8.1 INTRODUCTION These include:  free text (limited or not)  terms from a controlled vocabulary list (such as index terms)  dates (which can be used for calculations)  numbers used for calculations  unique record numbers, usually generated by the computer program  designations for rankings, values such as yes / no, or status values  codes or identification symbols, such as initials or abbreviations, defined by local organisations or networks  codes from a Events Micro-thesaurus  codes from a locally defined Micro-thesaurus, or a thesaurus chosen by the local organisation The type of entry chosen depends on the organisation' s information needs, technological capabilities and the requirements of the computer programme that may be used. The instructions below reflect suggested entry methods for use with WinEvsys. In several fields, organisations can enter codes or terms. In the examples below, both have been included, separated by or. Terms and clarifying notes are separated by space colon space ( : ). Before starting to record information using the formats and these scope notes, it is advisable to become familiar with the content of the earlier chapters of this book, which contain background information on recording human rights violations using the Events Standard Formats of HURIDOCS. 8.2 ENTRY PRINCIPLES 1. Entry choices In a computer database, many choices for entries are included in various electronic tables within the program. Users obtain a list of vocabulary terms from which they can select the most appropriate term(s). These lists of terms may be developed locally, can come from an existing thesaurus, may be chosen from lists in the scope notes below or may be terms from the Events Micro-thesauri. After the user has chosen the most appropriate term(s), the computer stores a code matching this term(s). The WinEvsys software has easy entry principles for operations such as separating entries and updating records - for details, see the Winevsys manual. 2. Numbering records For manual systems, organisations have to develop a suitable numbering system which best fulfils their needs in classifying and retrieving their records. Records can be numbered sequentially by type of format (for example, E110 for the 110th Event format), by geographical region or chronologically. 85