Maintaining a Laboratory Notebook
 
A critical skill that each laboratory scientist must develop is the proper documentation of laboratory work. Biological and chemical laboratory researchers advise that one of the most critical skills for scientists is good record keeping.  Research notebooks are legal documents that are used to obtain patents and protect research. A good laboratory notebook is complete enough that you, or someone else, could repeat the work on the basis of the information documented in the notebook.  

You will be expected to maintain a Laboratory Notebook as a chronological log of everything that you do in the laboratory. Although the type of laboratory notebook and documentation may vary from one research institution to another, there are some basic guidelines that every laboratory worker should follow:

•	Use only a bound notebook.  Put your name, address, and phone number on the first page of the notebook.
•	Set aside the next three or four pages of the notebook to be used for a table of contents.
•	Make sure that all of the pages after the table of contents pages are numbered before you use the notebook.
•	Never remove pages from the notebook for any reason.
•	Use only black ink to ensure that the entries will show clearly after photocopying.
•	Make sure that your handwriting is clear, complete, and legible.
•	Make sure you have a complete record of the work that you did each day including: your thinking, observations, and data.  
•	Record data and observations immediately and directly into the notebook--not on a separate sheet of paper.
•	If you have separate pages (such as instrument printouts or graphs) that need to be included in the notebook, you may add them but never cover information up when you do so. 
•	Never fold a page into your notebook.
•	If you have to affix material into your notebook, tape or paste all sides of it to the notebook page. Indicate the date on which the material was added. 
•	For corrections, put your initials and a date next to the corrections added. 
•	Be certain that your sponsor, mentor, or a designated adult signs at the end of each dated entry to provide evidence of your work.