Sidmouth Nature | The Sidmouth Nature Project Website


Introducing the Sidmouth Nature Website The Sidmouth Nature website (www.sidmouth-nature.uk) is a publicly available Internet resource that acts as a repository for the individual observations of species made on the selected sites of natural interest in the Sidmouth area of Devon and presents that data back to users in a structured form using textual descriptions, tables and charts, maps and illustrative photographs to inform and enthuse both local enthusiasts and visitors to the area. Without wishing to complicate the structure unnecessarily it might help to explain that the website is 'layered' in its form: Individual Observations: At the central core of the website is the database of individual observations of species made on the survey sites and when that observation was made. There is more information on this in the 'Database Introduction'. Data Presentation: Using this core database the website presents interpretations of the data in both detailed and summary forms through the use of tables charts and maps and uses a 'dashboard' concept to group these related resources together. Website Sections: These sections are first visible on the 'hierarchical' menu which can be accessed from the main (or home) menu, The sections are: Setting the Scene - a general introduction to the Sidmouth Nature project, this website and the database giving guidance on how to get the most benefit from the site The Natural Environment - information about the selected survey sites within the project and how geographical grouping, primary habitat types and underlying geology these sites Animal Life - A route to explore what animals (tetrapods and arthropods) have been recorded with descriptive text about each and the observation data collated from the core database. Plant Life - A route to explore the vegetative species (angiosperms and cryptogams) that have been recorded again with descriptive text about each and the observation data collated from the core database. The Four Seasons - Details of what species can be seen during the seasons of the year including monthly species lists and the number of observations of each species during that month. Any visitor to the website probably has a specific question they want answered or a specific topic they are seeking information about. To facilitate this the website offers a variety of ways such a user can engage with the website, hopefully, find the information they require. These 'user engagement' options are available from the main (or home) menu but 'quick links' can be found in the menu bar at the top of all pages. The options available are: Explore from top to bottom - This provides a 'top down' hierarchical approach to navigating through the website content until the desired point is reached. This may be best demonstrated with an example. Perhaps you have a particular interest in butterflies so having selected the 'top to bottom' option you would then select 'animal life' from the sub-menu that has been displayed. That, in turn displays a further menu from which you would select 'lepidoptera' which leads to the next level where you will find 'butterflies'. From here you can read the textual information about butterflies OR click the 'butterflies' icon and a list of butterflies recorded in the survey will be displayed and from there you can opt to see the detailed information, including the records, for a specific species. At all levels there is the facility to branch out to a dashboard showing analytical information for that level. Search with Keywords - There are articles about every individual species and class, order and family and articles about every site surveyed. There are additional articles about habitat types, geological formations and a range of other related topics. Search with keywords provides you with the option to enter up to three search keywords (or phrases) and the system will return articles containing those values. For example 'white' 'woodland' 'flowers' returns 137 entries to explore further by making small modifications to the keywords used. Access though the Index - If you know exactly what you are looking for then using the index a quicker, more direct option to get the appropriate pages. You can either select a topic from the drop down filter list (eg: 'Sites' returns a list of survey sites) or you can enter a search word (eg: 'butterflies' wich return the link to the butterflies page). Query the database - This skips the textual information layers and takes you straight to the data. This option is described in detail in the 'Database Introduction' section. Link to other resources - If you were unable to find the information you need from the Sidmouth Nature website then this option gives a list of other websites that may be able to help (eg 'Butterfly Conservation' website) Search - In the footer section of every page you will find a 'search' box so that you can search the ENTIRE website, not just the information articles'. I hope that comprehensive array of facilities will help users engage with the website and benefit from using it both as a factual resource and a educational tool.
Return to the parent article

Introducing the Sidmouth Nature Website

The Sidmouth Nature website (www.sidmouth-nature.uk) is a publicly available Internet resource that acts as a repository for the individual observations of species made on the selected sites of natural interest in the Sidmouth area of Devon and presents that data back to users in a structured form using textual descriptions, tables and charts, maps and illustrative photographs to inform and enthuse both local enthusiasts and visitors to the area.

Without wishing to complicate the structure unnecessarily it might help to explain that the website is 'layered' in its form:

Individual Observations: At the central core of the website is the database of individual observations of species made on the survey sites and when that observation was made. There is more information on this in the 'Database Introduction'.
Data Presentation: Using this core database the website presents interpretations of the data in both detailed and summary forms through the use of tables charts and maps and uses a 'dashboard' concept to group these related resources together.
Website Sections: These sections are first visible on the 'hierarchical' menu which can be accessed from the main (or home) menu,

The sections are:

Setting the Scene - a general introduction to the Sidmouth Nature project, this website and the database giving guidance on how to get the most benefit from the site
The Natural Environment - information about the selected survey sites within the project and how geographical grouping, primary habitat types and underlying geology these sites
Animal Life - A route to explore what animals (tetrapods and arthropods) have been recorded with descriptive text about each and the observation data collated from the core database.
Plant Life - A route to explore the vegetative species (angiosperms and cryptogams) that have been recorded again with descriptive text about each and the observation data collated from the core database.
The Four Seasons - Details of what species can be seen during the seasons of the year including monthly species lists and the number of observations of each species during that month.

Any visitor to the website probably has a specific question they want answered or a specific topic they are seeking information about. To facilitate this the website offers a variety of ways such a user can engage with the website, hopefully, find the information they require. These 'user engagement' options are available from the main (or home) menu but 'quick links' can be found in the menu bar at the top of all pages.

The options available are:

Explore from top to bottom - This provides a 'top down' hierarchical approach to navigating through the website content until the desired point is reached. This may be best demonstrated with an example. Perhaps you have a particular interest in butterflies so having selected the 'top to bottom' option you would then select 'animal life' from the sub-menu that has been displayed. That, in turn displays a further menu from which you would select 'lepidoptera' which leads to the next level where you will find 'butterflies'. From here you can read the textual information about butterflies OR click the 'butterflies' icon and a list of butterflies recorded in the survey will be displayed and from there you can opt to see the detailed information, including the records, for a specific species. At all levels there is the facility to branch out to a dashboard showing analytical information for that level.
Search with Keywords - There are articles about every individual species and class, order and family and articles about every site surveyed. There are additional articles about habitat types, geological formations and a range of other related topics. Search with keywords provides you with the option to enter up to three search keywords (or phrases) and the system will return articles containing those values. For example 'white' 'woodland' 'flowers' returns 137 entries to explore further by making small modifications to the keywords used.
Access though the Index - If you know exactly what you are looking for then using the index a quicker, more direct option to get the appropriate pages. You can either select a topic from the drop down filter list (eg: 'Sites' returns a list of survey sites) or you can enter a search word (eg: 'butterflies' wich return the link to the butterflies page).
Query the database - This skips the textual information layers and takes you straight to the data. This option is described in detail in the 'Database Introduction' section.
Link to other resources - If you were unable to find the information you need from the Sidmouth Nature website then this option gives a list of other websites that may be able to help (eg 'Butterfly Conservation' website)
Search - In the footer section of every page you will find a 'search' box so that you can search the ENTIRE website, not just the information articles'.

I hope that comprehensive array of facilities will help users engage with the website and benefit from using it both as a factual resource and a educational tool.

Return to the parent article

Articles related to this topic