[obol] Re: eBird data entry - a warning (no sightings)
- From: Stephan Nance <stenance@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: Oregon Birders OnLine <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 8 Oct 2014 11:22:58 -0700
I haven't had this problem with lines in entering data using eBird, and I'm
surprised to hear about it. I've found the forms to be very straightforward
— at least in my experience, it seems like you'd have to go out of your way
or have your eyes closed to enter the wrong bird. And since you're
presented with the completed list upon submission, omissions tend to be
evident at a glance. Could this issue be browser-related, or are we talking
about the BirdLog app?
Stephan Nance
Eugene, OR
On Wed, Oct 8, 2014 at 10:40 AM, Joel Geier <joel.geier@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> The "Off-By-One-Line" ("OBOL" -- now there's a catchy acronym!) error is
> likely much more common than most birders recognize. It's an inherent
> problem with checklist-type data entry.
>
> This type of error has long been the most common one to come up in
> periodic reviews of www.birdnotes.net counts (what ebird folks call
> "checklists"), so it's no surprise that it turns up in ebird too.
>
> Let's not even get started on all of those "Omission Of Plain-jane
> Species" ("OOPS"!) that surface when you circulate a draft compilation,
> and someone notices that they forgot to record the day's only flock of
> Bushtits.
>
> The ebird robotic filters & volunteer reviewers can catch some of the
> most egregious slip-ups, but it is wildly optimistic to expect them to
> catch more than say, 1/4 of these types of errors.
>
> As Mike Patterson described in a recent blog post, it is really
> difficult to screen robotically for birds that are just a few miles out
> of habitat, or where both species are present, but one is comparatively
> rare (I think Mike's example was House Wren vs. Pacific Wren in certain
> parts of Clatsop Co.).
>
> The exercise that Stefan Schlick describes (producing a checklist of
> birds for a favorite site, and then seeing if it makes sense) can
> probably help to screen out a few more of these errors, but again, this
> will probably only turn up the most glaring mistakes.
>
> Organized counts that add more layers of human interaction & compilation
> can help. In the CBC, where you sit around with your teammates and go
> through your lists at the end of the day, usually there are a few
> corrections during the countdown, and then a few more when the compiler
> goes through the data, and passes the spreadsheet back to participants
> for double-checking.
>
> In compiling the checklists that birders recently turned in for the fall
> migration count (NAMC), I've already come across several examples of
> "OBOL" errors.
>
> For example, a pair of "Red-shouldered" Hawks should have been
> Red-tails. It was plausible habitat for either species. The only thing
> that caused me to wonder was a footnote in a later count by the same
> birder, suggesting that a couple of RTHAs might have been the same ones
> as seen earlier on the route.
>
> Heaven knows how many Black-throated Gray Warblers get recorded as
> Townsend's Warblers or Hermit Warblers, and vice-versa, during spring
> migration (never mind the difficulty of separating them by song).
>
> A more robust form of data entry, rather than a checklist, would be an
> app where you just type in the 4-letter banding code, and then confirm
> that the bird name that pops up is the one that you expected.
>
> I'm sure someone will tell me that such an app exists, but apparently
> not everyone is using it. And that method will also have pitfalls. Not
> everyone knows the 4-letter codes by heart (quick, what's the code for
> Black-throated Gray Warbler?).
>
> A confirmation step in such an app will help but let's face it, if
> you're birding on the Coquille Valley CBC and you see a flock of gulls
> heading up river while you're counting grebes and phoebes, you're
> probably going to rush it a bit and will make some mistakes, either of
> Off-By-One-Letter variety (OBOL again), or OOPS.
>
> So yeah, no matter what your doctor tells you, an extra sprinkling of
> salt is always good when you're trying to swallow "citizen-science."
> Think of it as Irish stew -- it'll fill you up if you're hungry, but
> just don't expect haute cuisine.
>
> Happy counting,
> Joel
>
> --
> Joel Geier
> Camp Adair area north of Corvallis
>
>
>
>
> OBOL archives: www.freelists.org/archive/obol
> Manage your account or unsubscribe: //www.freelists.org/list/obol
> Contact moderators: obol-moderators@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>
>
--
Stephan Nance
http://www.stephannance.com/
Other related posts:
