1. Electronic lab notebooks in biomedical research Rory Macneil Axiope Scottish Bioinformatics Seminar Edinburgh 9 September 2010

2. Electronic lab notebooks in biomedical research What is an electronic lab notebook? What broader consequences does adoption of ELNs entail? What problem does an electronic lab notebook solve?

3. What is an electronic lab notebook? Wikipedia “ A software program designed to replace paper lab notebooks” I prefer “ An online environment that enables scientists to structure and share their research data without the need to also resort to a paper lab notebook”

4. Records with structure An electronic lab notebook in action I

5. Build your own database An electronic lab notebook in action II

6. Controlled sharing Image advanced permissions page An electronic lab notebook in action III

7. Focused communication An electronic lab notebook in action IV

8. A familiar interface An electronic lab notebook in action V

10. What problem does an electronic lab notebook solve? Why use an electronic lab notebook to solve the problem? Who does it solve the problem for?

11. What problem does an electronic lab notebook solve? “ Coordinating a wide diversity of types of data sets generated by a large number of people within the lab” Manage data + people . . . Over time

12. Why use an electronic lab notebook to solve the problem? You can set it up the way you want to It’s easy for the lab to transfer to an ELN It’s accessible from anywhere, anytime It facilitates better exchange of information between lab members and, over time, better archiving

13. Who does it solve the problem for? A lab/labs PI and other lab members

14. What consequences does adoption of ELNs entail? Capturing a category of data now largely lost: experimental data Dealing with the new data: Technical issues -- export and integration Policy issues -- control and availability

15. Thank you Comments?