science fair keeping a lab notebook 2012 science fair professional development series

2012 Science Fair Professional Development Series

Science FairKeeping a Lab Notebook


"Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought."

- Albert Szent-Gyorgyi


Why Keep a Lab Notebook

To provide a complete record of why experiments were initiated and how they were performed.

A notebook also provides a place to put: the data that is collected the statistical outcomes

graphs that are generated from analysis

Practically speaking, researchers who distribute their efforts across multiple notebooks, computer files, 3-ring binders, Post-Its, and faulty brain cells

are unlikely to be effective in the laboratory.


Why Keep A Lab Notebook

To encourage sound thinking.

Things to do in a lab notebook: talk to yourself ask questions

jot down important thoughts comment about the experimental design

project how results might eventually be interpreted


Why Keep a Lab Notebook

To provide information to a person who is interested in continuing your research project.

To repeat and extend experimentation provide a complete record of: procedures reagents

data thoughts

Notebooks that are kept solely for personal consumption are often illegible and incoherent (usually both) and are worthless to the broader scientific

community.


What to Use as a Lab Notebook

A notebook that possesses a stitched (not glued) binding. Spiral-bound notebooks are undesirable because it is too easy (and to tempting, really) to rip out pages in the event of an error. Ring binders, manila envelopes, and stacks of loose paper are equally unacceptable.

A proper notebook has a lot of glued-in information (printed graphs, datasheet templates, photographs, product labels, etc.).

Notebooks come in a variety of dimensions. The larger ones (those larger than a standard page) are convenient because you can easily paste in printer output without much file manipulation (e.g., no font shrinking). Smaller notebooks cannot accommodate unmodified printouts, but are

much easier to lug around in field conditions.


What to Use as a Lab Notebook

Try to get notebooks with pre-numbered pages and that lay completely flat when open.

Here are some companies that sell laboratory notebooks:Book Factory

Scientific Notebook CompanyAmazon.com (lots of links)

http://shopping.netsuite.com/s.nl/c.ACCT107430/sc.23/category.60/.f

http://www.snco.com/o64p.htm

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=blended&field-keywords=lab%20notebooks&results-process=default&dispatch=search/ref=pd_sl_aw_tops-1_blended_10404357_1&results-process=default


What to Put on the Outside of a Lab Notebook

Put your (student) full name and year of use on exterior of notebook. This information can also be placed on the spine (use a light-colored paint pen if the spine is black) so that your notebook can easily be

identified on a shelf.

Put a general project name on the exterior of notebook.

Put your mailing address, phone number, and e-mail on inside cover. Also give the name of your mentor, and his/her full mailing/contact

information This information is very useful when the student foolishly leaves their notebook at Starbucks.


How to Start & Maintain a Lab Notebook

If the notebook is not already equipped with page numbers, add them (in top right- and left-hand corners).

Devote pages 1 and 2 to a Table of Contents (to be filled in as time passes). Have 2 columns, one for experiment name and one for page

number where experiment 1 starts, etc. This Table of Content is crucial for others that might want to use the notebook to reconstruct your

activities.

Never, under any circumstance, should a page be removed. This rule is to prevent unscrupulous researchers from "losing" data that might

not have been favorable to their research objectives.



Some researchers insist on reserving the left-hand page for "cryptic notes to self, and quick calculations", and the right-hand page for "real" entries. Do not do this. This strategy undermines the more important

goal of keeping a notebook that is truly decipherable by others. If a student has made "calculations and notes to self" without proper

narrative explanation and justification, they will probably find the left-hand page unusable after several months have elapsed.

Many pens bleed when wet, and you should avoid using them in the laboratory where spills invariably occur.



The following illustrates the results of a quick experiment to demonstrate the bleeding of pens (e.g., soaking in methanol), and to determine which pens are satisfactory for keeping a

notebook. The results are in the figure below:

http://www.swarthmore.edu/NatSci/cpurrin1/images/penexp.jpg



The following pens seem to perform well under the conditions I used: Pentel Hybrid Gel Roller, Sakura Gelly Roll (this company also makes Pigma Micron pens, which are great), Sanford Uni-Ball Gel RT, Sanford Uni-Ball Vision, Sanford Uni-Gel RT, Zebra Sarasa (this writes this best,

and comes in a pleasing "blue/black" tint).

