Situation
I would like iNaturalist to make it easier to add identifications besides “Agree”.
This feature request is a proposal for how iNaturalist could make Identification a little bit easier, at least on the web version of Identify. (Skip to the end for some mock-ups to see how I envision an update to the interface for this might look.)
Right now it’s so much easier to just click “Agree”. There is an effort barrier to users inputting identifications besides “Agree”, given that an “Agree” response can be input through a single keystroke or mouse click, whereas identification to either a higher-level (broader) taxon or a lower-level (narrower) taxon requires manually typing (or copying and pasting) a text input in the “Add an Identification” field.
Given that the current design slows down the process of adding IDs which are not “Agree”, I suspect that it probably has some effects on identifier behaviour:
- encouraging identifiers to skip over more observations
- tip users toward agreeing to an ID to which they are ambivalent
- users not making an effort to add IDs below species level, even if when the subspecies or variety is known
Moreover, many users rely on computer vision taxon suggestions when uploading photos, users tend to neglect taxa at or below subspecies when inputting initial IDs, as forthcoming, current, and recent CV models do not include taxa below species.
Lastly, there’s been lengthy discussion around the ever-growing ‘Needs ID’ pile, and identifications. While the overall problem is large, this may make a small dent by speeding up the process of identification.
Proposed Improvement
It should be possible to navigate up and down a single branch of the taxonomic tree relative to a current taxon. Being able to navigate would make non-“Agree” IDs easier to input.
Navigation could be accessed through a simple up/down button which would auto-populate (autofill) the “Add an Identification” field with a higher-level taxon or, a dropdown list of lower taxa from which an identification could be selected.
Each up-click would auto-populate the parent-taxon of the previous taxon. A subsequent down-click would reverse the up-click auto-populate with the child of that taxon leading back to the current taxon ID.
Only one “down” click would be possible, provided that the current taxon ID is either Genus or Species. This would compliment the field as currently implemented. The “Add an Identification” field already provides dropdown lists when either a genus or a species is manually entered, so all that would be needed is a button to auto-populate the field.
This might be extended in the future to list genera if the current taxon ID is a Family, giving a list of genera, however that would be beyond the scope of the current request.
Keyboard shortcuts could also be provided for navigation, e.g. B/N (broader / narrower) or H/L (higher / lower).
Note:
One catch—which is its own separate source of frustration—is that when typing an identification in the “Add an Identification” field if a user clicks anywhere else outside of the field, the field is automatically erased. That behaviour needs to be curtailed, both for this to work but also because I’m sure it’s caused other users frustration, e.g. when needing to pause for a moment to check something else, whether it’s a reference or a message in another tab.
Visual Example
I’ve chosen an observation of Tiarella trifoliata that I recently saw in the Identify queue.
Currently appearance of Identify
As noted, there are only two options here: Either click on “Agree” or manually type in an ID for anything else.
Proposed appearance with added navigation buttons
The change would be quite simple: Add a small pair of navigation buttons. One button for going “up” the sequence of taxa in the branch. One button which for going “down” to the children of the current taxon.
Proposed appearance after click: Going up the branch
For this example, one up-click would result in Genus Tiarella being input; two up-clicks would input Family Saxifragaceae, and so on, following the chain of taxa leading back to Kingdom Plantae (or Life).
- Genus Tiarella
- Family Saxifragaceae
- Order Saxifragales
- Class Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
- Subphylum Angiospermae (Flowering Plants)
- Phylum Tracheophyta (Vascular Plants)
- Kingdom Plantae (Plants)
- Life
If this were an incorrect ID, but one where I am uncertain of the correct species, I would need to take extra time to type in a disagreeing higher-taxon ID. This would speed up the process.
Proposed appearance after click: Going down the branch
A single down-click would auto populate the “Add an Identification” field with the current species, Tiarella trifoliata, for which the 3 varieties are listed:
- Tiarella trifoliata var. laciniata
- Tiarella trifoliata var. trifoliata
- Tiarella trifoliata var. unifoliata
Currently, whenever I encounter this species, I need to spend extra time typing out the species name or copying and pasting into the ID field before selecting one of the varieties. That is time which, if this is implemented, could be spent identifying another plant.
