Will data be captured from physical specimens or images of specimens?

Will populated database records include all data recorded on the label or an abbreviated set of label data (often called skeletal records; Tulig, 2014; Rabeler, 2015)?

Will data be entered directly into the permanent database or into an intermediate transitory format for later uploading (e.g., spreadsheet; Neefus, 2014)?

Will sensitive data be redacted (Chapman and Grafton, 2008)?

Will georeferencing and other enrichment data be recorded concurrently with label data, in batch through processes integrated into the permanent or transitory database, or as a separate activity (Chapman and Wieczorek, 2006)?

Do clear instructions exist for handling entry of duplicate specimens? Can entry of the repeated information be made more efficient for duplicates held within an institution or between institutions using the same specimen data management system (e.g., Symbiota)?

Will optical character recognition (OCR) or voice recognition be used (Haston et al., 2012; Butts, 2013; Neefus, 2014)?

Will verification history or other annotation data be recorded?

Are quality assurance and verification protocols in place to enhance accuracy (Chapman, 2005)?

Are data entry technicians adequately selected and trained, and do they have at their disposal a detailed written protocol to guide decisions about how data should be parsed and entered?

Are procedures in place to route damaged specimens for conservation (see Department of the Interior, 2009)?

Are procedures in place for handling misfiled specimens?