Data validation

Errors may occur when typing or identifying species. On occasions, exceptional observations may take place. To ensure the quality of the data in our systems, validation filters are applied when observers submit data. These, search for exceptional data in areas covered by a local portal, and may ask observers to provide more details in order to validate or reject the observation:

• Automatic validation
  

Filter locally set by administrators of the Local portal covering the area the observation takes place at. When an observation falls outside the parameters determined by the local administrators, a yellow or blue mark is automatically displayed next to the observation (see table below for meaning of markings). The observer then receives an automatic e-mail to inform them.

Blue dot: informs caution to other users. There is possibly a mistake in the data (ie. wrong species, or the species is not particularly rare but is often seen at a different altitude or environment).

Yellow dot: the observation is probably correct but details need to be confirmed (ie. the species is in the right place, but the number of individuals is uncommon, or the hour the observation took place seems unusual).

Red dot: the observation has 'been rejected. It means that even if your observation is right, you did not provide enough proof to validate it and it cannot be included in the statistics.

• Manual validation:
  

The yellow or blue mark indicating the observation is either incorrect or requires more information, can be displayed manually by an authorised validator. The observer can receive either an automatic or a personalised e-mail informing them.

If you see a marking next to any of your observations, please do check the spam folder if you did not receive an email informing you -your email provider may have filtered the message. Reply to the email and/or correct as requested. Validators will see your corrections and decide if your data is accepted or rejected.
Please, consider the valuable work of validators and stay polite. To become a validator or know more about it, please refer to the local portal the data are linked to.

NOTE: When data is submitted through NaturaList, filters apply at synchronisation. Data submitted from areas with no local partner is not validated.

	Automatic filter	Manual filter	Visible to other users	Action needed
	YES	YES	YES	YES
	YES	YES	NO1	YES
	NO	YES	NO1	NO
	YES	YES	YES	YES2

¹ Visible to observer and administrators.
² Opens Rarity Committee Module.

After verification, an observation may be:

-Accepted: a green tick appears next to the dot indicating the record has been accepted.

-Rejected: the yellow or blue marking associated to an observation becomes red. The observation remains at the observer’s list of observations but is invisible to other users.

Homologation by the Rarity Committee

Besides the usual validating process, some exceptional observations may be sent to the local rarities committee for homologation. When this is the case, a module will open asking for additional details. See more about the Rarity Committee Module at Web interface > Modules > Rarity Committee Module.

A Rarity Committee is an independent group of ornithologist evaluating if uncommon observations could be considered for scientific purposes. They are normally concerned about the area and time of the year the observation takes place, and data of first breeding.

See all rarity committees in Europe at www.aerc.eu.