Electronic Laboratory Notebooks

An Electronic Laboratory Notebook (ELN) is a software that can be used in place of a traditional paper lab notebook. An ELN can be utilized to store notes, protocols, and any type of data. They can be particularly useful for searching previously recorded data, sharing data with collaborators, or to timestamp different versions of a document. Some ELNs can also provide computational capabilities and advanced functions to analyze data.

There are many ELNs currently available that come with a wide range of functions. Different fields of research may require different capabilities to store and analyze data. There are many ELNs to choose from and this guide offers resources to help do so.

There are a number of factors to consider when selecting an ELN for your research. 
Some to consider are:

• Essential research capabilities
• Storage
• Cost
• Security
• Integration with lab instruments
• Text processing and spreadsheet capabilities

Benefits of using an ELN:

• Instant searching of documents by keyword
• Enables real-time data sharing with collaborators
• Better oversight of laboratory work by lab PI 
• Preservation of experimental procedures and protocols for future use 
• Enables download and storage of large data sets
• Eliminates legibility issues related to a paper notebook
• Facilitates reproducibility of research

What can we store in an ELN?

• Experimental protocols, data, and results
• Data from instruments, analysis, and graphs
• Email communication and discussion with collaborators
• Inventory management
• Apparatus documentation