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Using your electronic lab notebook (ELN)

An electronic lab notebook (ELN) like eLab allows lab notebook entries to be automated and customized… for example:

  • Templates: Use predefined templates for common activities (e.g., “Maintain Fly Colony,” “TBI Experiment”) to ensure consistency.
  • Attachments: Upload relevant files (e.g., data sheets, images) directly to entries.
  • Tagging and Linking: Employ tags and links to organize and easily retrieve related entries.
  • Resource Management: Schedule and reference lab Equipment ("tools"), Instruments ("things that provide a measurement of some sort"), and Expendables ("stuff that gets used up over time").
  • Timestamping: Securely record to an immutable worldwide blockchain (which may be important if you ever make an interesting "discovery")

Please read through the User Documentation and start using it. Don't be afraid to try out the various features - as far as I know, you can't "break" anything :)

  • Note that the "model" for this ELN is not to have 1 entry that serves as your entire notebook, but rather that each time you do something lab-related, you make a separate time-stamped entry (ideally using predefined Templates).
  • Each individual entry is (unfortunately) called an "experiment" in eLab. If you click the "Create" button next to Experiment (in your Dashboard or in the upper tabs), that will bring you to a "generic" entry template with Goals, Procedures, and Results laid out already.
    • Note that you can change these as you see fit for each entry. If you click on the little Left Arrow on the side of the Create button you should see a list of Templates that I have made (feel free to modify / make more). You can also see them all and edit / make more under My Templates in your upper right profile icon.
  • Generally, try to use pre-defined templates - for example, one lab member’s entry ("experiment") might be a "Maintain fly colony" entry. When another lab member maintains their flies, the steps / procedures should be pretty much the same except for specific numbers / parameters, etc. So, if both use the same "Maintain fly colony" template for those entries, consistency between and within projects should be preserved.
    • There is also a "Brainstorming / connect the dots" Template for recording ideas / general notes etc.
    • There is also a "Data analysis" template for uploading graphs, data files, recording stats procedures / results, etc.
    • Other templates can be easily made (e.g., make a template for recording Python code)…
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