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Help

This is the help page for using the Biodiversity Collections Index web interface. For specific information about web services see the web services page. There is also a page of Frequently Asked Questions that deals more with general questions about BCI's role and a downloadable how-to guide (PDF).

If you have questions that aren't answered on this page or by following the links above please raise them in the BCI Google Group.

Data Structure

BCI has a simple conceptual data structure. Each collection is represented by a Globally Unique Identifier (GUID) in the form of a Life Science Identifier (LSID). Attached to each LSID are one or more records. The records actually hold the data. One record, called the Community Record, is present for every collection and editable by anyone registered on the system. Additional records are supplied by trusted sources such as Index Herbariorum (IH) or Insect and Spider Collections of the World (ISCW). These records are not editable by everyone and may be updated automatically from other databases. In this way BCI can present both a consensus community view and an authoritative view (as required for mandated collection codes) for any one collection. In the future there may be records that represent the view of curators of particular collections or data in different languages.

The data fields in records are designed to capture basic information about the collection and where it is located. If you edit a record there is a help option to the side of each input control that describes what the field should contain.

Adding and Improving Data

Subject to the terms and conditions anyone with knowledge of biodiversity collections can contribute to the index. To register with the system you click on the registration tab above, fill out the form and respond to the activation email you are sent.

Once you have an active account you can log in and will see edit buttons displayed on the 'Community' tabbed panel for each collection. The tabbed panel is divided into a series of sections. Each section displays an edit button in the top right hand corner. If you click on this edit button you will be presented with a form to change the fields in that section of the record. Clicking save on the form commits your changed to the database. Completely empty sections are not displayed in the tabbed panel. You can add information to an empty section by click on one of the links in the “Add further information” section near the bottom of the panel.

The metadata, at the bottom of the panel, will reflect the date, time and user name of the person who last amended the collection record. All previous versions of the data are stored in the database logs.