Avoid the "Pilot G2" line (they bleed extensively in all organic solvents tests, and even bled when incubated with warm water. Do not use

Sharpie (or equivalent) permanent markers for notebook entries: these markers are very good at resisting water spills, but are removed by

many solvents. More importantly, permanent markers typically bleed through to the underlying page, which makes for rather sloppy, illegible

laboratory notebooks.



Do not use pencils. Although graphite is wonderfully resistant to many solvents, it is famously prone to being erased, which can be terrible if you erase something that, in fact, was rather important. Also, if you

decide to patent a thought or protocol, you need to show the laboratory notebook to the patent office, and they will laugh their heads off if you show up with a pencil-filled notebook. Do not use felt tip, fountain, and ball point pens. The first two almost invariably have very water

soluble inks, and you will lose data (or at least legibility) after a beverage spill, drool accident, or a rain shower (for those in the field).

If you are a fountain pen addict like I am, you CAN use your pen in the laboratory IF you buy yourself Bulletproof Black ink from Noodler's. I

haven't tested it extensively, but it seems to be fabulous, and is actually guaranteed to be permanent until the End of Days. (The company also makes invisible ink as well as ink that flows even when it's really, really

cold outside.)

http://www.noodlersink.com/



If you make a mistake, draw a thin line through the word or number rather than obliterating the entry with an ink blob. In some cases you may decide that your original entry was, indeed, the correct one, and

you will be glad that you can still read it. Date and initial the strike-through and correction.

Never use correction fluids (e.g., White Out) or strips of white laboratory tape.

Write legibly! If you ever use your laboratory notebook to reconstruct experimental details for use in a manuscript, poster, or seminar

presentation, you will be miserable if you haven't been reasonably neat. Your notebook does not have to be a work of art, but it should be easily

readable by another researcher. Provide the full date whenever you make an entry.

Avoid 02/2/02 opt for a format that leaves nothing to guesswork: 2 Feb 2002 or Feb 2, 2002.


What Should Go In a Lab Notebook Include detailed notes on all discussions and thoughts on the

experimental goals. This means, of course, that you should start making dated entries immediately rather than waiting until you get your

experiment(s) started. Because some information might come via e-mailed suggestions (from your mentor or colleagues) or from online

sources (PDFs or web sites), you might paste "miniaturized" versions of relevant passages directly into your notebook (rather than spending the

time to transcribe). Eventually, include detailed experimental protocols that could be easily

followed by another researcher. If you have typed out a detailed protocol in a computer file, print it out (shrinking it to make it fit nicely) and glue it into your notebook (it is worthless if you file it elsewhere). Give each

experiment a name so that you can refer to it quickly in subsequent entries. All experimental protocols should be accompanied with clearly

worded hypotheses and goals, and indicate exactly what measurements are going to be taken.


What Should Go In a Lab Notebook

Provide full justification of all experimental details (species used, temperature, reagents, etc.). Justification might come as simple logic

(stated, in your own words) or as references to other published research (e.g., voltages applied as per Frankenstein 1899, with full citation given).

Annotate all calculations so that all numbers, concentrations, etc. are fully explained and would be interpretable by another researcher.

Remember to include units. Give full details for all experimental organisms. Who provided seeds,

plasmids, etc., and what information did they transmit? Were seeds the result of open pollination, or were they from controlled crosses? Have lines used been subjected to thousands of generations of laboratory

conditions or are they truly a wild strain? If you bought organism, give source, delivery conditions, etc. Include catalog number (e.g., Burpee LE-

23001) when possible.



For greenhouse experiments, write down details of potting media (brand, type) and pot (shape, dimensions, color, brand). Also record when plants

were watered, fertilized, repotted, or repositioned. If other people are asked to care for your plants, ask person to keep a detailed log of when

plants were watered and fertilized (this log often helps ensure that promised care actually takes place, too!).

Record reagent details. Details include vendor (name, address, phone number; in case you want to buy more in the future) and product

information (brand, product number, chemical structure, purity grade, lot number, date of mixing/production, expiration date, etc.). Whenever water is used, specify de-ionized, distilled, tap, cold, hot, sterile, etc.



Record equipment details (brand, model number, sensitivity). In some circumstances it is important to record serial number, just in case there was something unique about the item you used. For growth chambers,

always record bulb type and wattage.

