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<p class="MsoNormal">I think you're asking about validation of the taxonomic identification of specimens, not entire collections. A few publications have proposed ways to characterize the reliability of identifications but their proposals have never been implemented,
as far as I know. About all you can do is note who identified the specimen, sometimes found as metadata in the specimen database or an annotation on a specimen label. This doesn't indicate whether the ID is reliable or not, but it's better than nothing.
The Consortium for the Barcode of Life has developed a set of metadata fields for records in GenBank that record who made the identification, when it was made, the basis for the identification (whole specimens? diagnostic characters or overall appearance?
pictures?) and a three-level qualitative assessment of the identifier's confidence in the accuracy of the identification. We've used it for the Barcode of Life Project (www.barcodeoflife.org) and have a manuscript in preparation that presents the system.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">David E. Schindel, Executive Secretary<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-size:4.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Executive Secretary,
<a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.barcodeoflife.org_content_about_what-2Dcbol&d=CwMFAg&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=OHIDsRycRALBAxlWfA3pgNH1salVKMsgGM0nbuqSyWY&s=KtqEQgaWme-5Np8iuykrSl-Y2Ttnf4Ty8d-8HMAVaMU&e="><span style="color:blue">Consortium for the Barcode of Life</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Executive Board Chair,
<a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.scicoll.org_&d=CwMFAg&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=OHIDsRycRALBAxlWfA3pgNH1salVKMsgGM0nbuqSyWY&s=GprtvITNIug59KS98D7kZvv4GU7B96oTZ8ZhwpOp0c0&e="><span style="color:blue">Scientific Collections International</span></a></span><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="FR" style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"> 202/633-0812; fax 202/633-2938; portable 202/557-1149<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:9.0pt"><span lang="FR" style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"></span><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">National Museum of Natural History
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:9.0pt"><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"> Smithsonian Institution<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:9.0pt"><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Washington, DC 20560<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""> nhcoll-l-bounces@mailman.yale.edu [mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces@mailman.yale.edu]
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Furth, David<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, November 09, 2016 3:43 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> 'nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu'<br>
<b>Subject:</b> [Nhcoll-l] Question About Validation of Scientific Collections<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I am forwarding this for a friend/colleague in the US Fish & Wildlife Service. Any advice would be appreciated.<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">“I am trying to find some literature on Validation of Scientific Collections. I started a Wood Collection when I got to Ashland to be able to do the case work I came to do. Some of the wood came from Xylariums in Europe, the Forest Product
Lab (USDA) in Madison, WI and a lot of it has been purchased from wood sellers in the US and Canada. Our identification techniques include wood anatomy and chemical analysis, we rely heavily on the chemistry (every species of wood has its own chemical profile--very
cool). As we start to publish we are asked about who validated our material. Sometimes we can use the Xylarium information, but most commonly now, even the samples that come from Xylariums are not identified correctly. Anyway, wanted to see if you have any
suggestions on literature in regards to this issues.”<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">******************************************************</span><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">David G. Furth, Ph.D.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Emeritus Collections Manager & Research Associate</span><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Department of Entomology</span><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">MRC 165, P.O. Box 37012</span><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">National Museum of Natural History</span><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Smithsonian Institution</span><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Washington, D. C. 20013-7012 USA</span><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Phone: 202-633-0990</span><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Fax: 202-786-2894</span><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Email:
<a href="mailto:furthd@si.edu"><span style="color:blue">furthd@si.edu</span></a></span><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Website:
<a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.entomology.si.edu_&d=CwMFAg&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=FLtxbhkH2P4-ihdXGBG3Hhwre7Cfvo0fCvbJeO5i_Xw&s=9KuN3xfxTGqicNNh3jE_DJP27ClC6V0YLRFNMixe0C4&e=">
<span style="color:blue">www.entomology.si.edu</span></a> </span><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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