Lab Notebooks
“It’s a notebook, not a neat book”
R. Cueto
IMSD, October 3, 2010
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Main Reference:
Writing the Laboratory Notebook,
Howard M. Kanare
American Chemical Society
Washington, D.C. 1985
ISBN: 0841209332
~$27 at Amazon or B&N
(~$15 used)
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Bad record-keeping costs
LeMonnier, French astronomer who gets no credit for the first
sightings of the planet Uranus. His notes were so bad that
he thought it was a comet. Discovery of Uranus is instead
awarded to Herschel.
Gordon Gould had many ideas related to the production and use
of lasers. He foresaw that they could cut steel or ignite
fusion reactions. His notes were witnessed by a candy store
notary instead of a colleague. He had undocumented
meetings with the “maser people.” Years and years of legal
proceedings were required to get him some of the credit he
deserved.
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Types of Documentation

Notebook: Factual details of experiments, including thought
experiments, ideas, inventions, etc.
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Field Book: Special notebook version for note taking on the
field (sample collection, environmental studies, etc)
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Logbook: for example, a list of measurements made on the
NMR, FTIR, GPC, TEM, Balance, etc.

Diary (Journal): What you were feeling, a personal record,
opinions; stuff that is less factual than the notebook.
Depending on the situation, this might be appropriate to place
in the notebook but be careful to delineate fact from opinion.
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Computer Records

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This is a whole industry now: LIMS , Laboratory notebooks.
Example: balances or pH meters that are hooked into a
database.
A few misguided souls have almost stopped keeping written
records.
We operate on the assumption that you are not misguided, so
DO keep a decent lab notebook.
Back up your data!
Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) requires that you PROTECT
THE RAW DATA. If you need to edit something, save a
COPY of the raw data.
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The Right Stuff
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Notebooks have to last 23 years after patent issue. Patents
take time to get, so figure 30 years longevity.

Paper has to be very good (much paper today is junk by the
standards of a hundred years ago).

Notebook should be bound.
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No spiral notebooks! No loose-leaf!

Page layout easy to graph, date, sign, etc.
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Table of contents!
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What to write with?

No pencils.* Erasures are a definite no-no!
*There are some exceptions—e.g. field notebooks where you know it will get wet and may not have a ready
supply of pens.

No aqueous-based pens (e.g., most felt-tips).

Best bet for general use: black, ballpoint pen.
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No white-out!! Just strike through, explain and initial errors.
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“It’s a notebook, not a neat book.”—R. Cueto
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First things first..

Write your name on the outside and inside cover of your
Notebook

Put your mailing address, phone number, and e-mail on
front or on inside cover.
 Also give the name of your mentor, and his/her full
mailing/contact information

Put a general project name (or course name) on the
exterior of the notebook.
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First things first..2

If your notebook is not already equipped with page
numbers, add them (in top right- and left-hand corners).
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Reserve the first 2-4 pages for a Table of Contents
(which you will fill in as time passes).
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If you wish you might add a Preface page
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Date each entry in table of contents
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Never, under any circumstance, should you remove a
page
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A proper notebook page
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Written as the work is performed
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Dated and signed by author
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Each section has a clear, descriptive heading
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The writing is legible and grammatically correct
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Active voice in first person:


“I added the two ingredients…”
Read by witness and signed/dated
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A proper notebook page..2

Do Not write over. Cross, and write above, below or on
the side.
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Do Not use whiteout!
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If a page is skipped, draw a large “X” across it
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Try to write legibly even if you have bad handwriting
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Sticky situations

It is better to glue or tape that original paper snippet into the
lab book than it is to copy the result.
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Glue: acid-free white glue is best. (Elmer’s?)
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Rubber cement is not recommended (but used to be)
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Tape: Archival mending tape is recommended.
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There are various qualities of tape (3M?).
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Legal Matters
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You do NOT own the notebook.
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You may ask for a copy.
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The lab director can and should inspect books
periodically.
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Employer Checklist
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Black or Blue, ballpoint pen used?
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Legible handwriting?
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Table of contents up-to-date?
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Entries signed/dated (October 13, 2002 better than
10/13/02)
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Clear headings saying what this page is about?
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Written in first person?
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Employer Checklist…2
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Complete sentences?
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Could the work be followed by another scientist?
(avoids jargon?)
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Is the researcher correctly “thinking in the notebook”—
i.e., ideas and plans and observations integrated and
written down.
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Are entries witnessed appropriately?
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Is the notebook stored safely when not in use?
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What goes in the notebook?

Plans
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Realities (deviations from the plan)
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Observations
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Sketches and photographs
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“Links” to the notebooks of others in your group
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“Links” to instrument logbooks and data on disks
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Ideas: a notebook is a repository of creativity
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What goes in the notebook?...2
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E-mails from collaborators (tape or paste them in)
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Plot-as-you-go graphs: do it!
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Summaries of papers you have read
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Hints and tips you may get from science friends
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Concerns and personal data….but be careful to delineate
fact from fiction/opinion. Also, remember that personal
info could become embarrassingly public! For that, use
a diary.
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Labeling Samples
Good: rc.3.27b This means RC’s notebook #3, page 27,
sample b.
Bad if used alone: PEG solution 0.1%
The label should POINT to the detailed notebook description.
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
Great Days in Science:
Discovery of first
Computer Bug. What
else would you do but
glue it into your
notebook?
Grace Hooper,
Harvard
Sept. 9, 1945
Smithsonian, National Museum of American History
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object.cfm?key=35&objkey=30
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First transistor
amplifier,
AT&T Bell
Labs
(Walter H.
Brattain)
Dec. 24, 1947
Bell Labs Web site
http://www.porticus.org/bell/belllabs_transistor.html
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From Linus Pauling
Research Notebooks
June 1976: Vitamin C,
the common cold and
the flu
http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/specialcollections/rnb/31/31-269.html
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From Linus Pauling
Research Notebooks
May 28, 1953
Discovery of the protein alphahelix (Measurement of
10cm=1ÅIIIB).
Pauling won his first Nobel
prize for the work described
here, the first real insight into
the 3D structure of proteins.
http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/specialcollections/rnb/28/28-011.html
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From Alexander
Graham Bell's
notebook
March 10, 1876, describes the
first successful experiment
with the telephone.
"Mr. Watson -- come
here!
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/images/85b/at0085bp0040_0041.jpg
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