Record field, greenhouse, laboratory, and growth chamber conditions such as temperature (in Celsius), humidity, barometric pressure, light

levels, light/day cycle (hours of each, and when night starts), wind speed, wind direction, etc. Note that conditions sometimes change, so

record these parameters often if variation is likely to affect your results.



Sometimes, personal information should be noted. If you are interested in observing behavior of nearby wounded bulls, it might be good to note

whether you are wearing a red or green shirt. Similarly, behavior of carrion-eating flies might be inadvertently changed if you are releasing

plumes of last night's bacon- and garlic-studded pork roast through your pores. Perfume choice should be noted if you observing animal sexual

behaviors, of course.

Record names of people providing assistance with data collection, techniques, statistical advice, equipment loans, stipend support, supplies funds. Write this information down immediately so that you remember to include it in your future "acknowledgements" sections. Keep notes about

phone conversations and e-mail interactions (I have often pasted the printed e-mail directly into my notebook).



Make quick drawings of experiment set-ups, location of experiment in laboratory or greenhouse, etc. For field experiments, include a sketch of where field site is situated. These sketches do not have to be works of

art.

Attach photographs (or print-outs of digital photographs) that document key experimental details.

On the day you first enter data into a statistical program, write down the file name and where the file is stored (e.g., DVD on shelf in room 101; backup on laboratory computer in "Backup folder"). Give your file an

informative name (e.g., "Heat_exp1_3Mar2003.dat") rather than "experiment1.dat" or “evil_stats.dat."


What Should Go In a Lab Notebook Make daily entries, even if to say just "checked for mortality in Heat

Exp 1; no mortality yet.“

Specify purpose for each entry, and reference an experiment name. If you just wrote, "Censused" for a particular date, you wouldn't have a

record of which experiment you censused or what specific data you were collecting.

If you happen to record some data directly onto datasheets (e.g., Excel spreadsheets that exist on computers or within ring binders), include

dated entries for all such occasions: "entered data onto heat.xls spreadsheet." Ideally, construct your spreadsheets so that you can paste them into your notebook, perhaps right after your experimental details are explained: you could "mark" this page with a flag so that you can

easily add data to these pages.



Detail all mistakes, problems with procedures, and lapses in data collection so that you can fully explain "odd" results at the end of your

experiment.

Use AM/PM designations for all time entries.

All entries should be unobscured by attached graphs, data sheets, photographs, etc.



When you include datasheets, photographs, graphs, product labels, etc., use glue to cleanly and permanently attach all edges. Do not use

staples (they poke through to the other side) and do not use tape (it becomes brittle and yellow).

Avoid making entries that are wholly unrelated to your project (e.g., "Don't forget to mail presents").

Include the full names and contact information for all collaborators (in courses, this translates to laboratory partners). You will sometimes have, "see X's notebook for further info," and these entries will only be useful to other researchers if there is good contact information at the start of a

particular experiment.



At the conclusion of your experiment, or at the end of your course, write or print out a full directory of all electronic files that relate to your

experiment. For Macintosh users, you could buy DiskTracker (shareware) to produce a full directory tree of your folder (or whatever): save

directory listing as text file, then import into Excel (or other editor). Within Excel, you can add a column of explanatory text so that is clear what each file contains. All files, including digital photographs, should have appropriate, informative names and be stored within a relevant

folder (e.g., don't put all images into an "images" folder, but rather file them in the appropriate "experiment folder"). Delete all unneeded data

files, blurry images, letters to home, etc.: the final storage disk (or burned CD) should contain only the important files.



Describe the locations of all computer media, data binders, seeds, samples, etc., so that items can be located by others in the future. This information is best in tabular form (perhaps as an Excel or Word table printed and glued into your notebook). All seeds, DNA samples, etc.

should be fully labeled with your name and date so that it is clear which notebook should be checked to learn more about the history of the

sample.

Typically, the laboratory notebook should stay in the laboratory where the experiments were conducted (i.e., with your mentor, school…). If you can't part with it, make yourself a Xerox. HOWEVER, for competition

purposes it MUST accompany the display.


QUESTIONS?

Please direct questions to:Dr. Lisa Alexander

Science Support Specialist & Co-Director Fulton Regional Science Fair

Fulton County Schools

[email protected]

science fair keeping a lab notebook 2012 science fair professional development series

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