Lab journal

Obtaining and preparing the lab journal

• Everybody who is performing any experimental work has to own and use a lab journal.
• The lab journal can be picked up at the DCN secretariat.
• The cover of the lab journal has to provide the following information:

     A)The name of the experimenter (names if lab journal is continued by a successor, see below)
     B)The title of the study/project
     C)The starting date and eventually the date of finalization of the journal.

Record keeping: general instructions

• All pages are numbered before using the lab journal.
• The first 4 pages will be assigned to create a table of content of the main experiments (with page numbers)
• The standard language of the lab journal is English.
• The header of the description of every new experiment shows a title and the date.
• The respective experimental protocol has to be clearly depicted. If you used paper forms then the form has to be transferred or copied and pasted into the lab journal.
• Every single step of the experiment has to be described in a way that an external reader can fully reproduce the experiment.
• If applicable one can refer to the protocols and descriptions of previous experiments in the same lab journal WITH the respective page numbers.
• When referring to previous descriptions or protocols EVERY single modification or exception has to be noted.
• When using solutions with lot-numbers (e.g. enzymes, antibodies, specific chemicals etc.) the lot numbers has to be noted in the lab journal.
• Clearly note how samples are marked and where they are stored.
• All incidences, perceptions, results and conclusions have to be written down in a clear, transparent and reproducible way.
• Also experiments that failed or have been aborted need to be noted down, including a clear explanation of what caused the failure of abortion.
• It is strictly forbidden to remove pages or to take the lab journal home.

Data

• Write down the name and location of all data files that are connected to a given experiment.

Control system

• Every month the direct supervisor will check the lab journal.
• The direct supervisor will place her/his signature underneath the last page that was checked. If needed, shortcomings will be directly discussed with the experimenter.
• Every 3 months, some lab journals will be checked for compliance with these rules by the technical staff.

Storing the lab journal

• Finalized lab journals that are not directly relevant for ongoing studies anymore will be delivered to the DCN secretary and centrally archived.
• At regular intervals but at latest after a experimenter finalized a lab journal, the journal needs to be scanned and electronically stored. One file per lab journal!
• Lab journals which are not filled after a experimenter has finalized the study can be continued by experimenters working on continuation of the project or a similar study.