Lec 9 Lab record : Definition –Importance of keeping a lab record - Features of
a lab record - Contents of lab record – Guidelines for keeping a lab record
LAB RECORDS:
Laboratory notebooks are the means for keeping a permanent record of the details
of an individual‘s day-to-day research and development work in the laboratory or office.
They provide a basic reference which the individual and others can refer to a later date;
legal evidence with respect to the materials recorded, such as conception of an invention
and the date thereof or date of reduction to practice and test results; in some instances are
required for compliance with the provisions in many grant and contractual arrangements.
A laboratory notebook is a primary record of research. Researchers use a lab
notebook to document their hypotheses, experiments and initial analysis or interpretation
of these experiments. The notebook serves as an organizational tool, a memory aid, and
can also have a role in protecting any intellectual property that comes from the research.
Importance of keeping a lab records:
An inventor is the person who contributes to the conception of the invention.
Therefore, it is important that the scientist captures his/her ideas/conception of an
invention in written format. Laboratory notebooks, if used properly, can serve as the basis
of conception for proving inventorship.
For proper support of patenting application, good record keeping must have been done in
the form of lab notebooks with appropriate witnessing. There are dos and don‘ts in best
practices for NIH scientists to follow for keeping lab records and notebooks:
Do:
• use a bound notebook
• write legibly
• write in ink
• explain acronyms, trademarks, code or unfamiliar jargon
• attach to your lab notebook loose notes, emails, letters, graphs, figures and charts
containing any part of conception of an idea or result of an experiment
• title, sign and date each attachment, as well as each laboratory notebook page
• record the objective of an experiment as well as the results obtained in as much
detail as possible
• have at least one non-inventor person who is familiar with your field sign and date
each page, stating that he/she has ―read and understood‖ your work
• obtain a signed and dated statement from collaborators and/or contractors who
carry out the experiments you designed, stating "experiments run by [insert
57
contractor/ collaborator name], under the direction of [insert the experiment
designer's name]‖
• record thoughts, conversations, lab meeting discussions, contractor oral reports
and discussions, as well as wild speculations and future plans
• write in the active voice
• report completed experiments in the past tense
• give cross references to previous experiments and/or projects
• use a table of contents to provide cross references
• keep your lab notebook under lock and key when you are not in the lab
• track and save completed lab notebooks
Do not:
1. use binders, loose leaf or spiral notebooks
2. blot out or erase mistakes
3. modify the data
4. rip pages out
5. skip pages
6. leave a page blank
7. cover any writings in the notebook by affixing graphs and/or charts over them
8. write in the passive voice
9. use words such as ―obvious‖ or ―abandoned‖ as they have tremendous legal
significance
Features of lab records:
Record keeping of laboratory activities is an essential requirement under Good
Documentary Practices (GDP). An earlier article covered the importance of keeping
record of all laboratory activities. A laboratory notebook is a record of experimental
activities. In addition to the results a notebook includes following details:
Calculations
Experimental conditions
Observations
Weight records
Support data such as chromatograms, spectra, etc
The backup data available in the laboratory notebook is of use in case a recheck of
obtained values becomes necessary. In such cases you can refer to the earlier conditions
under which a particular analysis was carried out.
Content of lab records:
Data should be recorded honestly and concurrently
Overwriting is not acceptable. Wrong entries should be crossed with a single line
and correct entries made after putting initials and date over the corrected entries
58
Changes in any standard test procedure should bear authentication of authorized
persons
Weighing records, absorbance readings, etc should be preserved in notebook or
under reference in the data folder
Entries should be made with indelible ink and under no circumstances should
pencil entries be permitted
It is illegal to make post dated or back dated entries in the notebook.
Issue and control of laboratory notebooks
Each laboratory note notebook should be issued by laboratory incharge or quality
assurance department and should be uniform in shape and size
Pages should be serially numbered so that no page can be removed
Enough space should be provided to show calculations alongside the entered data
No one should be permitted to take a laboratory notebook out of the laboratory
premises
On completion each notebook should be returned to section in charge and only
thereafter a fresh notebook should be issued. The section in charge should maintain
a record of notebooks issued and received back
Guidelines for keeping a lab records:
On leaving a job the notebook in possession of the analyst should be returned to the
section The guidelines for lab notebooks vary widely between institution and between
individual labs, but some guidelines are fairly common, for example, like those in the
reference.[3] The lab notebook is typically permanently bound and pages are numbered.
Dates are given as a rule. All entries are with a permanent writing tool, e.g., a ballpoint
pen (though a permanent marker may be undesirable, as the ink might bleed through
multiple pages). The lab notebook is usually written as the experiments progress, rather
than at a later date.
In many laboratories, it is the original place of record of data (no copying is carried out
from other notes) as well as any observations or insights. For data recorded by other
means (e.g., on a computer), the lab notebook will record that the data was obtained and
the identification of the data set will be given in the notebook.[4] Many adhere to the
concept that a lab notebook should be thought of as a diary of activities that are described
in sufficient detail to allow another scientist to replicate the steps. In laboratories with
several staff and a common laboratory notebook, entries in the notebook are signed by
those making them.
59
