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The boost in the national and international research on the centennial and multicentennial-scale changes in the configuration of river channels has led to a need for standardisation of database acquisition methods, so that the final results may be accurately compared regardless of the size of the analyzed river and its physical environment. This paper introduces: the working materials needed for such studies (sources available in Romania and their preparation); landmarks necessary for the delimitation of the study area, typological classification of the channels, delineation of the representative channel sectors; methods for acquiring morphometric data (planform). The literature (with illustrative case studies cited in this paper) provides examples on how the results can be processed and interpreted in order to obtain valuable indicators of the trends in channel changes and the stages in the evolution of their configuration. Moreover, they may also indirectly deliver information on the historical changes in the controlling factors (ie climate variation or anthropogenic interventions) which generate changes in the morphology and morphometry of river channels.