Wondering where to start with lab notebook best practices? Write clearly, date every entry, record why as well as what, and keep it complete enough that a stranger could repeat your work.
This guide is part of our series on lab skills, and it covers the habits that make a notebook useful.
| Item | Key fact |
|---|---|
| What a notebook records | Procedures, reagents, data and thoughts |
| Legal role | A document to prove patents and defend data against fraud accusations |
| Ownership | Not a personal journal, and not yours to take with you |
| Electronic notebook setup | Takes time and thought, but is a worthwhile investment |
| Electronic notebook feature | Automatic date and time stamping |
The notebook descriptions come from a Worcester Polytechnic Institute guide, and the electronic features from a Harvard Medical School page. Guidance changes, so check the sources and your own institution’s policy before you rely on them.
What a lab notebook is for
A lab notebook is a complete record of procedures, reagents, data and thoughts that you pass on to other researchers. It explains why experiments were started, how they were performed and what the results were.
It also has a legal side. The WPI guide calls it a legal document to prove patents and defend your data against accusations of fraud.
That is why a notebook is not a private diary. The same guide says it is not a personal journal, or yours to take with you when you leave.
The Oklahoma State University guide lists what notebooks do in a lab, whether paper or electronic:
- Give a daily record of research workflows.
- Record experiment details for publication, reproducibility, reports and presentations.
- Allow a project to pass between students or researchers.
Keep these jobs in mind. Most of the rules below follow from them.
Habits that make an entry trustworthy
Good entries share a few habits. These are general practice rather than numbered rules from one source, so adapt them to your lab’s policy.
- Date and title every entry, so anyone can follow the order of your work.
- Write at the bench, while the work is happening, not from memory days later.
- State the question or purpose before you describe the steps.
- Record exactly what you did, including reagent names, lot details and any deviation from the protocol.
- Note observations and unexpected results, even the ones you think are failures.
- Never erase or hide a mistake. Cross it out with a single line and add a short note.
- Ask for a signature or review if your group requires it.
A rule of thumb works well here: if you were away for a month, could a colleague pick up your notebook and repeat the experiment? If not, add detail.
Write the why, not only the what
Many beginners copy a protocol and note only the numbers. The WPI guide stresses that a notebook explains why experiments were initiated, not just how.
When you change something, write down your reason. Months later, that reason is often the most useful sentence on the page.
Link your entries to the raw data. If a gel image, plate reader file or sequence trace lives elsewhere, write the file name and location in the notebook so the two can be matched.
The same habit helps whatever technique you are recording. If you are logging volumes from pipetting techniques practice, note the pipette used and the volumes you dispensed.
It also matters for reaction setups. When you record a run, the pcr basics you follow, such as primers, template and cycling program, belong on the page.
Paper or electronic: which should you use?
Paper has real limits. The Oklahoma State guide shows pages from Alexander Graham Bell’s 1876 notebooks, where the handwriting is difficult to read and the ink is smeared in places.
Electronic lab notebooks (ELNs) address several of these problems. The Harvard Medical School data management page lists benefits such as searchability, easy sharing with collaborators and automatic date and time stamping to prove provenance.
ELNs have a cost, too. Harvard notes that it takes time and thought to set up an ELN, though it calls the time a worthwhile investment.
Many labs use both. The Oklahoma State guide says modern researchers often use a hybrid of the traditional paper notebooks and digital records. If you do the same, cross-reference clearly so nothing is lost between the two.
Organising so you can find things later
An entry you cannot find is almost as bad as one you never wrote. A little structure helps.
- Number the pages and keep a table of contents at the front of a paper notebook.
- Use one consistent file-naming pattern for data, such as the date followed by the experiment name.
- Use keywords or tags in an ELN. Harvard notes that tags can assist searching across notebook entries.
- Back up electronic files on a schedule your lab agrees on.
Ask your supervisor early what the lab expects. Because the notebook belongs to the lab, your group’s rules on format, review and storage come first.
Common mistakes to avoid
Rushing can contribute to incomplete or unclear records. A few patterns show up again and again, and each is easy to fix once you spot it.
- Writing on loose paper and copying it later. Details can be lost during copying, and discarding the loose paper removes the original record.
- Leaving out reagent names, concentrations or instrument settings because they feel obvious today.
- Skipping negative results, which hides what you tried and why you moved on.
- Writing vague phrases such as “incubated for a while” instead of the actual time.
- Pasting in data with no label, so nobody can tell which sample it came from.
Each of these breaks the main purpose of the notebook: letting another person understand and repeat what you did.
Building the habit in a new job
If you are starting in a lab, you will probably be handed a notebook and a short talk about policy. Treat that talk as the rulebook, because the notebook belongs to the lab and not to you.
Look at a few pages from a trusted colleague. Notice how they title entries, label samples and refer to data files, then copy the parts that work.
Set aside a few minutes at the end of each day to read back over your entries. Gaps are far easier to fill the same day than a week later.
With practice, careful recordkeeping can become a habit. Careful records show that you can be trusted with experiments that other people depend on.
Frequently asked questions
Can I take my lab notebook with me when I leave?
Show answer
Usually not. The WPI guide says a lab notebook is not a personal journal, or yours to take with you. Ask your supervisor what applies at your institution.
Is an electronic notebook better than paper?
Show answer
It depends on your lab. ELNs offer searching, sharing and automatic date and time stamping, but they take time to set up. Many researchers use a hybrid, according to the Oklahoma State guide.
Should I record experiments that failed?
Show answer
Yes. A notebook is meant to be a complete record, and a failed run with its details can save someone else from repeating it.
What if I make a mistake in an entry?
Show answer
Do not erase or cover it. Strike it through with a single line, add a brief note about the correction, and carry on, so the original stays readable.
