Electronic Lab Notebook

Project Title: Electronic Lab Notebook

Description: Essential as the primary record of an experiment, a researcher’s lab notebook provides an in-depth, detailed, and chronological account of the research process, documenting hypotheses, experiment structure, results, and analysis. However, paper lab notebooks are easily damaged, onerous to organize, and difficult to share widely. In partnership with the Digital Initiatives, Scholarship, and Collaboration (DISC) team, Natalie Nannas, Assistant Professor of Biology, will pilot the use of electronic lab notebooks (ELN) — which record research on an online server or program — to facilitate the collection, organization, management, and dissemination of data, ensuring permanent access to student and faculty research. ELNs can store higher amounts of data, but they are nevertheless more searchable than paper lab notebooks. Because digitization renders research material widely accessible, ELNs can augment collaboration among research teams, and even across disciplines. Through the implementation of electronic notebooks, scientific research which might normally remain isolated, or languish unpublished, can be assimilated into a larger corpus of knowledge. DISC and Nannas will introduce this new and versatile technology to Hamilton College, harnessing the potential of ELNs to enhance research-based learning and data collection, as well as modernizing Hamilton’s research capabilities in tandem with the evolution of STEM fields beyond our small liberal arts college. 

Deliverables: Electronic Lab Notebook

Date: 2022 - 2024