Frequently Asked Questions
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Video Tutorial
1. Registering an Account

An introduction to the BOLD Student Data Portal website. This video provides an overview of the system and describes how to register and create a course.
2. Submitting Data

This video follows the submission of a DNA barcode record from the specimen data all the way to the sequence. It focuses on the student interface, but it allows instructors to follow the steps students will need to undertake in order to create their records.
3. Overseeing a course

This video provides an overview of the tools available to instructors to monitor student work and participation. It also describes the steps needed in validating and approving student-generated data for publication on BOLD and GenBank.

How can I tell if a record is ready to be send to BOLD Systems and GenBank?

The first step is making sure all of the data elements have been added to a record the specimen data, the images, the trace files, and the sequence. Once all of the elements are present, you will need to verify their accuracy and quality. There are several components of a record that should be checked. Here is a list to help you can get started: 

1. On the Specimen Page, check the image(s) and GPS coordinates uploaded to the record:

  • How is the quality of the specimen image? 
  • Can you tell which species it is suppose to be based on the photo? 
  • Does the image(s) match the taxonomy provided?
  • Do the GPS coordinates map to the correct country/state provided?

2. On the Sequence Page, check the quality of the sequence and compare the sequence in the record with the BOLD ID Engine

  • Are there any stop codons in the amino acid sequence?
  • Does the taxonomy provided match what was found on BOLD Systems?

BOLD-SDP analysis tools, such as the Taxon ID tree, Collection Site Map, Alignment Browser, and Image Library allow you to compare all the records for the course at once. This is useful for detecting outliers in your dataset right away. For example, if all but one of th GPS coordinates for the samples collected in your course fall within the state California, there maybe an issue with the GPS coordinate for the one record outside the state, and it should be examined more closely. 

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