Guidelines for Keeping a Laboratory Record

The notebook is your record of work done in the laboratory and should be recorded in the first person. It does not require glamorous penmanship but legibility is paramount and a modicum of organization is helpful. With experience you will begin to predict the types of data generated by various experiments and to set up your record-keeping accordingly. For example, a table or chart prepared before the data are collected, when appropriate, greatly simplifies recording, interpreting, and analyzing the results. Unfortunately, a complete and well-organized notebook comes only with experience and hard work. Hopefully, in this course you can develop good record keeping habits so that later the task of record keeping will not detract from the focus of the experiment.

These guidelines are written to help you keep notebooks that would be acceptable in an ACADEMIC research setting. (Standards for INDUSTRY may differ: e.g., b/c of PATENT process, notebooks may contain ONLY procedures and raw data; data analysis and interpretation must be done elsewhere.)

See Guidelines for Keeping a Laboratory Record on Dr. Caprette's Experimental Biosciences website.
- Recall that the page number and date go in the UPPER RIGHT corner of each page; if your pages are prenumbered, you do not have to "renumber" them.
- Each page should contain only ONE date (i.e., do not put multiple dates on the same page; start a new page for a new date).
- The Table of Contents must be kept current (i.e., you must update it before lab each week)
Please carefully read my Honor Code Policy BEFORE the first day of lab.
The format and style of the notebook follow guidelines used in BIOC 211 and 311. Please see the BIOC 313 checklist .
It is required that the experiments be recorded in a bound, gridded notebook with consecutively numbered pages and carbonless copy pages.
- You will initial the notebooks at the end of each lab session, noting the date and time
- You must place the copy notebook pages for each lab session in your folder BEFORE leaving lab EACH week; do NOT remove these pages from your folder at any time
- Reserve 1-2 pages at the beginning of the notebook for your Table of Contents (or you may use the preprinted space on the inside cover)
- The Table of Contents and any notebook pages completed AFTER the last day of lab are due as specified on the course schedule page
- Notebooks may be purchased at the campus store: Chemistry Top 100-set, ISBN 1-930882-00-9 (Hayden McNeil)
- You may use your notebook from BIOC 111, 211, or 311 if you have pages remaining
Record entries on NB pages "top to bottom" (i.e., do not use a "two column" format).
Use a BALL-POINT PEN for ALL entries.
Use ONLY black or blue ink.
Do NOT use felt-tip, roller-ball, or fountain pens.
Do NOT "pre-write" objectives or methods in your notebook BEFORE you come to lab.
A notebook is required to be a chronological account of your research.
TAKE YOUR NOTEBOOK EVERYWHERE IN THE LAB! Do not write on scratch paper and copy the notes into your notebook.

**You MUST enter all procedures and data directly into your notebook during the lab itself. Your entries must be sufficiently detailed so that you or someone else could conduct any procedure with only the notebook as a guide.**

When experiments are performed concurrently (as is the case most of the time) it is impossible to have uninterrupted pages dedicated to a specific section of the experiment. When notes for more than one experiment are on the same page, write "continued on page ##" below the entry for each experiment. The top of each page of a continuing investigation should read "continued from page ##". This notation seems redundant when the results are on consecutive pages but it is absolutely necessary when the data are recorded after a section of another experiment.
The notebook must have some basis of organization and chronological order is the only standard recognized.
Indicate the member of your team who actually did each procedure (first name is sufficient); in certain settings, such as industry, supervisors must know WHO did the work (e.g., when deciding who gets the promotion). Describe all procedures that you perform in sufficient detail to repeat the experiment; give brief descriptions of procedures performed by team members, record any raw data, and reference the appropriate pages in their notebooks. Remember to describe any problems encountered or unexpected results.
When errors occur while making entries, draw a single line through the incorrect value and write the correct value above or beside the error. A note may also be made as to the cause of the error. No entry should be made illegible no matter what the error.

If a chart, table, or even a page becomes intolerably messy, draw a single "x" over the mess and note at the bottom of the page "See page ##" and recopy with corrections on page ## with a notation "recopied with corrections from page ##".

Here are additional details for BIOC 313:

Pictures of gels must be dated, labeled, and stored in your BIOC 313 folder (do not tape them in your notebook); "sketch" the gel in your lab notebook and describe/interpret results.
You must submit all raw data. Please organize the information so that it is readily understood by someone who will be reviewing your findings.

You are responsible for maintaining a research quality notebook that follows the guidelines we have given you.
SPECIAL NOTE: Record enough procedure details in your notebook during each day of lab so that you can repeat these procedures using your notebook as the PRIMARY resource (i.e., you should not use printed web pages or handouts from previous labs).

Copyright, Acknowledgements, and Intended Use
Created by B. Beason (bbeason@rice.edu), Rice University, 10 January 2008
Updated 22 November 2013