Format

The format of a laboratory notebook varies with the discipline and the researcher, but there are some essential components that all notebooks should include, and for which you will be evaluated:

• Date/Experiment title and/or rationale for the experiment.
  • Dates help both you and any future researchers make sense of all of your entries, and how they relate to each other. When you enter the information on the blog, the blog post will be dated. You should enter the notebook data daily, but in any case, make sure you begin your post with the date the work was performed so that there is no question about when you did the work.
  • The title will help organize your work and help track where you are in the experiment.
  • The rationale may come in the form of a hypothesis or prediction statement, or may simply explain what the protocol should accomplish. Anyone should be able to understand the “why” of the laboratory work performed.
• Description of the experimental procedures.
  • The methods should be both clear and detailed, so that anyone can follow the same protocol in order to obtain the same results.  When using previously-published protocols, reference to these protocols and any alterations must be noted. Even if you are repeating a protocol, include the steps so you will be sure when you look back that your followed these steps.  Many times an experiment does not work or yields questionable results.  Your methods should be recorded in enough detail that you will be able to go back and troubleshoot your procedures.
  • Also include any mistakes or unusual events that may have occurred during the experiment or procedure.
  • Although you should always record the reagents, media, or cultures that you used, it is not necessary to list common equipment, such as the microscope or the centrifuge… when  you record your materials.
• All observations, results, and data.  Negative results are results, too.  Be sure and document what did not work, as well as your positive results.  Use the digital capability of the blog to upload any digital photo that you took.  If  you have a drawing that you want to include, you can take a picture of it and upload the drawing. Record where you stored your samples and how the samples were labeled.  Use Excel to make tables or graphs and upload the figure.
• Where your final sample is stored and how it is labeled.  We will potentially sequence the ciliate DNA from your samples, so be sure we know which tube is yours!  Each set of tubes/plates should be labeled with the date and sample identifier, Course number, section,  semester,  initials, isolate, and the contents.  For example: bio1105.31.f16.TLA-A DNA.
• Interpretations, conclusions, and next steps. Results are meaningless without your thoughts on what they represent, and how you plan to move forward.  This is where the relevance of your observations becomes apparent, and should take into account any errors with the protocol or experimental design.  Report unexpected findings and explain your reasons for a particular interpretation.  Include a sentence or 2 about what you plan to do next and why.