The laboratory notebook is a record of your job as an analytical chemist. It documents everything you do. It is the source for reports, publications and regulatory submissions. The success or failure of a company’s product or service may depend on how well you do that documentation. The notebook becomes a legal document for patent issues, government regulation issues (validation, inspections, legal actions), and the like. Remember, “if it isn’t written down, it wasn’t done.” The notebook is where you record your original ideas and so it is important to record what went into those ideas and when.
What are the features of a well-maintained notebook? They will vary with individual preferences, but here are some good rules:
- Use a hardcover notebook (no loose pages).
- Number pages consecutively.
- Record only in ink.
- Never tear out pages. If not used, put a line through the page to strike-off.
- Date each page, sign it with date (soon after you complete your report) by someone else i.e. a reviewer, stating “Checked by or Reviewed by.”
- Record the name of the project, why it is being done, and any literature references.
- Record all data on the day you obtain it.
Modern instrument software allows the analyst to collect, store and process data directly from the instrument signal, based on appropriate calibration. It is important that the software and calibration be validated.
A variety of electronic notebooks and organizational tools are commercially available, many of which have very good functionality for storing and organizing notebook data in a variety of formats, for example, data files and spreadsheets. In addition, there are software-based laboratory information management systems (LIMS) to manage data, which ultimately aims at the complete elimination of paper notebooks.
Read also: Good Documentation Practice in Pharma
