Lab notebook orientation

Kisley Lab

Lab notebook

Ideally:

• Pages should be numbered
• All entries dated
• Include location where data is saved
• Write a table of contents (TOC) on first page for important procedures, dilutions, experiments, etc.
• No shorthand/unidentifiable abbreviations

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Why? Lab notebooks will likely be used by your labmates to repeat methods/analyze data

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Don’t take lab notebook home! Use copier in AW Smith 414 or take a picture

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Lab notebooks available for you at no-cost!

The lab has its own lab notebooks for you to use

We purchase “premium” Vela Sciences lab notebooks to save you time: https://velasciences.com/ Numbered pages, TOC, identifying book panel, lays flat, book mark

Graduate students, postdocs, sr. staff should use hardcover

Undergraduates should use softcover

Located on the bottom shelf of AW Smith 412 bookshelf

When you start a fresh, brand new lab notebook, take the time to put your identifying information in the front cover - name, contact information, start date, etc. Important in case you lose it

CWRU also has digital notebooks & OneNote could be an option – if you decide to use this, let’s discuss to ensure where that it is appropriately backed up, accessible to the lab, and indexed somewhere

Example strong lab notebook page documenting an experiment

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Date of experiment and page number (listed in TOC)

Description of the experiment

File location of the data

Interesting observations made in the moment of doing measurements

Lab checkout

When you are leaving the lab ☹ (but hopefully for good reasons of graduating or landing a job) I will be checking your lab notebook!

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Save yourself time now by keeping a TOC, staple data, use pen, etc.

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I will make you go back and fix problems with your lab notebook

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