For many scientists - from students through to the most experienced researchers - a lab notebook is an essential part of everyday life. A lab notebook helps organize your thoughts and work accurately, and offers transparency, increases reproducibility, and adds credibility to your work.
Although guidelines vary, the key elements of good practice are pretty standardized.
This guide will provide you with the following knowledge:
- How to start out on new experiments
- Identification systems to help organize work
- What to record and when
- How to wrap up an experiment
- What to do when things go wrong!
