ABSTRACT
The issues that relate to methods and instruments that are used to capture new data and functionally integrating them with other data are briefly addressed. The use of the data after the capture process may seriously influence the decisions made before and during data capture. Good data stewardship starts with sitting next to the designers of the study, advising them about the data 'after they have been captured', the formats and metadata. However, careful consideration of how data-capture procedures that have a strong non-standardised component such as active questioning of subjects or surgical procedures, may influence the ultimate data reader have to steward is a key task for a good data steward. Case reports represent a special kind of data source. Case reports are frequent in medical, biodiversity, and environmental studies, but they can also include case reports of law enforcement officers in daily practice.
