GUIDELINES FOR THE LABORATORY NOTEBOOK
1. Use a bound (not a spiral or loose-leaf) notebook
with numbered pages for keeping laboratory data.
2. Set aside the first two pages for a Table of Contents. Number each page as you use it.
3. At the top of each page, print your name, the
date and the title of the experiment being performed.
4. Use carefully prepared, neat, legible tables to
preserve your data. Each table should have a completely descriptive
title. All columns and rows should
be clearly labeled with appropriate units.
5. All primary data should be directly recorded into
your notebook to avoid transmission errors.
Avoid the use of scratch sheets. Data
for weighing should include a tare weight, a gross weight, and the sample
weight (by difference). Never record only the sample weight.
6. Derived results should also be tabulated.
The table should include necessary input data and calculated results. Details of calculations need not be shown in
every case, but a detailed set of calculations using one complete set of data
is necessary.
7. Graphs should be word-processed.
Be sure that the graph fills the page. Graphs should have completely
descriptive titles. Ordinates and
abscissas should be clearly labeled with a description and units. Data points must be clearly indicated by circled dots or a symbol
of your choice. If two curves are
plotted on the same graph, use different symbols to indicate the data points
for the different curves. Sometimes you may want to do only a quick graph
on the grid paper in you lab notebook to be sure that the data you have collected
is meaningful and that you have not committed any gross errors. In this case, the detailed graph is needed
only in your report.
8. For ease of location, do not use the same page
for two different experiments. Start a new page when going to a new experiment.
9. Each individual experiment should include balanced
equations, appropriate literature references, chemicals to be used, their
name and purity, and any instruments to be used.
For each instrument used include the manufacturer and the model number.
This information will be needed when you write your report.
10. End each experiment with a brief summary, conclusion,
and statement of any problems you encountered while the experiment is fresh
in your mind.
Reference: H.M. Kanare, Writing the Laboratory Notebook, ACS, Washington D.C.,1985.
© Dr. Noel Sturm 2009