Mr. Canale – Science

The Reasons for Notekeeping

A laboratory notebook is one of a chemist’s most valuable tools. It contains the permanent written record of the researcher’s mental and physical activities from experiment and observation, to the ultimate understanding of physical phenomena. The act of writing in the notebook causes the scientist to stop and think about what is being done in the laboratory. It is in this way an essential part of “doing good science.”

The laboratory notebook is known by different names to different people. It is variously called the “lab notebook,” “project notebook,”‘engineer’s log book,” or “research journal.” Whatever it is called in your place of work or study, I am referring to a bound collection of serially numbered pages used to record the progress of scientific investigations. The notebook is used not only in the laboratory, but also at pilot plants and field studies.

Why Keep a Notebook?

The information written into a research notebook is used for several purposes. Most importantly, the pages of the notebook are used to preserve the experimental data and observations that are part of any scientific investigation. The notes must be clear, concise, and complete. The properly kept notebook contains unambiguous statements of”the truth” as observed by the scientist. If the notebook is to be of any value, experiments that fail must be recorded as faithfully as those that succeeded.

The guiding principle for note keeping is to write with enough detail and clarity that another chemist could bick up the notebook at some time in the future, repeat the work based on the written descriptions, and make the same observations that were originally recorded. If this guideline is followed, even the original author will be able to usderstand the notes when looking back on them after considerable time has passed!

Kanere, Howard M. Writing the Laboratory Notebook. American Chemical Society, 1985.