This is a Javascript object definition for an event recorder to run in web browser or under Node.js.
The ultimate specification for functionality is the ERIS 1.07 MS-DOS event recorder application. (See http://www.onlinezoologists.com/features/software/eris.html ) Obviously, things are different in Javascript and browsers than they were in MS-DOS.
Event recording is the logging of events by an observer, in a fashion that allows for analysis of temporal sequences found in the event stream. Event recording is accomplished through the use of an event recorder system, which accepts user input and logs it in some permanent or semi- permanent fashion. While event recording can be used for interval sampling, the area in which it excels is in continuous recording of behavior, especially for focal animal follows.
Advantages Over Checksheets:
- No transcription errors in going to computer analysis
- Ease of archiving exact copies of data
- Consistent association of timestamp
- Faster data entry for tokens
- Allows for easier continuous recording
- Touch-typists need not divide attention between animal and recorder
Disadvantages Compared to Checksheets:
- More ways that hardware and software can fail
- Data at risk until archived
- Hazardous environments still favor checksheet use
2016/07/17: Initial version, essentially a try-out of Javascript and the browser as an event recording system. Provides "accept", "delete" classes for tokens. Minimal HTML page interface. Does not yet implement several of the features noted in the ERIS 1.07 "lessons learned" list.