Boise State University
Effective Date: Month XX, XXX
BSU Policy #: 5New
USE AND MAINTENANCE OF LABORATORY NOTEBOOKS
Purpose:
Ensure the best standards in scientific research to protect intellectual property, patents, copyrights and/or licenses.
Additional Authority:
University Policy #1090 (Intellectual Property)
Scope:
Applies to all faculty, staff, and students who perform research and development activities funded by federal, state and/or private sources.
Responsible Party:
Office of Technology Transfer, 426-5727
Definitions:
Laboratory Notebook - A registered bound notebook or software system and supporting database with pages used for recording and interpreting data or information concerning research and development work. Laboratory notebooks provide a permanent written record of a researcher’s activities from experiment and observation to interpretation and ultimate understanding of physical phenomenon. Laboratory notebooks are the property of the University.
Laboratory Notebook User - An individual performing research and development work, which includes faculty, staff, students, subcontract engineers, scientists, and technicians.
Invention Disclosure Form (IDF) - A controlled document used to file an invention, invention status, external disclosures, and to establish the date of the invention.
I.
POLICY
Policy Statement
Proper implementation, upkeep, and retention of Laboratory Notebooks are an essential part of good science. This policy helps researchers keep accurate, detailed, up-to-date, and witnessed Laboratory Notebooks to prove inventorship and support the validity of research results.
II. Obtaining a Laboratory Notebook
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BSU Policy #XXXX
Laboratory Notebooks will be assigned to a single project or program. Multiple tasks within that project or program may be recorded in the Laboratory Notebook.
For non-sponsored work, multiple pieces of work may be recorded in a single
Laboratory Notebook.
A. Obtain a Laboratory Notebook from a local administration assistant.
B. Register the Laboratory Notebook with the Office of Technology Transfer by filling out the (insert web link) form.
III. Using Laboratory Notebooks
Laboratory Notebook Users must implement all requirements of sponsored or collaborative work (i.e. Cooperative and Research Development Agreement or
CRADA, State, Federal agencies, gifts, or industry sponsored).
A. Researchers must use Laboratory Notebooks sufficiently such that a skilled researcher in the field could duplicate the work.
B. Specific pages of the Laboratory Notebook must be reviewed, signed, and dated by a witness who is a knowledgeable peer who when necessary will support an IDF.
C. For more detail around the types of information that must be recorded in laboratory notebooks as well as the entry standards necessary for compliance with this policy, read the Laboratory Notebook Procedures
(insert web link).
For the purposes of this policy review, the Laboratory Notebook
Procedures are included here in the policy draft, but in the final policy will be included on-line as a link to the policy.
Information in the Laboratory Notebook
The following types of information must be recorded in Laboratory
Notebooks: theoretical information and experimental plans; experimental information; data; observations; interpretations; other information concerning research and development activities (notes from journals, charts, drawings, graphs, sketches, etc…); and supporting electronic data with a note of the file location. Some records (such as computer printouts and chart recordings) cannot be inserted into the Laboratory Notebook because of their size. Such records must be signed and dated with a reference made in the Laboratory Notebook identifying their existence and current storage location.
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BSU Policy #XXXX
Entry Standards
Make entries in the notebook sufficiently such that a skilled researcher in the filed could duplicate the work. In addition: record all work in ink; line through mistakes, never black out words or sections; never remove pages from a Laboratory Notebook; and ensure safe storage of the Laboratory
Notebook through reasonable means.
IV. Storage, Retention, and Disposition
A. Work with the Office of Technology Transfer to determine proper storage for Laboratory Notebooks, including creating a reference copy when useful or required by the User, sponsor, or specific program. Contact the Office of Technology Transfer at 426-5727 to coordinate.
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