Tips on entering data
From Katrina Help Info
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In General
Enter as much data as you can glean from the data source on the web – this will vary wildy depending on the posting and in many cases you will have very little information to go on. Read through replies and comments to get the most current information on the post. Don’t spend too much time looking up states etc. but use your best judgment about how to fill out the form.
Here's a diagram of the sorts of info you can extract from a sample entry:
(A larger version of this image is available here (http://192.122.183.218/wiki/images/f/fa/Labeledsample.png))
See this Example Walkthrough Movie (http://homepage.mac.com/whump/katrinaHowTo2.mov) of converting a post to an form entry (QuickTime).
Suggested workflow
Go to http://katrinalist.net/katrinaPeopleFinder/volunteerSubmit.html in a new window and complete the form.
When you have completed and submitted an entry, the page will reload with a blank form.
- On some browsers you can use the back button and change only the pertinent fields (First Name, Last Name) to create multiple entries from the same source record. This helps to keep the data consistent and makes resubmission quick and easy.
- Once an entry is saved it cannot be edited. If you make a significant mistake, then make a new entry to correct it; when people search the final database, both the mistake and the correction will appear.
- Using the brower's back button will bring up the last entry. When you click save, the entry will will saved as an additional entry.
Auto-complete your entries in Internet Explorer
Go to:
- Tools
- Internet Options
- Content
- Personal Information
Within this section, click on Auto Complete, then check the Forms Box. This will then give you a choice of previously entered data on the forms when you do your data entry. You can always go back and choose to Clear your Auto Complete forms, once you move on to a new date, locale or data list.
Auto-complete your entries in Firefox
Go to:
- Tools
- Options
- Privacy
Within this section, click on the + sign next to Saved Form Information to expand this section. Place a check in the box next to Save Information I enter in web page forms and the Search Bar. You can always go back and choose Clear once you move on to a new date, locale or data list.
FAQ
How much data do I need to make a record?
First Name, Last Name and at least one other field – city, contact person would be the most important.
We have no 'contact person' field. Usually it makes sense to put such information in the 'author' field. If that does not make sense, put it somewhere - maybe in the 'other' or 'text' field, so this way it gets recorded.
There are several names in this posting – do I create a separate record for each of them?
Yes – please create a new record for each full name you are able to gather information about and try to be consistent for the rest of the form so that their records can be easily grouped.
What if I find links to another database of found/missing person information?
Tag it in del.icio.us (http://del.icio.us/doc/about) with the "PeopleFinder" and "unstructured" tags. We'll see it and make sure we get it included. If you're not sure how to do this, just send the information about the new database to katrina-people (at) activist-tech.org
What if I make a mistake? How can I edit my entry?
You can't. The system was designed with a specific decision not to accommodate edits or error correction. If you make a mistake that feels significant, please just re-enter with the correct data.
Form Field Guide
First Name:
- The first name of the missing person.
- If the source post supplies multiple first names for family members that share a last name, list all first names in this field. - You may also enter additional names in the "Description" section. A search will bring up the record if a name is included in the "Description" section. Create a separate record only if both first name and last name are different.
- If the source post supplies names for multiple people who do not share the same last name, create an individual entry for each person listed.
- If there is no first name supplied in the source post (i.e., the posting is looking for "the Smith Family"), enter "Unknown" in the first name field.
Last Name:
- The last name of the missing person.
- If there is no last name supplied in the source post, enter "Unknown" in the last name field and please enter as much supporting information as possible in the rest of the form.
Phone:
- The phone number belonging to the missing person. Substitute "#" for the 7th, 8th, and 9th digits. For example, 123-456-7890 is entered as 123-456-###0.
- If there is no phone number supplied in the source post, leave this field blank.
Street:
- The address that the missing person was known/believed to reside. Substitute "#" for each of the digits in the street address. For example, 1234 Sample Road is entered as #### Sample Road.
- If there is no address supplied in the source post, leave this field blank.
Neighborhood:
- The neighborhood (i.e., French Quarter, 9th Ward) that the missing person is known/believed to be from.
- If there is no home neighborhood supplied in the source post, leave this field blank.
City:
- The name of the city where the missing person is known/believed to be from.
- If there is no city supplied in the source post, leave this field blank.
State/Province:
- The state in which the missing person is known/believed to be from. Please use standard postal abbreviations: ie: LA - Louisiana, MS - Mississippi.
- If there is no state supplied in the source post, enter "LA." You can also use the city name as a clue (i.e., New Orleans is in LA).
Zip:
- The zip code which the missing person is known/believed to be from.
Email:
- The email address of the missing person.
- If no email address is supplied in the source post, leave this field blank.
Description:
- Any other information supplied in the source post that may help identify the missing person.
- If no other information is supplied in the source post, leave this field blank.
Photo URL:
- A URL to a photograph of the missing person.
- If no URL or photograph is supplied in the source post, leave this field blank.
- To get the URL, Windows users should right click on the photo and select Properties. The URL is beside the word "Location."
If You Are Transcribing a Post Updating a Missing Person's Status
Message:
- Any other information in the source post about the person's location and status.
Last Known Location:
- The last known location of the person at the time the source post was made.
- If no location is supplied in the source post, leave this field blank.
Person Found?
- Check the box if the missing person has been found.
Current Email of Person:
- The email address that the found person can currently be reached at.
- If no email address is supplied in the source post, leave this field blank.
Current Phone of Person:
- The phone number that the found person can currently be reached at.
- If no phone number is supplied in the source post, leave this field blank.
Copy the following information from the source post in all cases
Author Name:
- The name of the person who created the source post.
- If no name is supplied in the source post, enter the username or other identifier of the person who created the source post.
Author Email:
- The email of the person who created the source post. At craigslist, an "anon" email address may be the only author information available. Email addresses in the "anon" form point to the author, so it's fine to enter those.
- If there is no email address supplied in the source post, enter "Reply to Site."
Author Phone:
- The phone number of the person who created the source post.
- If there is no phone number supplied in the source post, enter "Reply to Site."
Source Name:
- The name of the source (i.e., Craigslist, NOLA).
Source Date:
- The date that the source post appeared.
- Note: enter dates in the following format. Time is also required.
- mm/dd/yyyy hh:mm AM|PM.
- For example, 9/21/2005 2:35 AM is legal.
Source URL:
- The URL of the source post.
- Remember that the "URL" is the address of the web page you are viewing to get the information. It will start with "http://" and is found in the little box at the top of your browser.
