See the approach that Coastal First Nations took to developing methods for their Regional Monitoring System in these Overview and Methods and Instructions documents. The Ha-ma-yas Stewardship Society has developed several specific data collection manuals for their guardians: archeaological site, eelgrass, clam, and crab.
Inevitably, the community, industry and government will ask questions about your data. Try to ensure that whatever approach you take, your methodology is clear, defensible, and delivers credible data. Regularly review and evaluate your data records and data input processes to ensure data quality is high (often referred to as quality assurance/quality control measures). This will ensure any problems with data collection or data input and management are identified on an ongoing basis and can be rectified. Provide ongoing guidance to staff to improve data quality and consistency.