[Grundalizer]

Hi, I'm currently a senior chemistry student going for my B.S. on the East coast.  I've always wanted to know what graduate student/professional chemists notebooks look like.  I'm not a very organized person, although I'm trying to change that with grad school on the horizon.  I simply can't neglect my lab notebook.  All the professors at my school had different rules on lab notebooks, some only let us right what we did in lab, others made us copy entire prelabs into the notebook so we could begin lab once we entered the lab...so it was hard to get into a rhythm of what is GOOD practice and what is some teacher's own preference or them just being anal control freaks.  I did get kicked out of lab once for refusing to fill up my lab notebook at home with a procedure, my reasoning was...what if i don't do step such and such?  Anyway, I'm still lacking on keeping my notebook up to date.  In the beginning I always keep all the pages dated and signed and have times written in, but now that it's later in the semester, i've forgotten to date pages, havn't taped in any of my spectrum readings, and have blank pages all over the place that i left open to "paste stuff in later".

needless to say, I don't think my notebook is very good.  I can take pictures later and post them up here so i can get some constructive criticism...but any tips you have would be MUCH MUCH APPRECIATED!

Do you use different colored pens?  Date and sign everything?  Leave pages open to paste things in...?

Thanks a lot!

[jake.n]

I'm a senior undergrad, but my advisor is always over my shoulder when it comes to organization

I label each reaction and product (RXN# - Page # - Sample #) in my lab notebook, then carry that over to naming the spectrum.  I keep spectra separate in a 3-ring binder.  Naming spectra like that also makes it easy to refer back to the notebook to see what was done differently for a reaction.

I'm expected to have a copy of the procedure beforehand and the math (mmol, mL, etc.) for all the reagents done ahead of time.  Then I add my version of the procedure at the end and cite the original or adapted procedure.  I use one side of the page as my "clean" page and the other side for scibbling notes and observations when I'm in a hurry.  Everything gets dated and compiled on to the "clean" procedure when I leave.

[democanarchis]

2nd year PhD student here. My lab notebook basically contains the rxn scheme, a table with mmols/mass/eq of each reagent, and a concise procedure. If I run an NMR or Mass Spec, I add details of what the sample is to cross reference when I run the sample - I label them (Lab Book No - Page No - Spectra No). They are archived on a server so I don't keep a hard copy of the spectra. They are pretty short procedure wise - I just make sure to include the important details eg column chromatography eluent mixes, yields etc. I don't include any references to the literature, as these are stored in labelled folders in my laptop, and I've found that if the lab book writeup is going to take more than 1/2 min total, i'm likely to rush it. Definately not a model example of a lab book, but its clean, indexed and I can easily make sense of it so it works for me.

[Grundalizer]

Thanks for the info both of you.  I like the idea of keeping spectra seperate (whether on PC or hardcopy binder--probably have both) 

[dunno260]

I am of the belief there isn't a correct method.  Any that will allow someone else to recreate the experiment is probably sufficient.  That said, I lay mine out with the date at the top, reaction scheme (usually just a single step), followed by literature reference for the procedure (nothing formal, usually journal title, year/volume, and pages).  I do this because while I keep more interesting papers, I often don't keep all the procedures and someone reading my notebook in the future won't be able to recall this.  Then I have a regeant table (name, mg/g, mw, mmol, equiv) then follow with the procedure.  More details for new procedures than one I have done for the 10th time (in that case I reference a page).  Workup conditions, purification conditions, and then a summary of what I got.  I tend not to put TLC plates in my notebook, just a note on Rf of product (some interesting ones I will).  I don't put spectra in either, they go in separate folders plus my computer.  Most of my reactions take a single page on a notebook.  I also at the top of the page under the product put the yield and e.e./d.e. of the reaction (of course the selectivity is only applicable when working with chiral compounds).  That makes finding the best procedure the easiest when going back through.

In general, the more detailed the better.  I think mine hover around average.  The thing I am worst about is not keeping my notebook current and I have to get better on that.  I am working on methodology and I repeat a lot of reactions and its easy to get behind that way.

[MissPhosgene]

Hi. I am also a senior undergrad.

  I put everything in my notebook that I am not going to want to have to figure out if I re-do the reaction. Obviously reaction schemes, labeled according to when I made the intermediate, I put dates when I open bottles, colors, solubility, TLF plates, calculations, how quickly the material comes off the column (fractions and diameter of the column), amount of time for a reaction to go to completion, etc. My notebooks are labeled in sequential order and have a separate binder for spectra, one for each notebook. References are cited and put in a binder according to transformation. Separate binders for separate targets.
I note if glassware was flame dried or oven dried.

 I don't have a table of contents in any of my notebooks (always forget when I start a new one)... TOC would have been wise because I can't always remember what I did when, especially if it's two years or so ago.

I don't do anything before I get to lab aside from the library work.

[SugarSkull]

2nd year PhD student here. My lab notebook basically contains the rxn scheme, a table with mmols/mass/eq of each reagent, and a concise procedure. If I run an NMR or Mass Spec, I add details of what the sample is to cross reference when I run the sample - I label them (Lab Book No - Page No - Spectra No). They are archived on a server so I don't keep a hard copy of the spectra. They are pretty short procedure wise - I just make sure to include the important details eg column chromatography eluent mixes, yields etc. I don't include any references to the literature, as these are stored in labelled folders in my laptop, and I've found that if the lab book writeup is going to take more than 1/2 min total, i'm likely to rush it. Definately not a model example of a lab book, but its clean, indexed and I can easily make sense of it so it works for me.

