Electronic notebooks

General Information

• The evolving, fully loaded, electronic laboratory notebook.
• Collaborative Electronic Notebook Systems Association (CENSA)
  • links
  • Comparing Paper and Electronic Laboratory Notebooks--Part 1, Part 2
• Lab Talk.
• FDA: Title 21 Code of Federal Regulations (21 CFR Part 11) Electronic Records; Electronic Signatures
  • http://www.21cfrpart11.com/
  • white paper
• The virtual laboratory (LBL)
• Guidelines for ethical research practices
• Writing Guidelines
  • Responsible conduct of research (Vanderbilt)
  • Writing the lab notebook
  • Guidelines and policies (Dept of Chem, UKentucky)
  • Lab notebook guidelines (Rice)
  • Record keeping (Fox-Chase cancer center)
  • Data managment and records (HHMI)
  • Write it down! (PSU)

Wikis

• Twiki. TWiki is a flexible, powerful, and easy to use enterprise collaboration platform and knowledge management system. It is a Structured Wiki, typically used to run a project development space, a document management system, a knowledge base, or any other groupware tool, on an intranet or on the internet. Web content can be created collaboratively by using just a browser.
• Open Wetware. OpenWetWare is an effort to promote the sharing of information, know-how, and wisdom among researchers and groups who are working in biology & biological engineering. Web site has many examples.
• GTDTiddlyWiki. A personal, simple, client-side, record keeping system which you can carry on a flash drive.
• XWiki. Seems to be a more programmable wiki version.

Notebooks

• PNNL Electronic Laboratory Notebook (ELN). A client/server model for a prototype secure lab notebook.
• ORNL ELN. An electronic R&D Notebook is the electronic equivalent of a paper research notebook. Instead of recording information on paper, the sketches, text, equations, images, graphs, signatures, and other data are recorded on electronic notebook "pages", which can be read and navigated just like in a paper notebook. Instead of writing with a pen and taping in images and graphs, reading and adding to an electronic notebook is done through a computer and can involve input from keyboard, sketchpads, mouse, image files, microphone, and directly from scientific instruments. Electronic notebook software varies in how much it "looks and feels" like a paper notebook, but all the basic functions of a paper notebook are present. In addition, electronic notebooks allow easier input of scientific data and the ability for collaborators in different geographic locations to share the record of ideas, data and events of the joint experiments and research programs.
• CERF-Notebook™ - The Electronic Lab Notebook for Life Sciences. Provides a simple yet powerful interface for recording your research and accessing shared resources. Projects and documents reside on the secure server but can be acted on from anywhere that the user has an Internet connection. CERF-Notebook™ lets users organize their thoughts, ideas, and data into the real research story - much as a paper notebook does, but with the benefits of sharing, searching, digital signatures, templates, and more!
• eLab Notebook Software. Seems to be chemistry oriented.
• NoteBookMaker. Integrated with Filemaker database manager.
• LabTrack. LABTrack is as easy to use as a word processor but offers the reporting and searching capabilities of a relational database. And with the addition of a subscription to Surety.com or FirstUse.com, your electronic notebook can become a legally acceptable document - acceptable in a court of law, before the PTO and for complying with FDA regulations. Electronic Signature (21 CFR Part 11) functionality is built-in.
• Open source ELN. Download site.
• The A-Book: An Augmented Laboratory Notebook for Biologists

June 2006