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Abstract
With massive amounts of data being generated in
electronic format, there is a need in basic science laboratories to
adopt new methods for tracking and analyzing data. An electronic
laboratory notebook (ELN) is not just a replacement for a paper lab
notebook, it is a new method of storing and organizing data while
maintaining the data entry flexibility and legal recording functions of
paper notebooks. Paper notebooks are regarded as highly flexible since
the user can configure it to store almost anything that can be written
or physically pasted onto the pages. However, data retrieval and data
sharing from paper notebooks are labor intensive processes and notebooks
can be misplaced, a single point of failure that loses all entries in
the volume. Additional features provided by electronic notebooks include
searchable indices, data sharing, automatic archiving for security
against loss and ease of data duplication. Furthermore, ELNs can be
tasked with additional functions not commonly found in paper notebooks
such as inventory control. While ELNs have been on the market for some
time now, adoption of an ELN in academic basic science laboratories has
been lagging. Issues that have restrained development and adoption of
ELN in research laboratories are the sheer variety and frequency of
changes in protocols with a need for the user to control notebook
configuration outside the framework of professional IT staff support.
The article is published online within the journal, Automated Experimentation and is free to access.
