Читать книгу Practical Field Ecology - C. Philip Wheater - Страница 47

Keep all your data and notes in an organised format, preferably in a hard‐backed notebook (see Box 1.3) and scan these on a regular basis to retain an electronic second copy. Have a standardised way of recording your data, including everything that might be relevant: the date, weather conditions, and notes of any important points that occur to you whilst carrying out the project. It is useful to record data in the same layout as you will on a computer spreadsheet for analysis (see p. 28). If you do use sheets of paper (similar to the one illustrated in Figure 1.3), make sure that they all go into a ring binder as soon as possible. It is very easy for single data sheets to get lost. It is worth checking to see if there is a standardised recording sheet available for use with the technique that you are employing. Examples include the recording sheets produced for the Biological Records Centre²³ and Breeding Bird Survey.²⁴ Make photocopies of data at frequent intervals and scan them into a computer if possible. If data loggers are being used either to note climatic variables (see Chapter 2) or to log behaviour (see Chapter 4), then make sure that you take backups of your files as soon as possible. Enter data and comments in electronic form whenever possible and create backup copies on a regular basis, including copies saved on a networked drive, internet hub, or cloud (NB: emailing copies to yourself and co‐workers/supervisors can provide useful protection).