Keeping a laboratory notebook^ good

A laboratory notebook is a record of both physical and mental activity.

Laboratory data include tangible data such as gels, scans of peaks, photographs, and computer printouts as well as intangibles such as quantitation, observations and conclusions.

All of this data are important to preserve and organize!

Why is it important to keep a good notebook? • Good record keeping is necessary for data analysis, publication, collaboration,

peer review, and preserving data for other research activities.

• Good record keeping permits the conduct of good science: accountability and reproducibility.

• Good records are necessary to support intellectual property claims.

• Good records can help defend you against false allegations of research misconduct.

• Build your lab cred (and your legacy!). Good records build confidence in your work. & the more confidence people have in your work, the more likely they are to use it

• Source for mentorship & tutelage (ensures your PI is reviewing the raw data and methodology)

• Statement of your acquired skill sets

A Lab Notebook is not…

• A journal

• A record of communications

• A place to compile and store lab protocols/manuals

• Yours to keep

NOTEBOOK FORMS

Paper vs. Digital

-accessibility

-searchability

-transparency

-data storage potential

-organization

Installed vs. Online

Table of Contents:•Date•Subject/Experiment•Page number

Body of notebook:•Complete, Dated entries

Tasks performed and details to perform the tasksAccurate, Reliable, and Clear - understandable for any readerWritten in English

Notebook identifiers:•Your Name•Year•General project name•Contact information for lab

What goes in a notebook?

General Aspects of Dated Entries:

Date

Title

Hypothesis or Goal: Brief statement of purpose

Background

How: Protocols, calculations, reagents, equipment

Observations:

All that happens (planned or unplanned)

Raw experimental data (primary data)

Pasted in information or reference to data

location

Sample storage

Data analysis:

Processing of raw data, graphs,

Interpretations (secondary data)

Ideas for future experiments

Purpose

Date

Parameter

Data

Results/Analysis

Conclusions

Page#

Method

The devil is in the details

• Reagents: source, product number, lot number, expiration date, how and where stored

• Solutions and how they were made (from 10X stock, from powder, etc.)• Type of water used (Milli-Q, distilled, RO, sterile, RNase-free)• Cells used: type, source, passage number, growth medium• Instruments: type/model, name, location, serial number, settings

(temperature, laser power, etc) • Number and volume of washes (and duration)• Reaction size (volume)• Centrifuge speeds and duration of spins• Heating rates and levels of agitation• Time between and during steps• Gel percentages• Kit names and deviations from standard protocols• Sample description, date stored, condition, source, collection details

07-Feb-2012Study: Comparative Genomics of wild vs. genetically-modified strawberries

Wild Strawberry DNA extraction

weight of strawberry extracted = 3 g

Materials:heavy duty ziploc bag1 strawberry10 mL DNA extraction buffer (soapy, salty water)cheeseclothfunnel50 mL tubeglass rod20 mL ethanol

One wild strawberry was manually mashed in a ziploc bag. 10mL of extraction buffer was added to the bag and again the strawberry was mashed for 1 min. Collected supernatant and measured DNA.

Nanodrop estimate = 12 ng of DNA

Sample stored in DNA extracts box at -20 deg C until all samples to be analyzed are obtained

Pg 15

Q & A (Think-Pair-Share)

Was all information recorded? What is missing?

Why should it be included?

How confident are you in using this material? How confident are you in repeating the extraction for the GM strawberry?

Q & A (Think-Pair-Share)

Was all information recorded? What is missing?

Why should it be included?

How confident are you in using this material? How confident are you in repeating the extraction for the GM strawberry?

Notebook Ethics “Notethics?”All data go in to the notebook

• Even “bad” data points or “outliers”• Failed experiments or contradictory experiments• Include images, analysis, printouts whenever possible, or refer to where it is• Refer back to repeated procedures, samples from another entry

“See Notebook 4, page 62 for procedure on isolating membrane proteins” -OR-

“See entry from 03/19/11 for DNA extraction protocol.”

Nothing comes out of the notebook• Do not remove any data or delete entries• Do not remove or skip pages in physical notebooks & cross out any unused

parts of a page

Correct mistakes, do not remove them• Make note of previous entries’ mistakes by referring to them in a present entry• Cross out mistakes with a single line/ paste in corrections without covering

anything• Sign and date all corrections

OneNote Word- notebook layout

eCATLab trackLabwareLab ArchivesEvernote

Do a search for “Electronic Lab Notebook,” “ELN,” or “Digital Lab Notebook” and you will be flooded with options

OpenWetWareLabGuruSyapseiLabber

Word- notebook layout modeOneNoteWordpress and other blog sites….

Did you:

Keep up with the table of contents or use continuation notes?

Date each entry?

Make entry/post promptly?

Properly introduce and summarize each experiment?

Include complete details of all first-time procedures?

Enter all information directly into the notebook or link to external files?

Include calculations?

*IN PROGRESS- I will post this on the 299 blog. Let’s work on building this checklist throughout the semester- comment freely!!

Notebook Checklist*

Resources:

Guidelines For Recordkeeping in the Intramural Research Program at the NIH, 2008

Writing the Laboratory Notebook, Kanare, ACS 1985

Linus Pauling Research Notebooks, http://osulibrary.orst.edu/specialcollections/rnb/index.html

http://gemsclub.org/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/StrawberryDNAExtra.4395135.pdf

http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_magazine/previous_issues/articles/2012_09_14/caredit.a1200103

http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~bioslabs/tools/notebook/notebook.html