Lab Notebook Guidelines

General Rules and Regulations

A lab notebook is a legal document!

• All work must be thoroughly and accurately recorded
• Keep the notebook current and up to date
• Lab notebook should be a complete record of ALL of your research efforts
  • Include both successful and unsuccessful experiments or data analysis
  • Even seemingly trivial work done in the lab must be properly recorded
  • Detailed experimental methods only need to be entered ONCE into the lab notebook
    • When repeating the experiment, just refer to the lab notebook page containing the original methods and simply note all modifications to the original protocol.
  • Lab notebooks are not a personal diary
• Lab notebooks should not leave the office or lab
• Lab notebooks do not belong to you. They are the property of the university.

Everything must be neatly written in ink and legible to all readers

• Experiments and analysis should be easily reproducible from only the notebook

Maintain a Table of Contents in the front of each lab notebook

All documents and figures must be secured on a lab notebook page and within the defined page’s boarders

All reports, notes, raw data, software, and received samples should be documented and date stamped in the notebook or appendix

• All large results should be included in an appendix (software output or source code, detailed reports, processing scripts, etc.)
• A three-ring binder is an acceptable appendix.
  • The binder should be labeled with Name, lab notebook number and appendix number.
  • The binder should include paper inserts to provide page numbers, project titles and dates for each appendix entry.
• Location of large results in appendix should be documented in the lab notebook (i.e., page and appendix number should be cross-listed in both lab notebook and appendix)
• A reference to the location (i.e., directory path, instrument, specific computer name) of ALL raw data and digital documentation should be included in the lab notebook
• Physical description and location of ALL samples should be referenced in the lab notebook (including location (i.e, room number, freezer name, dates, name, and abbreviations).

All digital data should be backed up and archived

• Location of archived data should be noted in the lab notebook

As appropriate, a separate notebook may be used for each individual projects

Every completed lab notebook page must include a signature by the inventor, recorder, and witness

• Inventor and recorder is the person who did the work and recorded the work
• Witness is the person who read, understood, and reviewed the work

Significant unused space should be crossed out with X, initialed and dated

No pages should be left blank

• All entries should be recorded in chronological order

Outcomes, conclusions, and results of any project good or bad need to be recorded!

• Your documented and dated insights, interpretations or hypothesis are critical to supporting any patents or intellectual property.
• Also critical to establishing your ownership of your thesis work

Lab Notebook Violations

• Do not tear out pages
• Do not leave blank pages between entries
• Everything should be recorded in chorological order
• Do not use white out or anything erasable
• Strike through all mistakes, do not make the mistake illegible
• Do not write sloppily, or use vague terms
  • What is written in the notebook should be legible and understandable to anyone reading the notebook; and the experiments easily reproduced by reading the lab notebook
• Do not make changes to a lab notebook after it has been signed and witnessed.
  • If a mistake needs to be corrected, then the change should be dated and initialed
• Do not keep loose paper consisting of notes, data or figures shoved between notebook pages
• Do not make entries into your lab notebook weeks or months after you actually completed the experiments or data analysis
  • Record your experiments and data analysis as you are doing the work and obtaining the results
• Avoid spills, ripping or tearing pages, or anything that makes the lab notebook page unreadable
• Do not write long rambling entries, be succinct and precise.
  • A series of numbered steps or bullet points is preferable
• Do not include confusing or uninterpretable figures or tables
  • Make sure all tables and figures are properly, labeled, annotated and explained
    • Axis labels with units
    • All sample symbols/colors identified
    • Quality factors are included (R2, Q2, p-values, etc.)
    • Explain how the data was fit or modeled, the validity of the fit/model

Completed lab notebook page should contain

All sections should be labeled, separated and easily distinguishable

• Title
• Purpose or Objective
• Description of Experiment (i.e., methods and materials)
  • Note the name and versions of any software or instrumentation used
• Sample preparation
• Instrument description and set up
• Results
  • Appendix may be added for extended results including ligand libraries, metabolite lists, software code, software output, processing scripts, peak lists, chemical shift assignments, PDB files reports, or published work
  • Essentially, any result or outcome that needs to be recorded, but cannot easily fit on a single lab notebook page.
• Figures and figure legends
• Preliminary conclusions and comments
  • Record any insights, thoughts or hypothesis
  • Include any relevant literature citations
• Author Signature and date
• Witness Signature and date