Researchers

The Researchers module is used to register and manage information about people who participated in data collection, analysis, or any other activity related to ornithological projects. A researcher can be a field assistant, technician, student, professor, or collaborator from an institution. By documenting researchers, Xolmis ensures that all records are properly attributed, strengthening accountability, traceability, and collaboration.

Open the Researchers module in the main menu: Management → Researchers.

Adding or editing a researcher

When creating or editing a researcher record, the following fields are available:

Field	Required	Description
Profile picture		Optional profile picture of the person
Name	Yes	Full name of the person
Citation	Yes	Citation form of the name (used in reports and publications)
Abbreviation	Yes	Unique abbreviation used to type faster and import data
Treatment		Title or treatment: Mr., Ms., Dr., BSc., MSc., PhD, etc.
Gender		Gender of the person (he, she, he/she)
Date of birth		Date of birth, used to show birthdays
Date of death		Optional date of death
RG		RG document number (Brazil) – will soon be deprecated
CPF		CPF document number (Brazil), equivalent to National ID Card (USA)
E-mail		Personal or professional email address
Phone		Landline phone number
Mobile phone		Mobile phone number
Postal code		CEP (Brazil) or ZIP Code (USA)
Address		Postal address where the person lives
Address detail		Complementary details such as building or apartment number
Neighborhood		Part of the city where the person lives
Municipality		County, city, or village
State		State or province
Country		Country of residence
Institution		Institution where the person works
Department		Department where the person is allocated
Role		Role of the person in the institution/department
Lattes		Lattes profile string (Brazilian academic CV system)
Orcid		ORCID profile string (international researcher identifier)
X (Twitter)		Profile name on X (formerly Twitter)
Instagram		Instagram profile name
Website		Personal or professional website address
Notes		Any other information about the person

Best practices

• Use consistent citation forms: Ensure that names are standardized for reports and publications.
• Assign unique abbreviations: Abbreviations are critical for quick data entry and imports; avoid duplicates.
• Keep contact information updated: Researchers may change institutions, emails, or phone numbers.
• Link institutional data: Always connect researchers to their institutions for better traceability.
• Record identifiers (ORCID, Lattes): Facilitates integration with academic and scientific platforms.
• Use notes for context: Add details such as areas of expertise, fieldwork experience, or collaborations.

Relation to other modules

Researchers are interconnected with several parts of Xolmis:

• Sightings, Captures, and Nests – Records are attributed to the researchers who collected the data.
• Projects – Researchers are linked to projects as participants or coordinators.
• Institutions – Researchers are affiliated with institutions, strengthening organizational context.
• Reports – Citations and abbreviations are used in generated reports and exports.

By managing researchers in Xolmis, teams ensure that contributions are properly documented, fostering collaboration and recognition in ornithological research.

Example workflow

1. Add a new researcher (Maria Silva) with her ORCID and Lattes profiles.
2. Link her to her institution (Universidade Federal de Pelotas) and department (Biologia).
3. Attribute her as the observer in a Sightings record and as the bander in a Captures record.
4. Generate a report where her name appears in the citation format (Silva, M.).

This workflow demonstrates how researcher records provide traceability, consistency, and proper attribution across the entire database.