

Students should check with their teachers before using this lab notebook method.
Science tab book professional#
Electronic lab notebooks are becoming more common in the professional world and for citizen science collaborations but are not yet common for science and engineering fairs. Electronic lab notebooks are simple to organize and make it easy to share data with other scientists (or a teacher).
Science tab book software#
Lab notebooks can also be kept using software or an online tool. This format is ideal for keeping the originals and giving copies to research partners or a teacher. With high-quality, hard-to-tear paper, these notebooks are generally rugged and designed to stand up to lots of handling.ĭuplicate style lab notebooks are a subset of the official lab notebooks style with the added feature of carbonless duplicate sets. Official laboratory notebooks may also include quick reference materials like the periodic table, metric conversions, or an amino acid codon table. Official lab notebooks often include useful and convenient features like a designated area for creating a table of contents and numbered pages for easy cross-referencing. Composition books are easy to find at local stores and are inexpensive. Hard covers make the book even more durable, but a soft or cardboard cover will work too. (Click the "Using a Lab Notebook" tab for specific tips, techniques, and reminders.)Ī bound spine ( not spiral binding) makes it difficult for pages to be easily torn out and lost. Keeping a lab notebook is easy! The most important thing to do is to "use" your lab notebook. Similarly, writing down your product design ideas, engineering challenges, and product testing data will help you keep track of all of your ideas, what you have already tried, and how well a particular design performed. With a complete record of the project in your lab notebook, you can look back at your notes later if a question arises or if you decide to pursue a related project based on something you observed. By recording the steps of your procedure, your observations, and any questions that arise as you go, you create a record of the project that documents exactly what you did and when you did it. Many science projects require a number of steps and multiple trials. Used properly, your lab notebook contains a detailed and permanent account of every step of your project, from the initial brainstorming to the final data analysis and research report. A lab notebook is an important part of any research or engineering project. Whether you are a research scientist, an engineer, or a first-time science fair student, you should use a lab notebook to document your science investigations, experiments, and product designs. Overview Keep a Great Science or Engineering Project Laboratory Notebook
