Keeping a Laboratory

Notebook
Gail P. Taylor
Asst. Program Director
UT San Antonio
RISE/MARC-U*STAR programs
Acknowledgements

• Kathy Barker, At the Bench: A laboratory Navigator. Cold Spring Harbor

Laboratory press. 1998.
• Guidelines for Keeping a Laboratory Record. David Caprette, Rice
University. http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~bioslabs/tools/notebook/notebook.html
• Guidelines for Keeping a Laboratory Notebook. Colin Purrington,
Swarthmore Univ. http://www.swarthmore.edu/NatSci/cpurrin1/notebookadvice.htm
• Laboratory Record Keeping. Todd E. Garabedian, Nature Biotechnology v.
15 (August 1997) pp.799-800
http://biotech.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=https%3A%2F%2Ffanyv88.com%3A443%2Fhttp%2Fwww.wiggin.com%2
Fpubs%2Farticles_template.asp%3FID%3D102187242000
• Office of Research Integrity, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services
http://www.unh.edu/rcr/
• Responsible Conduct of Research Online Study Guide. Julie Simpson,
University of New Hampshire http://www.unh.edu/rcr/
• Francis L. Macrina, Scientific Integrity: An Introductory Text with Cases.
ASM Press. 2000.
What is a Lab Notebook?

• Complete record of procedures,

reagents, data, and thoughts to pass on
to other researchers
• Why experiments were initiated, how performed, and
results, comments
• Place to compile data/charts/photos/ideas
• Place of clues, to troubleshoot problems
• Place to observe whole picture and think
• Legal document, to prove patents
• Defense against accusations of fraud or lawsuits
How Important?

Very- Often has all

original data in it…
Type and Format…

Ultimately dictated by your PI/company

Type Advantages Drawbacks

Bound book No lost sheets Entered as done
(stitched) Proof against Fraud No logical order
Duplicate “Bound” Double record. Easy Diff. To Read.
Book (yellow sheets) copies Not true duplicate
Loose Leaf Order by expts Lost sheets
(folders/notebooks) Easy recording Authenticity prob.
Computer Easy to read Lost data
Easy calculations Authenticity prob
 Electronic Notebooks?
• ELN – Electronic Lab Notebook
• LES – Lab Executive System

• Pros and Cons

• Arise from…
• Reading and Writing
• Mobility
• Security
• Storage
• Proof from tampering (how to prove w electronic)

http://blog.labguru.com/blog-labguru/10-reasons-to-ditch-paper-and-
switch-to-electronic-lab-notbooks
http://www.the-
scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/8408/title/Electronic-
Lab-Notes/
 Characteristics of a Good “Paper” Notebook

• Paper:
• Large- >= 8.5x11 at least (attaching stuff)
• Bound (stitched) pages to ensure integrity
• Numbered pages
• White gridded
• Acid free paper (30 years)
• Duplicate pages (differing opinions)
• Written in Pen
What is best for writing?

http://www.swarthmore.edu/NatSci/cpurrin1/images/penexp2.jpg
 Preparing a New Lab Notebook

• Save Space for Table of Contents

• First two facing pages at least.
• List experiments by:
• Title
• Date
• Page Number
• Particularly helps when more than one project
For Every Experiment, Record:
• Start Date on all pages
• Title
• Why: Brief statement of purpose
• How:
• Description/protocol with reference of origin
Calculations (on empty adjoining page): MW,
concentrations, dilutions, etc.
• What Happened:
• All that happens (protocol changes; on floor,
kicked)
• Taped in Information (if it does not fit, keep an
associated folder)
• What It Means:
• Your interpretation (summation with oddities
and comments)
• What’s Next
 Attached Materials

• Computer generated data

• Photographic data
• All other data
• Printed graphs (make as you go)
• Datasheet templates
• Product labels
• Who provided plasmids, etc.
• Notes (or pasted copies) of discussions, conversations,
emails, readings related to exp’t design or goals
• Archive locations of plasmids, probes, etc.
• X-rays and other large items may be kept in a
separate folder if they don’t fit in the lab notebook.
• Always write on these materials the date and other
identifying information in case they get separated!
Remember the little things…

• Lot numbers
• Other people involved
• Incubation times
• # washes
• Machine Settings
• Unexpected delays
• Problems Encountered
• Media and Buffers
• Calculations
• Problems with individual subjects
The importance of timing…

• Always record, update, review…

• Record as you go
• Input paper towel and post-it info ASAP!
• At the LATEST, insert data the next day!
• Do a weekly checkup
• 1 hour to review
• Make sure everything is attached securely, all summaries
written, future directions written, record in table of
contents
More Helpful Tips

 The institution owns “your” notebook

• Do NOT remove your notebook from the lab

(unless this is an acceptable lab practice)
• You may get permission to take copies at
graduation, but do not take original pages
• Do NOT read another person’s notebook without
permission (even the PI won’t look at advanced
researcher’s notebooks secretly).
• Should be kept for at least 5 years
A little Lab Notebook History
 Linus Pauling Notebooks
• Nobel Prizes
• Chemistry (chemical
bonds/orbital hybridization)
• Peace
• Competitor of Watson and
Crick
• PhD Physical Chem and
Mathematical Physics at
age 24
• Caltech/Stanford

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

Notebook Ethics:

"Many people say that it is the intellect which makes a great scientist.
They are wrong: it is character." -- Albert Einstein
Characteristics that help prove integrity

 No longer for Patenting Purposes

 Was “first to invent” but now is “first to file” in 2011

 However, solid lab notebooks protect from accusations of misconduct:

• Permanently bound pages

• Put a full date (international date problems…) w month spelled out
• Consecutively number in ink
• Use same pen/ink type day to day
• Write legibly
• Never remove original pages or attachments
• Cross out mistakes lightly
• Cross out unused parts of pages
• Record all discussions/meetings/ideas relevant to the project
• Record as much detail as possible
• Sign and date each entry
• Have an independent witness sign and date each entry (industry)
• Do NOT omit any result, no matter how odd
• Do NOT falsely increase the “N” of any expt.
• Do NOT make up a result
Research Integrity

• The NIH Office of Research Integrity defines

misconduct in science as:
• Research misconduct is defined as fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in
proposing, performing, or reviewing research, or in reporting research
results, according to 42 CFR Part 93.
• “The integrity of research depends on accurate,
detailed, organized, complete, and accessible
data” Office of Research Integrity
• http://grants.nih.gov/grants/research_integrity/r
esearch_misconduct.htm
Consequences of Research Misconduct

• (Could happen to your PI)

• Debarment from eligibility to receive Federal funds
• Prohibition from service on advisory committees,
peer review committees, or as consultants
• Certification of information sources that is forwarded
by the institution
• Certification of data by the institution
• Supervision by the institution
• Submission of a correction or retraction of a
published article
http://ori.dhhs.gov/html/misconduct/administrative_actions.asp
A bad notebook can mean a bad project...

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl4L4M8m4d0
• (Note the notebook…)
Questions???