|
|
|
Primary records are those set down contemporaneously in laboratory notebooks (databooks). Suitable notebooks are bound and have sequentially numbered pages. They are provided by the Department, Institute, or Center in which the research is being performed, and they remain the property of EMU during use and afterwards.
A basic principle: Notebooks should be kept in a way that will enable someone else to repeat each experiment and obtain the same result.
For further information: [1] Kanare, H.M. "Writing the Laboratory Notebook," American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C. 1985. 145 pp. [2] Anon, University of Minnesota
Useful notebooks explain:
- Why you did it
- Where ideas came from and who was involved
- How you did it
- What materials you used and where they can be obtained
- What happened—and didn’t happen
- Your interpretation
- What’s next
- Are made at the time the work was performed
- Are in bound notebooks with sequentially numbered pages and a statement of ownership (EMU)
- Are the work of one person–each researcher keeps his/her own notebook
- Are written legibly in ink
- Are written in English (for research at EMU)
- Are written in sequence (page 1,2,3, etc.) with no blank pages; large blank areas on finished pages are canceled; no pages are torn out
- Are dated and signed by the investigator on each page
- Are not altered later unless corrections are dated and signed
- Ideally are witnessed and dated by a neutral party (vital to establish inventorship date if patent action is planned)
- Are secured in locked files or desks when not in use
- Have photos, drawings, instrument data, and printouts attached and referenced (see also next page)
- May be copied for convenience
|
|
