for rejecting a record. It is probably that latter of the two categores that might frustrate a submitter, but it is much better to supply as much information as possible to start with rather than have to query a rejection by saying "ah yes but it also had this". If the species isn't something the volunteer is familiar with then it is often best to check the ID with one of the specialist Facebook groups or a local expert prior to submitting the record. 

Best wishes,

James