Lab%20Notebook%20Format%20and%20Rules

1
Lab Notebook Format and Rules
2
Introduction

• The lab notebook is perhaps the single most
  important piece of laboratory equipment.
• May be entered as evidence in court
• Poor record keeping results in wasted time
• Industrial lab records that are inadequate cost
  the company money

3
Notebook Format and Rules

• Laboratory records are to be kept in a bound
  notebook ( i.e., secured with glue), not a spiral
  notebook or a loose-leaf binder.
• Pages are consecutively numbered
• No pages are ever to be removed

4
Notebook Format and Rules

• All entries are to be made in blue or black ink
• Everything must be recorded in a neat and tidy
  manner
• Work must be traceable, intelligible and
  understandable to the notebook author and any
  other persons attempting to duplicate recorded
  information.

5
Notebook Format and Rules

• It is unacceptable under all circumstances to
  rewrite (or copy over) an experiment in the
  notebook outside of the lab.
• It is unacceptable to type up portions of the
  notebook and affix them to the notebook.
• Plan your activities so that you complete all
  information in the laboratory.

6
Notebook Format and Rules

• Include in your notebook a complete description
  of
• All work performed
• All reference material consulted
• Ideas that you have related to your work.

7
Notebook Format and Rules

• Graphs, charts, spectra, or spreadsheet analyses
  should be affixed to the pages of the notebook
  with tape or glue.
• Label the space where the material is to be
  placed with a description or the item and the
  results it contained.
• Make no notes directly on the inserted material.

8
Notebook Format and Rules

• On the first page of your notebook are written
  the name of the class, the section, and your
  name.
• It is also a good idea to put your contact
  information (e.g., your phone number or email
  address) in case your notebook is lost.

9
Notebook Format and Rules

• Pages 2 and 3 are reserved for a table of
  contents.
• Write the words Table of Contents at the top of
  these pages.
• The first entry is to be the table of contents
  itself.
• An entry is made in the table of contents for
  every experiment when it is begun. The entry
  includes the title of the experiment and the page
  number on which the experiment began.

10
Notebook Format and Rules

• Immediately following table of contents is a page
  labeled Abbreviations and Other Useful
  Information. These items must be completed
  before the first laboratory session.
• Only write on the right side pages. The left
  pages are reserved for minor calculations, notes
  of no consequence to the experiment, and notes
  that refer to material found elsewhere in the
  notebook.

11
Notebook Format and Rules

• If a page is skipped, a large X must be drawn
  across it. The page is then initialed and dated.
• While frowned upon, you may skip a line as needed
  to separate sections. There should be no unused,
  empty space on a page, except for the printed
  margins.

12
Notebook Format and Rules

• At the top of each page write the title of the
  experiment that matches in the table of contents.
• At the bottom of the page place the date that the
  last entry was made on that page, your printed
  name and signature.

13
Notebook Format and Rules

• If an error is made, draw a single bold
  horizontal line through the error so that it can
  still be read.
• Write the correct information to the right of the
  incorrect entry and have a short accompanying
  explanation of the reason for exclusion. Never
  use whiteout or completely obliterate the
  incorrect entry.

14
Notebook Format and Rules

• Do not copy any information from the notebooks of
  former or current students. The only exception is
  when working in a group, and only one member of
  the group recorded the data during the
  experiment. In this case, you must indicate in
  your notebook that the results were copied from
  the other persons notebook. Write the recorders
  name and the page number from which the data were
  copied next to the copied data.

15
Arrangement of Experiments

• Title This includes the experiments title, your
  name, the name (s) of your lab partner (s), and
  the date the experiment began.

16
Arrangement of Experiments

• Statement of Purpose Clearly and concisely (two
  or three complete sentences) describe the purpose
  of the experiment, including the general method
  that will be used and anticipated results.

17
Arrangement of Experiments

• Background Includes more information on the
  goals of the experiment, the methods used and the
  procedure followed.
• Reference (s) to the procedure that you are using
  following the American Chemical Society
  guidelines.
• Balanced chemical equations for any chemical
  reactions you will be performing.

18
Arrangement of Experiments

• A table of the physical properties of all the
  materials (starting materials, solvents, and
  products) with which you will be working.
• Record any hazardous properties (flammability,
  toxicity, etc.) of the substances that you will
  encounter in the exercise.

19
Arrangement of Experiments

• Procedural Outline This section is a brief (this
  section should not be more than one or two pages
  long, at most), but complete, description of the
  steps taken to carry out the experiment.
• Not a rewrite of directions
• May use a bulleted list

20
Arrangement of Experiments

• Before beginning the procedural outline, divide
  the pages that will contain the procedure into
  two parts by drawing a vertical line on the page,
  approximately 3/5 of the way across the page from
  the left-hand margin (many notebooks already have
  this line drawn for you). Record the procedure on
  the left-hand side, and any modifications or
  procedural notes on the right-hand side. You do
  not record results on the right-hand side.

21
Arrangement of Experiments

• Results This section does not need to be
  completed before you come to the lab, but you may
  want to prepare blank tables for recording data.
• Include
• Reduced data (e.g., tables), all graphs,
  spreadsheet results, and spectra.
• Unlike the procedural outline, this and following
  sections may use the right-hand page.

22
Arrangement of Experiments

• Common Errors
• Forgetting to leave space for graphs ( a
  hand-drawn graph should take up most, if not all,
  of the page so as to maximize the results
  precision) and other items (e.g., spreadsheet
  output) that will be prepared as part of the
  exercise.

23
Arrangement of Experiments

• All data should be recorded in this section in
  chronological order.
• Include
• All measurements made
• Important observations
• All observations are written in passive past
  tense. So instead of I saw the solution turn
  green, one writes, The solution turned green.
• Personal pronouns (e.g., I, We) are not used
  in scientific writing.

24
Arrangement of Experiments

• The overuse of personal pronouns is taken as a
  sign of arrogance and the passive is thought to
  sound more objective.
• Observations are always written in complete
  sentences

25
Arrangement of Experiments

• Calculations An example of each calculation
  performed to reach the final reported answers
  should be shown with the units clearly shown at
  each step.

26
Arrangement of Experiments

• Discussion of Conclusions and Error Analysis
  Summarize your results paralleling what you set
  forth in the Statement of Purpose, compare them
  to the expected results and try to place them in
  context of the class. This is not a long section
  it may only be two or three pages long in the
  notebook. The key to a good discussion is to
  concisely cover important points.

27
Arrangement of Experiments

• Do not write things like
• I liked this lab
• This lab went well
• This lab was successfully completed
• Do not use personal pronouns.
• Take your time and put some thought into your
  conclusions.