HowTo – Cornell lab logging
Priority: low
Updating: mature
This HowTo page provides guidance about what to include in the DEC project’s paper Lab Logs and making scanned backups.
Change log:
| Date | Who | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 03 09 | sp17 | Created first skeleton. |
| 2021 03 19 | Sp17 | Began to flesh out. |
| 2021 08 06 | Sp17 | Fleshing out more. Changed the destination of lake sampler shipping manifests to the Cornell field log. |
| 2021 10 01 | Sp17 | Reformatted for export to MS Word DOCX for review of QAPP. |
| 2022 10 13 | Sp17 | Minor refinements. We began using only an online lab log in October 2022, without a paper logbook, as we began making aliquots of samples for DEC and other lab analyses. Some details are in Pacenka’s general paper log. |
| 2023 05 31 | Sp17 | Delete mention of the online lab log, which is discontinued because it has been unused by others in the group. The entire log is on paper, with scanned periodic backups. |
| 2023 06 21 | Sp17 | Convert to Markdown. |
1. Objectives
- Maintain record of activity in Cornell Riley-Robb lab rooms that is germane to the project, for later review and consistency of practice.
2. What to include in lab logs?
The kinds of pages in the Cornell lab log will include:
- Information about maintenance and testing of storage fridges and freezers.
- Equipment test results, for example calibration or testing of meters in lab using commercial standards for pH and specific conductance. (If these are tested in the field the results are in a field log.)
- Information about problems and related corrections in sample storage.
- Analytical results from a subset of lab tests done at Cornell. Other tests have data maintained entirely digitally in spreadsheet files. The lab log would then contain metadata about the laboratory procedure.
Lake volunteers who collect samples are considered a part of the project’s field activity, thus their notes sent with samples shipped to Cornell are in spirit part of the Cornell field log. This includes scans of their shipping manifests and individual sample datasheets.
The distinction between lab and field is the location of the activity covered. Field activities including in-situ test results and sample processing shortly after field trip return should be in the paper field log. The rest go into the lab log.
3. How are the logs maintained?
The (confidential) paper lab log uses a series of notebooks (example, which requires special waterproof/fast dry pen such as Uniball Jetstream or Uniball Powertank). There are one or two paper lab logs at a time passed between all Cornell project participants. These are the initial location of most lab activity notes; there may be some records initially in an individual’s personal log (however they maintain it) that should be copied into the online lab log.
Since the lab log is not taken into the field, it is less critical that it be waterproof. However there can be spillage of sample water and other liquids on lab benches, thus we prefer the waterproof type. Also we prefer 5x8 or larger side, since lab logs do not have to be carried in pockets.
When a paper logbook fills, begin a fresh one and increment the sequence number on the cover. Record the starting date on the cover. Record the final coverage date on the filled notebook cover.
After it is filled, the paper logbook becomes a backup copy retained at Cornell by a principal investigator or designee. The paper logbook remains confidential within Cornell, as are any scans of the paper logbook.
Because the contents of a lab logbook are valuable records, and there may be some lookup uses needed from a road trip, it is helpful to make periodic scans of logbook pages into PDF files. Mark on the last scanned page that the scan ended there so that the next scan can begin on the page after that.
4. Relationship to spreadsheets containing Cornell analytical results
When Cornell does lab testing of samples there is typically a spreadsheet file created to contain the analytical results. Sometimes the data begin in a paper lab logbook before being transcribed into the spreadsheet. Such spreadsheet files are kept with general project records and their names are entered into the cumulative tabular database. Data that originate in the lab logbook have the sequence number of the logbook entered as part of metadata, specifically the analyses record for a test result.
The spreadsheets themselves are an auxiliary part of the log. It is useful to include the filename in the logbook for cross referencing. These are kept in Box Drive (and Box on web) for easy access by all Cornell project staff.
5. Relationship to DEC lab logging
The DEC Air Lab maintains its own logs of samples being received, stored, and tested. The contents of DEC logs are not copied into the Cornell lab log unless the DEC Air lab provides them.
6. Confidentiality
Any mention of the identity or location of a site in the project would make these notebooks confidential. The anonymous site identifiers can be used instead of site names. By default we assume that there will be lapses and treat all paper notebooks as confidential.