Adapted from an article by Donna L. Long (donnallong.com)
“Our field-records will be perhaps the most valuable of all our results. … any and all (as many as you have time to record) items are liable to be just what will provide the information wanted. You can’t tell in advance which observations will prove valuable. Do record them all!”
~ Joseph Grinnell, 1907
Observation is essential to field research, and knowledge of the living world begins with scientific observations recorded in field notes. When biologists collect specimens to study, they keep detailed notes about the specimen, the collecting event, and the surrounding environment. Drawings or photographs may supplement written documentation. Detailed field notes are an extremely valuable part of natural history collections. They are used extensively for museum research, conservation, and management. For example, the distribution and abundance of organisms changes over time, due to natural causes as well as human impacts on the environment. By looking back at field notes from 100 years ago, we can accurately document the changing status of biodiversity in a given area.
The Grinnell Method was developed by Joseph Grinnell (1877-1939), a field naturalist, teacher and the first director of the University of California’s Berkeley Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. It was designed to aid scientific investigation and is a popular method used by professional biologists and field naturalists. His philosophy was that field notes were mainly for the use of other researchers, and so a standard format is necessary to help find information quickly and easily.
Grinnell’s system consists of four parts: a field notebook; a journal, which consists of diary-like entries about field work and observations; a series of species accounts, with detailed information about the species encountered, and a catalog, which lists all the specimens collected in the field. This semester, you will be required to keep a field journal according to the guidelines below, which are a slightly modified version of his system.
- A pocket-sized field notebook to directly record observations as they are happening. You can use the Rite in the Rain notebook provided to you on the first day of class. Your notes will include some or all of the following:
- Date (on every page), in international format: 24 January 2018
- Both arrival and departure times, in 24-hour clock format: 1435 for 2:35 p.m
- Locality (place, latitude, longitude, GPS readings, sketched maps, description, e.g. distance from “the pond,” or from “the red boulder,” etc.)
- Companions, if any
- Route (directions to the site, or notes about the route traveled)
- Weather (temperature, cloud types, wind, rain, etc.)
- General impressions
- Habitat (backyard, forest, desert, wetland, level of water in the creek, etc.)
- A list of species seen, with any relevant notes, particularly, things that might help you identify a species, or justify your identification after the fact (Was the hawk’s eye yellow or red? How many leaflets were present on each blackberry leaf?)
- Physical (color, weight, size, growth stage) and behavioral observations (including a transcription of any songs or vocalizations you might have heard)
- For vegetation, growth stage or status (e.g. is it in flower? Insect visitors present?)
- Sketches of organisms or their tracks
- Information about any field work performed, including schematics of experimental or sampling procedures
- Data collected, if necessary
Include your name, permanent address, and contact information on the inside front cover. This memo pads may fill up quickly, so when one is filled up, just file it away as a back-up. To ensure that you or someone in the future can read and understand your notes:
- Use fade-proof ink, and acid-free or waterproof paper if possible
- Use digits (“1”) instead of written out numbers (“one”)
- Use as few abbreviations as possible –if people read your journals years from now, it might not be clear what you were trying to communicate (and even you might not remember after a bit of time has passed)
- Put your name and the year at the upper left corner or each page.
- Number each page in the upper right corner
- The rest of your system – the field journal – will be kept in a separate binder (physical, or digital). The first binder section is the narrative, with chronological written entries that contain a detailed account of your field work for each day. These entries are written in a diary-like format, using the notes you jotted down in your field notebook. Make sure you transcribe these scribbled field notes into complete sentences as soon as possible after the work has been completed. The “tradition” is to sit down every evening and write up an account from your notes of that day. Your narrative entries should contain:
- All the general/identifying information collected in the field notebook
- A clear narrative of the day’s events (reconstructed from field notes)
- Explanations of work you performed, when necessary (how you located tracks and signs, where you looked for plants and animals, any specific field techniques you used)
- Data collected
- A complete list of species observed
The narrative section is written chronologically, with only a few lines between daily entries – do not start a new page for each entry. Follow the formatting conventions listed above for the field notebook, including numbering, digits, no abbreviations, write on only one side of the page, etc.
- After the narrative section, you will include a species account for every organism you encountered. In this section, you will include all sightings for a given species together, chronologically, before beginning the section for the next species (on a new page). This format allows you to quickly locate all information on any particular species you’ve studied, without having to search through the individual daily entries. The format is as follows:
- List the scientific and common names
- Include a description of the key features that allowed you to make the identification
- Provide (dated) notes about location, phenology, and behavior observed
- If this species is observed again during a subsequent field experience, just add each new account in chronological order.
Memories fade quickly, so don’t let too much time pass before transcribing your field notes no more than 24 hours). A few other tips for your journal:
- Use the loose-leaf ring binder provided to you during Week 1 for your field journal
- Write on only one side of each page (usually the right side, but this can be reversed if desired). The other side can be used for maps, photos, and sketches.
- Describe your day’s work in complete sentences
- Put your name and the year at the upper left corner or each page.
- Number each page in the upper right corner
- A journal will typically cover a single calendar year
Some additional things to consider:
- Regularly scan or photograph your notebook and journal pages, in case something happens to the originals
- Field notes represent a formal scientific documentation
- Valuable source of information for other professionals
- Biologists, geologists, politicians, journalists, doctors, lawyers
- Admissible in a court of law
- Must be honest, accurate, and relevant
- Use metric when possible
- Include a number of individuals of each type you observe
- Include information you receive from other professionals/experts
- “Professor St. John told us that the California blackberry at this site appeared after removal of invasive Himalayan Blackberry”