I do exactly the same as this. I keep a hard copy of each spectra in 3-ring binder, and the NMRs are also archived on a server.

[marsu]

Hi,

A paper lab notebook is one thing. Many professionals work with electronic lab notebooks (ELN) these days, with automatic stoichiometry calculations, etc. There's even a high quality one available for free, containing digital signatures, reaction substructure searches etc: http://chembytes.com/index.php/espresso/about. It's possibly worth a look...

[TheUnfocusedOne]

Here's a question:

How do you guys handle doing multiple things at once?

When I was an undergrad, I had very limited time to do research. The research lab was shared by all labs above orgo, and we had to be done and out by 5 everyday. The only way I could get anything done is to multitask, sometimes running up to 5 reactions while collecting spectral and electrochemical data.

My notebook was a mess because of it, since my pages were always out of order. I tried a few ways, such starting on a page, skipping a few, then writing down the next exp. Skipped pages gave me enough room to write down everything I needed for that particular exp, but I always gave myself to few or too many pages. Another way is to not skip pages, and write "continued on page#". Needless to say, with 7 things going on at once this was difficult to keep in order.

I'm going to grad school in a few month and I'm nervous about this. Any ideas?

[fledarmus]

Everybody has there own ways of keeping lab notebooks, but there are some things that should always be present and some notebook-keeping practices which shouldn't be violated. I'm an organic chemist, and this is my version of good practices for keeping a lab notebook.

My method -
1) Before I start to mix chemicals, I have a reaction scheme that shows at a bare minimum the starting materials I will be using and the product I expect. If I have any intermediates that I might be able to detect by TLC or mass spec, it helps to have them in the reaction scheme as well. I also have a table of reactants and products, with spaces for name, volume, density, mass, molecular weight, and equivalents. It helps to have the density of any reagents you will be measuring by volume instead of mass, and I personally like to have the name of the compound - if commercially available, it will be the name on the bottle, and if it is a product from a previous synthesis, it will be the "lot number" of the compound. (Notebook number will be defined later). I also have a reference for the reaction I am running; either a literature source, a notebook page if I'm basing it on my own or my lab-mates notebook reaction, or one I use occasionally, "exp" (for experience), which means I've run the reaction so often before that I'm doing it from memory.

2) The first thing I write down when I start the actual reaction is the date that I am setting it up.

3) The procedure - here there is some difference of opinion. I don't like to write down anything I haven't done yet; if I need that, I will have it on a separate piece of paper. My lab notebook is a record of things that I have done, not things I plan on doing. As I complete each addition or step of a reaction, I will write it done in the procedure.

4) The results - there should be some record of what happened to the reaction, even if all you did was take a TLC and throw the reaction away. Any material I get out of the reaction will get a "lot number" - this is composed of the notebook identifier (since I am in industry, this is assigned by the company when I am issued a new notebook), the page number, and a consecutive number for each product I isolate. For instance, my crude material after workup might be FLED123-45-1, and then when I chromatograph the material and isolate three spots, they will be FLED123-45-2, FLED123-45-3, and FLED123-45-4. If I then crystallize FLED123-45-3, the solid isolated might be FLED123-45-5, while stripping down the mother liquor would give FLED123-45-6. Those numbers will remain attached to that lot of material, and any data collected will have that as a lot number. Any further reactions I run on the products will have that lot number attached to the starting material. The data itself (NMR, MS, HPLC, chromatography traces, CHN, or whatever else I run) is collected in a separate loose-leaf notebook in order of lot number.

5) Once the reaction is complete and nothing further will be written on it, any blank space on the page is marked through and the page is signed and dated at the bottom.

6) Every few days, I find a fellow researcher on a different project to witness and date any pages I have completed since the last time.

THINGS THAT SHOULD ALWAYS BE PRESENT:
1) A reaction scheme. You need to show what materials you started with and what you intended to make.
2) A reference to show where you got the reaction from. This can be very helpful when you have to track down references for publication!
3) A way to trace every chemical you used. If they are commercially available that should be indicated, if they came from a previous reaction, indicate clearly which reaction, and if you borrowed them from a lab mate, ask for a lot number that will let you track it back to their notebook preparation.
4) A record of everything that you actually did in the reaction - the weights you recorded when measuring out your compounds, the temperatures and times that you heated the reaction, how it was worked up and purified, and what data you acquired for each product.
5) An identifier for each of the products of the reaction, so you can follow them in subsequent reactions.
6) If you fill up the page, a note to indicate where the reaction is continued.
7) The dates at which you started and completed the reaction.

DO NOT SKIP PAGES, even if you know the reaction will take up more than one page and you are setting several up at the same time. This makes it very hard to defend your work as a chronological record of research if for any reason the need ever arises. For the same reason, DO NOT LEAVE BLANK SPACE, even if you know how much you'll need for filling in data later. Any space that gets left at the bottom of the page, mark through to indicate that it will not be used at a later date and that the reaction is complete at that point.

[CaverKat]

Fantastic format for lab note book (in my biased opinion). Feel free to peruse, it's all open.

In fact, we're always looking for help (either in the form of questions, comments, criticisms, suggestions, or even helping out with the lab stuff!).

Everything is open. All the data is there (including failures, I also try and make comments/suggestions as to why the hell my experiment didn't work... or if I stuffed up).

This is my lab book. I don't have a paper book 

http://www.ourexperiment.org/racemic_pzq

Also more stuff here:
http://malaria.ourexperiment.org/

[408]

If you have high hopes for a project, the "lab book" is the experimental section of a paper template

[TheUnfocusedOne]

I've always wanted to use an electronic notebook.

My hand writing is terrible.