What is a laboratory notebook

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What is a laboratory notebook? The most important
piece of equipment you will use when working in
lab is your lab notebook.Since science is built
upon the premise that results are reproducible,
you must leave detailed information so others
could reproduce your work if they read your
notes. Your notebook is the only source of
information of all that you have done in lab.
It should be an accurate account of what you
did, why you did it, when you did it, what the
results were, and what these results mean 2.
The lab book should be a tool and not a burden.
It's something to help you out a bit further down
the road when you ask yourself, "now how did I
make this sample?" 4.
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Why is it important? A well kept notebook
provides a reliable reference for writing up
materials and methods and results for a study.
It is a legally valid record that preserves your
rights or those of an employer or academic
investigator to your discoveries. A
comprehensive notebook permits one to reproduce
any part of a methodology completely and
accurately 1. If written well, a lab notebook
should contain everything you need to know to
allow you or someone else to repeat any
experiment you have ever performed. It can be
useful in finding the source of errors and
unexpected results when problems arise. Should
your work ever be disputed, a lab notebook will
provide testimony to your research 3.
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Getting Started Use a ball point pen for all
entries, so that the marks will not smear nor
will they be erasable.Put your name, a
telephone number and/or address, and project
name or course number on the outside front cover
of the record. Put that same information on the
first page inside, or on the inside front cover.
If your notebook does not include a pre-labeled
table of contents section, then reserve the next
several pages for a table of contents by
labeling the top of each page as Table of
Contents and numbering each page. If your
notebook does not have pre-numbered pages, you
may wish to use lower case Roman numerals, as in
a standard publication. Next, number the next
several pages with Arabic numerals in sequence,
and you are ready to begin recording data 1.
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Recording Lab Work Write the date, experiment
title, and partner's name at the top of each page
3. All data and observations should be written
in your notebook at the time you took the
measurement. Do not write on scratch paper to be
copied later into your notebook - little pieces
of paper may be lost and data forever lost 3.
Do not underestimate how rapidly you forget
experimental details. How was the equipment wired
up? Does the distance recorded in my notebook
include the radius of the ball? Is the "width"
parameter in my book the distance between the
edges of the slits or between their centers?
Sketches and careful definition of quantities are
essential to make the diary clear. When recording
data, think carefully about the quantities you
will need, and leave space to add more columns
when you realize what you're missing 5. Errors
should be crossed out with a single line. Do not
scribble out mistakes 3. Write down all
calculations, no matter how simple, in your
notebook 3. Permanently attach (glue or tape)
images, computer print outs, and other data in
your notebook. Date and initial over the corner
of the attachment. Be sure to label the image
with any pertinent information. Partners may
photocopy original data for inclusion in their
lab notebooks 3. Always include any changes
made to procedures, mishaps, failures, or
mistakes. As human beings, all of us make
mistakes 6!
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Analyzing and Summarizing Prepare a graph or
graphs to illustrate the relationships you
observed, and their agreement with theoretical
predictions. Be sure to include error bars on
plots. Discuss the meaning of your data,
including points of agreement and disagreement
between your data and theory. Consider the
measurement or measurements that limit the
accuracy of your results and possible
extensions to the experiment 5.Include a
reflections section in your logbook. For
example, what, if anything would I do
differently next time? What part of the
experiment could be changed to improve the
experimental procedure 6?Summarize your
report on no more than 1 page, describing
succinctly what you did, what you observed (by
referring to sketches, tables, and graphs
prepared earlier in your book), and what it
means. Avoid excessive use of "I" and "We" 5.
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Works Cited The information in this guide was
found verbatim in the following six resources and
has been attributed by number. Consult these
sources for more information1.Guidelines for
Keeping a Laboratory RecordIntroductory
Laboratory - Bios 211Rice Universityhttp//www.r
uf.rice.edu/7Ebioslabs/tools/notebook/notebook.ht
ml 2. How to Develop a Laboratory
NotebookDepartment of Biology, Davidson
Collegehttp//www.bio.davidson.edu/courses/Molbio
/labnotebook.html 3. Keeping a good lab
notebookBIOE 202 Cell Culture and Tissue
Engineering LaboratoryDepartment of
Bioengineering, University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaignhttp//www.bioen.uiuc.edu/courses
/bioe202/cell-culture/notebook.html 4. Keeping a
Lab NotebookColorado School of
Mineshttp//www.mines.edu/Academic/courses/physic
s/phgn435/labnotebook.htm 5. Keeping a Lab
NotebookHarvey Mudd College Physics
Departmenthttp//www.physics.hmc.edu/howto/LabNot
ebook.html 6. What Makes A Great Science Project
Logbook?Joanne Rebbeck, Ph.D.February 24,
2005http//www.sciencebuddies.org/mentoring/print
able_project_logbook.pdf?gclidCMr01uaMzIcCFRlvUAo
d1317KA
Lauren M. Young / Rowland Medical Library/ 2006