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ELECTRONIC LAB NOTEBOOKS (ELN) Kristin A. Briney 5 December 2012

Electronic Lab Notebooks

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An overview of the current state of electronic laboratory notebooks (ELNs), pros and cons of using an ELN, and important considerations for adopting an ELN.

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ELECTRONIC LAB NOTEBOOKS (ELN)Kristin A. Briney

5 December 2012

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Aims of this Session• Examine the state of the field• Cover pros and cons of ELNs• Review UW-Madison ELN pilot• Demos• Adoption strategy

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UW Data Stewardship Policy• UW-Madison policy to keep research data for 7 years

• Data must be ‘in sufficient detail’• Original data preferred

• PIs are stewards of data• http://

www.grad.wisc.edu/research/policyrp/rpac/documents/PolicyDataStewardship.pdf

• Federal and Wisconsin funding requirements• All data generated must be stored in US

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State of the Field• 1st generation electronic lab notebook (ELN)• Lots of options, no clear winner• Companies coming and going• Definite movement toward ELN adoption

• More adoption in industry than academia• UW-Madison ELN pilot

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Many Notebook Types

• Blogs• Wikis• Note taking software• Document management

systems

Rubacha, M.; Rattan, A. K.; Hosselet, S. C., A Review of Electronic Laboratory Notebooks Available in the Market Today. Journal of the Association for Laboratory Automation 2011, 16 (1), 9.

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Many Notebook Types• Software openness

• Proprietary• Open source

• Cost• Free with limited features• >$1000 per person per year

• Data storage• Cloud (US and international hosting)• Local server• Either cloud or local

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Staying with Paper Notebook• Not searchable• Divide between handwritten notes and digital data• Lost records• Damage to paper (spills, fading ink, etc)• Notebooks not backed up• Legibility issues• Language issues

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Adopting an ELN – Pros • Searching• Linking between pages• Add data files to ELN• View data files in ELN• Sharing

• Different access permissions by role• May be able to share across institutions

• Interoperability• Read data from instruments directly

• Built in testing

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Adopting an ELN – Pros • Audit trail

• Revision history• eSignatures

• Drawing tools• Plugins• Access outside of the laboratory

• Mobile version

• Record more than lab notes• Procedures, citations, research ideas, etc.

• Reduce redundancy in record keeping• Range of customizability

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Adopting an ELN – Cons • Possible lack of desired features• Bugs, upgrades, and other digital issues• Effort to transition• Using files in 10 years• Data storage

• Location and ownership issues

• Data security and backups• Need to have reliable system in place

• Unsettled ELN market

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UW-Madison ELN Pilot• Tested 2 notebooks, CERF and eCAT

• 55 users, majority never used an ELN before

• CERF• Pilot organizers liked this software• Did not live up to expectations in the lab• Did basic record keeping but other functionality disappointing

• eCAT (will demo)• CALS installation supporting >30 people• Users found easy to use and liked interface• Users liked level of customization, though general template worked• Majority felt they kept better records than before

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UW-Madison ELN Pilot• At end of pilot, 91% of respondents wanted to continue

using an ELN• 60% of CERF users wanted to try a different ELN

• Required <12 hours to learn interface• Users employed training sessions and trial and error to learn

• Users liked linking and adding data files• Drawing tools and mobile versions did not live up to

expectations

• http://academictech.doit.wisc.edu/ideas/electronic-lab-notebooks

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Demonstrations• eCAT

• CALS-supported installation from UW ELN pilot• Pilot testers liked this ELN • DoIT looking into possibilities to expand• Has limited free version which I will demo• http://www.researchspace.com/

• LabArchives• Was not part of pilot but an option that DoIT is currently looking into• Has limited free version which I will demo• http://www.labarchives.com/

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Demonstrations Caveat• I am showing free versions of software• Free versions have limited features

• No data sharing goes against data stewardship policy• Data security and storage issues• Limitations on other features

• Testing with free versions• May need to test with fake data• Don’t plan to use free versions in long term

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Demo: eCAT

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Demo: LabArchives• Interested in testing this software for a few months?

• Contact DoIT Academic Technologies

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How to Adopt an ELN• Figure out your needs• Test out software• Have an adoption plan• Have an exit strategy

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Questions to Ask Before Purchase• Do I have any special needs?• How much do I want to integrate the ELN into my

workflow?• How much customization do I want?• Do I need to share?

• PI should have access to all notebooks at very least

• Where should the information be stored?• If cloud-based, look for secure US-based hosting

• Can I support a local server hosting the ELN?

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ELNs and Patents• Some ELNs are acceptable for proof of patent

• Depends on functionality

• Important features:• Audit trail (includes data files)• User verification• Controlled data sharing

• ELNs can make best practices more achievable• WARF a great resource on this topic

• Note: patents require data retention of at least 26 years

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What to Look for in Software• Note taking and searching ability• Adding external files• Adding links between pages• Log of revision history• eSignatures• Access permissions• Ability to export

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Test Software• Can be big financial investment• One ELN software package will not work for everyone

• Ask to test before purchase• Ideally a week-to-month long test in the lab• Use as a notebook and look at features in depth• Keep both paper and electronic records during test

• Takes time and effort to test but very important• Won’t buy a car without a test drive. Same for an ELN.

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Adoption Plan• Large shift in workflow in adoption of ELN• For gentler adoption

• Easier to adopt at beginning of a project• Rolling adoption with new students

• Or just plunge in!

• Put someone in charge of installation• Get software support• Get IT support

• Backups

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Exit Strategy• No guarantee that 1st generation ELNs will be here in 5

years

• Ideally, write files to an open file format• PDF common• XML• HTML• Word (.doc/.docx)

• At worst, need to be able to print out all pages• Useful to have a batch method to do this

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Future of ELNs• ELNs will become the norm in research in the future• Graduates going into industry may be using ELNs now• May be 5-10 years before market coalesces

• Enterprise ahead of academic market• Good product available now

• UW-Madison wants to help with this transition• DoIT Academic Technologies offering support

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Recommendations• Test the software out before converting

• Not all software works for all researchers• Keep both electronic and written records during test

• If you adopt now, have an exit strategy• Pick an ELN that writes to an open file format (HTML, XML, PDF)

• Lots of benefits and some risks in adopting an ELN• Keeping a paper notebook has risks but they’re different• Need digital infrastructure to support ELN• If risks too big, wait a few years

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Resources• DoIT Academic Technologies

• http://academictech.doit.wisc.edu/• http://academictech.doit.wisc.edu/ideas/electronic-lab-notebooks

• WARF• http://www.warf.org/

• Research Data Services• http://researchdata.wisc.edu/

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Thanks• Jan Cheetham, DoIT Academic Technologies• Victoria Sutton, WARF• Ariel Neff, UW-Madison Chemistry Library• Bock Laboratories

• This presentation available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 license