October 23, 2024
About LabKey
Electronic lab notebooks (ELNs) have become a critical tool in modern labs, playing various roles as available options and features have expanded over the years. Documenting experiments, managing workflows, and fostering collaboration are all part of how these powerful tools improve efficiency and accuracy for organizations that use them. In this post, we’ll explore three key ways to use an ELN software to maximize its utility.
Contents: SOP and Experimentation Documentation | Curating Important Results | Facilitation Collaboration and Supervision
1. Experiment Documentation and Protocol Management
One of the primary uses of an ELN is to document experiments with precision and consistency. Instead of recording experimental details on paper, researchers can use ELNs to capture everything digitally—from hypotheses and raw data to experiment conditions and analyses. With ELN features such as time-stamping, version control, and the ability to attach relevant files, ELNs provide a comprehensive and searchable history of experiments that provide context to work in the lab.
ELNs also shine in managing standard operating procedures (SOPs) and protocols. Researchers can store and update experiment or sample handling protocols in real time, ensuring consistency across the team. This is especially valuable when labs are working with regulated processes or need to ensure compliance with internal or external standards. By maintaining a centralized, digital repository of protocols, teams avoid confusion and reduce the risk of error during complex procedures.
Example Use Case: A researcher quickly retrieves a protocol for a specific assay, follows the steps, and updates the procedure to reflect modifications or improvements. The updated protocol is immediately available to other team members, ensuring that everyone is on the same page for this protocol.
2. Highlighting and Analyzing Results
Beyond documenting experiments, ELNs allow researchers to highlight and organize the most relevant results, ensuring that critical findings are easy to reference and share. By tagging important data points and results, researchers can curate the information that matters most, making it easier for others to focus on the key outcomes of an experiment.
This curated approach helps provide a clear historical snapshot of important results, enabling future comparisons and allowing teams to track how experiments evolve over time. The ability to highlight significant findings also ensures that when reviewing past work, researchers can quickly identify key trends or anomalies.
Example Use Case: After running a series of experiments, a researcher tags significant data points and quickly compares them to tagged results from previous ELN entries. The team can easily find these results with a quick search when they meet at their next review meeting.
3. Facilitating Collaboration
Collaboration is a cornerstone of scientific progress, and ELNs are built to make it easier. With real-time access to experiment documentation, protocols, and results, the best ELNs enable teams to work together more effectively, whether they’re in the same lab or across the globe.
Multiple users can view, edit, and comment on experiments, fostering an environment of transparent communication. This is particularly useful when troubleshooting experiments, as team members can contribute insights or offer suggestions for improvement without delay. Additionally, ELNs offer the ability to review and sign off on entries, providing a mechanism for oversight and accountability. Lab supervisors or project leads can easily verify the accuracy of documentation and ensure that proper procedures are being followed, promoting confidence in the research process.
One of the other benefits of ELNs is that they simplify the sharing of research with external collaborators, ensuring that everyone has secure and compliant access to the latest information. Whether sharing data internally or with external partners, ELNs help maintain the integrity and security of the research process while streamlining communication and collaboration.
Example Use Case: A team of researchers working in different locations can collaborate on an ongoing project by accessing the same ELN. One member on location in London can upload data, while a lab member visiting their Chicago lab reviews and comments on the findings, ensuring that the workflow remains uninterrupted, even across time zones.
LabKey’s ELN solution
If you’re looking for an ELN that excels in these areas, LabKey’s Electronic Lab Notebook is integrated into a variety of lab software that can help your lab gain efficiency. With features designed to streamline workflows, support compliance, and enhance collaboration, it’s the perfect tool to help your team achieve its research goals.
Take a tour to see how our ELN can help your lab.
