Collecting Data

Use this workflow after joining a Project and confirming that its Protocol, Project Questions, locations, and sampling plan match the study.

Before the Collection Session

1. Charge and turn on the MultispeQ.
2. Sign in to the Android app and refresh the Project list while internet access is available.
3. Connect the intended MultispeQ and confirm its device ID.
4. Run Device QC and Field QC.
5. Confirm the planned treatments, blocks, biological replicates, sampling order, and target measurement count.
6. Verify that collectors use the same Protocol, Project Question definitions, units, and sample-identification rules.

Prespecify decisions

Define repeat, rejection, and flagging rules before collection. Apply the same rules to every treatment, collector, device, date, and location.

Collect a Project Measurement

1. Open My Projects and select the intended Project.
2. Select Take Measurement.
3. Answer every required Project Question and verify sample identifiers before measuring.
4. Position the leaf or sample according to the Protocol and the practices below.
5. Select Take Measurement and keep the leaf and MultispeQ steady.
6. Review the result and any warning or danger messages.
7. Select Accept and Save to keep the measurement, Retake Measurement to repeat it, or Discard Reading to reject the attempt.

Confirm Project Metadata	Review the Result

Accepting a measurement does not guarantee that it has reached the Project. Confirm its upload status in Measurements.

Best Measurement Practices

• Do not shade the leaf or PAR sensor with your body, phone, or clothing.
• Do not move a leaf from shade to sun, or from sun to shade, immediately before measuring.
• Keep the leaf at its natural angle unless the study Protocol specifies another orientation.
• Use the same leaf position and clamp orientation throughout the study.
• Make sure the sample completely covers the light guides without crushing or folding the tissue.
• Hold the instrument and leaf steady, especially in wind.
• Keep the light guides clean and dry. Use only a soft, clean microfiber cloth.
• Do not collect in wet conditions; the MultispeQ is not water resistant or waterproof.

Recommended leaf placement and instrument orientation

Small leaves may require a validated mask and instrument recalibration. Do not improvise a mask during an active study because it changes the optical path and can make measurements incomparable.

Review the Result

The result screen shows Protocol outputs, environmental values, calculated parameters, warnings, and available traces. The exact output depends on the selected Protocol and Macro.

Measurement Details and Quality Messages

This example is a saved Project measurement in the updated Android app. Expand More values or View traces, or open Raw Data to inspect its JSON. Always review any warnings shown on the reading you are collecting.

Common output groups include:

Type	Examples
Environmental and physical	PPFD/PAR sensor output, ambient temperature, relative humidity, atmospheric pressure, leaf temperature, leaf angle
Chlorophyll fluorescence	Phi2, PhiNPQ, PhiNO, LEF, NPQt, qL
Absorbance and transmission	SPAD-like relative chlorophyll index, ECSt, vH+, gH+, PSI and P700 parameters

See References and Parameters for definitions, assumptions, and interpretation limits.

Respond to Quality Messages

A warning is a prompt to inspect the acquisition, not proof that the biological observation is invalid.

Repeat a measurement when there is a documented acquisition failure, such as:

• The wrong sample or Project Question answer was used
• The leaf did not cover the light guides
• The leaf or instrument moved during acquisition
• The connection or Protocol was interrupted
• The trace is missing or malformed

Do not discard a measurement only because its value is extreme or differs from expectations. Stressed, senescent, diseased, or dead tissue can produce valid low or unusual values when those samples are part of the study. Record the reason for repeats and exclusions, and apply the same rule throughout the dataset.

Upload and Confirm Measurements

Accepted Project measurements remain on the phone until upload succeeds.

1. Open Measurements.
2. Confirm the expected Project and sample identifiers.
3. Select Upload All, or open a pending measurement and use its upload action.
4. Wait for the cloud/check status.
5. Confirm important records in the online Project data view before deleting local copies.

Measurements Tab (Quick Examples)	Upload Settings

The pictured Quick Measurement entries are local examples. For Project collection, confirm the uploaded status on the Project record itself.

Use WiFi only to prevent uploads over mobile data. Use Auto upload when measurements should upload automatically whenever the configured network is available. Upload All remains available for manual confirmation.

Before leaving the field, compare the expected and actual counts and investigate missing, duplicate, mislabeled, pending, or warning-bearing measurements. Do not uninstall the app, clear app data, or delete pending measurements before their upload is confirmed.

See Measurements for local actions and upload troubleshooting.