How to properly set up an Electronic Lab Notebook

Electronic Lab Notebooks (ELNs) are created to help science based laboratories keep track of data, files, notes, inventory items. Many additional time and money-saving features like team management and reporting may also be offered by some ELN options. Maybe you have just subscribed to a new Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN) service or maybe you're evaluating different options. Whatever the reason, it is important to be aware of the best practices when using an ELN system. It is important to note that the ELN market is a relatively young software market trying to meet the needs of a very diverse laboratory based activity ecosystem. For this reason there is no one set of standard guidelines to follow. There are however some things to consider when devising your own set of standards to maintain a high quality digital version of your research notebook.

Step 1 - Choose the right software

As biotech, pharmaceutical and academic research industries have become aware of the many benefits of Electronic Lab Notebook systems (ELN), the demand for ELN has grown substantially. Fortunately, in response, the number of available ELN software applications on the market has also increased to more than 60.

Unlike the general-purpose word processing and note-taking apps (e.g., MS Word, Evernote), each ELN app has a unique set of features that meet specific demands. You can see how a dedicated lab notebook app is different from a general note taking tool like Evernote by requesting a demo here.

Two broad criteria that can define the suitability of a particular ELN system are the field of research (e.g. Microbiology vs Neuroscience) and the working environment (Academia vs Industry). For example, a scientist working in a chemistry lab and a research scientist working in a cell biology lab may find entirely different ELN software suitable for their research. Also, teams working in a research environment have a different set of requirements from those working in Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC). Click here to learn more about how LabLog™ supports R&D and QA/QC environments.

Other criteria that may define the suitability of an ELN can include:

• Lab budget (free vs. paid software)
• Compliance with regulations and standards (FDA part 11)
• The need to backup on the cloud (unlimited storage on the cloud)
• The need to share notes and files
• The requirement for 24/7 support provided by a local team
• The need for both offline and online access to your records.

The availability of a vast variety of ELNs on the market makes it more likely for researchers to find a suitable solution. However, due to time constraints, it's hard to assess every single solution before settling on one. It is essential that you choose the right software from the outset of the transition from paper notebooks. For this purpose, it is important to discuss your requirements with a number of software vendors.

At LabLog™, we have a lot of experience working with clients in biotech and pharmaceutical industries to understand their specific needs and provide a suitable electronic lab notebook free of charge. The purchasing process usually entails collaboration between the regulatory and scientific teams within the client organization. After discussions with the vendor, the client is allowed to test out the solution for a limited free trial period. At LabLog, depending on the size of the client organization, we may deploy an engineer to work with the clients on-site to setup the solution for the free trial period. If the individual organization decides to proceed with the purchasing, the next step will be vendor and software validation. The specifics of this stage will depend on client regulatory requirements. LabLog has a team of in-house regulatory affairs personnel that can work with clients during the validation process. Additionally, audit reports and other relevant documents will be shared with individual clients. A brief overview of these procedures can be discussed during the initial product demo.

Step 2- Setting up your digital notebook

We cannot emphasize enough the importance of choosing the right ELN from the outset. This is because each digital notebook will have its characteristics and flexibility concerning layout and setup. For example, the simple user interface of LabLog™ mimics the design of a word-processing software so that it is familiar to the user and does not require any training to get started immediately. Whatever your final choice of ELN, we recommend following the steps below to set yourself up for success when transitioning from paper notebooks:

1. Think long-term: Unlike paper notebooks, electronic notebooks can last as long as your research career. They also can follow you everywhere you go, because they will be on the cloud, allowing you to sync notes whenever you get a new computer or mobile device. So when setting up your notes in the first few weeks of transitioning from paper, it is a good idea to have an idea of how your notebook can be a return on investment not only in a few months but also in many years to come. Good lab notebook software solutions have powerful search functionality that allow finding old notes in a matter of seconds. A powerful search functionality is sure to save you lots of time in the lab.
2. Ask about the vendor's plans: Here is a secret about ELN vendors: They are, or at least should be, looking for innovative ways to get more researchers to transition from paper and stick to digital notebooks. Drop an email to the creators and ask them about their plans, are they going to use the latest technological advances to make laboratory note-taking as painless as possible.
3. Be creative: A great benefit of an ELN is that, although it may appear more rigid than paper at first, it is extremely flexible and forgiving regarding layout and organization. This is because, unlike paper notebooks, ELNs utilize robust keyword extraction and search functions. So it is almost always guaranteed that you can find your notes, no matter how old they become. This allows you to experiment with and adopt certain note-taking strategies. For example, you may prefer chronologically ordered notes or order notes based on projects or sub-projects.
4. Value sharing and collaboration: Do you want to increase your chances of success in research substantially? A good ELN app makes sharing and collaboration seamless. This is a huge benefit over traditional paper notebooks. Imagine you have moved on to a new lab, and a new postdoc in your former lab is following up on a side project that you were working on. The ability to share your valuable notes and collaborate will sure get your name on more papers. Not only that, an ELN that fosters sharing and collaboration is directly promoting better organized and more clear notes that can be passed between many generations of scientists and, perhaps, finally leading to a significant discovery. It is nice to know that the origins of each note that resulted in that major discovery can be traced to its original author (you!).

Conclusion

Choose the right ELN, be creative, have fun, and let the ELN do all the heavy lifting for you. You can always rearrange electronic notes, and use the search function to find anything you need with just one click.