Helpful Hints on Keeping a Lab Notebook

Let's begin with a scenario: You've developed a really good research idea, obtained funding for the research, got your compliance approvals in line, collected interesting data, found supporting results, and published a manuscript in a journal. Now imagine that a colleague from another institution is unsuccessful in reproducing your research and questions you about your methodology. Not completely satisfied with your response, your colleague calls your institution's research integrity officer and alleges that you may have fabricated data in your research. So, you say to yourself, "now what do I do?" Hopefully, you kept a good lab notebook. But did you actually keep a lab notebook or is what you kept as a lab notebook made up of several loose sheets of paper consisting of notes written in pencil and multiple eraser marks?

So, why is it important to keep a good lab notebook? It ensures that records are kept for reproducibility of data and provides a record for eventual publication and writing of theses. It also provides valuable documentation when addressing issues regarding intellectual property rights, conflicts of interests, or any questions regarding the integrity of the research. Finally, it helps to save time and effort (i.e., recording all experiments prevents you from having to repeat them).

The following information was presented by Dr. Avery August, Associate Professor of Immunology, Department of Veterinary & Biomedical Sciences, Penn State University, at an Office for Research Protections Brown Bag Seminar on April 10, 2006, titled, "Write it Down - Getting Away from Paper Napkins in Research Documentation."

What are the components of a good lab notebook?

1. Table of Contents
   • Include enough information so that experiments can be found e.g. "To clone the cDNA for the tyrosine kinase BMX into the lentiviral vector pLXP"
   • Have inclusive page numbers (which may not be sequential)
   • First 5-10 pages of the notebook should be reserved for the Table of Contents
2. Title of each experiment
3. Description of the purpose and even hypothesis behind the experiment
   • Describe the purpose of the experiment, and any thoughts or hypotheses that led to the experiment.
   • Experimental details should be included with as much detail as possible e.g. amounts of material used, lot number of antibodies or reagents, all parameters of any animals used (cage card, DOB, sex etc).
   • If you are using a standard operating procedure, you can refer to the page number of any notebook that includes a description of the procedure, as well as state whether it was followed exactly, or if there were deviations.
   • Can have a separate Notebook with all commonly used methods e.g. plasmid prep, isolation of cells etc.
   • Include all details on observations of the results of the experiments. Include any data print outs (original), ECL film exposures etc. Note on these external items the date, the title of the experiment and page number of the notebook where it is inserted. Proper labeling of these items is critical.
   • State a conclusion to the experiment. Did it work or not, why, and what you can conclude.
4. Details of experimental protocols
5. Results of experiments
6. Conclusion
7. Witnessing of notebooks
   • In industrial situations, all notebooks have to be witnessed by someone who did not participate in the experiments
   • This entails signing and dating each page with any writing on it, and getting it countersigned and dated by someone not involved in the experiments
   • Any blank pages should be crossed out and signed

Although lab notebooks can be in paper (with or without carbon copies) or electronic format (e.g., Infotrieve, Cambridge Soft, Waters, etc.), there are advantages to using electronic notebooks:

1. Lab productivity - saves time compared to hand writing
2. Paper reduction
3. Ability to quickly search for experiments
4. Allows for easier collaboration and sharing of notebook
5. Improved data quality (in some cases). Items can be scanned; electronic data can be easily incorporated. Others can integrate Word and Excel documents
6. Electronic signatures using passwords.

Although there are advantages, there are also challenges:

1. Some experiments files will be difficult to store electronically
2. Security of files will become more of an issue
3. Long-term storage and retrieval may be a problem, especially when there are changes in computers, operating systems etc.
4. Corruption or loss of data

The following is a best-practices summary for good record-keeping. The information was obtained from a website (http://ori.dhhs.gov/education/products/columbia_wbt/rcr_data/foundation/index.html) produced by the Columbia Center for New Media Teaching & Learning (CCNMTL) in collaboration with the Columbia University Office for Responsible Conduct of Research and developed by Daniel Vasgird and authored by Robin Eisner and Daniel Vasgird. For more information on this project, please visit the following sites: http://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/projects/rcr/ and http://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/

• Raw data should be recorded and retained in indexed laboratory notebooks with permanent binding and numbered pages or in a dedicated electronic notebook.
• Recording should be done as soon as possible after data are collected and specific note should be made as to whether it represents the date of the recording or the date of collection, if the two are not the same. Modifications should be clearly identified and dated.
• For paper records, a few pages should be kept at the front of a bound book for tables of contents.
• Writing should be done in permanent ink and legibly.
• Copies of original notebooks should be kept elsewhere for safekeeping.
• A second loose-leaf notebook should be kept for data, such as photographs, machine printouts, questionnaires, chart recordings, and autoradiograms that cannot fit into the primary record book.
• Supervisors should review and sign off on notebooks to signify their completeness and accuracy. Queries should be addressed as soon as possible and changes signed by both. Some data may need to be witnessed by a colleague. (Witnessing of data becomes important in commercial research laboratories.)
• Methodology used in an experiment should be written down or a reference to how an experiment deviated from a standard laboratory technique should be explained.
• Lot numbers should be recorded and special attention should be given to the hazardous-substance use.
• Equipment calibrations need to be recorded.
• Data should be noted directly into notebooks without putting it on scraps of paper or relying on memory beforehand.
• All raw data should be included. Be honest.
• Errors should be identified by crossing out the mistakes without obscuring the initial data.
• Material should be logged chronologically.
• Data interpretation should be carefully written.
• Areas in a notebook left blank intentionally should be indicated.
• Correspondence and note conversations related to experiments should be kept.
• Consent forms should be kept with raw data.
• Electronic records need to be carefully monitored.
• Electronic data should be backed up on a disk with a hard copy; relevant software must be retained to ensure future access, and security of data is an issue.

So, let's go back to the opening scenario where a colleague questioned your research after he/she failed to reproduce your results and had contacted your institution's research integrity officer making an allegation that you may have fabricated data. In this scenario, having a good lab notebook would have not only ensured that records are kept for the reproducibility of data but also would have provided good documentation to protect the integrity of investigator and his/her research.