記錄
調查方法
調查方法定義一筆記錄必須包含什麼：觀察記錄表單上出現哪些欄位、其中哪些為必填、單位與值清單，以及什麼樣的觀察記錄才算完整。專案中的每一筆記錄都在同一個調查方法之下產生，該方法也決定記錄者所看到的表單。
調查方法控制哪些內容
調查方法定義記錄所產生的結構。變更調查方法會連帶變更表單，這也是表單與自訂欄位與本頁涵蓋範圍相關的原因。表單頁面說明版面與欄位層級的控制項；本頁說明的則是決定哪些欄位存在的調查方法。
| 調查方法定義的內容 | 對記錄的影響 |
|---|---|
| 呈現的欄位 | 觀察記錄表單上出現的資料欄位集合。未包含在調查方法中的欄位不會出現，也無法填寫。 |
| 必填欄位 | 記錄可以儲存之前必須填寫哪些欄位。驗證在輸入時執行，而不是在匯出時。 |
| 單位與值清單 | 附加於數值欄位的單位（公尺、度、計數），以及選項欄位中顯示的固定選項。這些依調查方法固定，因此專案中的所有記錄都使用相同的詞彙。 |
| 記錄分組 | How observations are grouped: into survey visits, or left ungrouped as incidental records. The grouping structure determines what the visit prompt shows when you start recording. |
內建的調查方法
Seven survey protocols ship with the app: Casual / incidental, Site visit, Timed area search and Walking transect under "Other", and Vegetation — Braun-Blanquet, Vegetation — % cover and Vegetation — Drude relevé under "Vegetation". The project created on first run uses Casual / incidental. A project you create later has no protocol until you assign one; until then new records use the casual protocol's core fields.
The list on the device is the best place to read each protocol: it shows the full description, the fields it includes and their settings. Open Menu → Protocols and tap a protocol to open it; the Information tab shows its description and settings, the Form builder and Custom fields tabs show its fields.
為專案選擇調查方法
One project records under one protocol. Your first project starts with Casual / incidental; later projects start with no protocol and use core fields only. Assign the protocol when you know your method, before records are entered.
- Open Menu → Projects and tap the project.
- In the Survey protocol section tap Assign a protocol (or Change if one is assigned).
- Choose the protocol in the Choose a survey protocol list and tap Done. Assigning copies the protocol's full template — forms and custom fields — into the project.
- The observation form reflects the new protocol from the next record onward. Remove keeps your data and the core fields.
每個專案一個調查方法。一個專案由單一調查方法定義，因為在同一個資料集中混用兩種不同的欄位結構會使分析變得困難。如果您的工作確實需要兩種不同的方法，請建立兩個專案，並一起匯出。
編輯調查方法
The seven built-in protocols are read-only. To adapt one, open it in Menu → Protocols and tap Clone; the copy is a custom protocol you can rename and edit. The practical case is a method close to a standard one that adds two or three measurements: clone, rename, add the fields. That way you keep the structure you know and only change what is different about your method.
Editing a protocol does not alter records already entered. Those records retain the field values they were given at the time. Projects that already use the protocol keep their copy until you tap Push to assigned projects in the Protocols Studio; from then on new records in those projects use the updated definition. To change the layout for one project only, use Customize on the project form instead.
Naming your edited protocol. Give it a name that distinguishes it from the original so that anyone reading the exported data can identify which definition was in use. The protocol code travels with every export.
撰寫自己的方法
The Protocols Studio (Menu → Protocols) is where custom protocols are created — tap New protocol and choose From scratch or Clone existing. A protocol has a name, code, description, group, required fields, effort thresholds and vocabulary sets, plus its own forms and custom fields on the Form builder and Custom fields tabs. The field-level work — captions, data types and whether a field appears in list views — is covered in Forms and custom fields.
請讓調查方法維持在方法本身所需的簡單程度。必填欄位過多的調查方法會拖慢野外記錄；完全沒有必填欄位的調查方法，則可能產生日後才會發現有缺漏的資料集。
驗證
Required fields are enforced when the record is entered, not discovered at export. Fields the protocol marks required are enforced when the record is saved: the form lists the missing ones and does not save until they are filled.
遺漏的值可以在您還在樣點時補上。等到幾個月後產生匯出結果時就不行了。驗證每一筆記錄只花幾秒鐘，卻能避免事後無法填補的缺漏。
未標示為必填的欄位可以留白。它們會在匯出結果中呈現為空白儲存格，而不會造成錯誤。
在季中變更調查方法
您可以在一季當中變更指派給專案的調查方法。既有記錄保留輸入時的值；它們不會依新的調查方法重新驗證。只有在變更之後輸入的新記錄，才受新調查方法的欄位集合與必填欄位規則約束。
如果新的調查方法包含舊方法所沒有的欄位，既有記錄在匯出結果中的那些欄位會是空白。如果新的調查方法省略了舊方法原有的欄位，那些欄位值仍保留在資料庫中，但不會出現在新記錄的表單上。
記下這項變更。請在專案說明或另外的野外記事檔案中，記下調查方法變更的日期。若分析要合併變更前後的記錄，就必須考量不同的欄位結構。
分享調查方法
Protocol and form configuration travel together in the project setup file. Open the project, tap Share, and send the .ecsurvey file to each device; importing it (Menu → Projects → Import) gives that device the same protocol, forms and custom fields. Every recorder on the study then sees an identical form and records under the same required-field rules. Exporting the project to Google Drive also publishes the setup, which other devices receive with Download from Drive + merge…. See Forms and custom fields and Google Drive collaboration.