Shorthand notes need to be transcribed to be useful to others. Only common words and expressions, as found in a standard dictionary, should be used. The tendency to record other than the commonplace should be avoided, because subsequent efforts to prepare a descriptive legend or make interpretations from such notes will be unsuccessful. Field notes should indicate how closely they represent the commonplace. Survey personnel must first learn to see and record the commonplace, then add departures from the usual.
Field notes record observations and complete descriptions of pedons at specially selected sites.
Notes that are made during mapping are usually not full descriptions. The information is used to supplement detailed examinations. Notes of this kind are especially important for soils that are not well known and for soils of potential, but questionable, map units. Field notes include information about the relationship of map units to one another, to landforms, and to other natural features. Landscape features strongly influence the distribution of soils.