Guidelines for Laboratory Notebooks

Experience in carrying out standard organic lab procedures is essential to the development of good organic chemistry laboratory skills. However, learning how to properly document experimental results is also very important.  Documentation of results requires the keeping of a detailed laboratory research notebook. It is generally accepted that such a research notebook is necessary for the documentation of any scientist's work. For example, an industrial research notebook is the legal basis for defending and obtaining patents. A research notebook should be a permanent, original, and honest scientific record of all observations made and data obtained while working in the lab.

General Instructions.

• The Top-Bound Carbonless Laboratory Notebook (available in the bookstore) is required.
  
• Make sure the back cover flap is placed between the set of pages on which the entry is being made and the following original page. 
• The yellow duplicate pages are ripped out and turned into the instructor at the required times throughout the semester.

Important Do's and Don'ts

• Do use ink. The lab record should be permanent and pencil is, thus, unacceptable.
• Do  label the notebook completely with all information pertinent to the course on the table of contents page. 
• Do keep the table of contents up to date. 
• Do fill out the top of each page with your name, course information, and the experiment title and number.
• Don't cross out mistakes with more than one or two lines (the original entry should remain legible). 
• Don't record data on a loose sheet of paper first with the plan of copying it into the notebook later. 
  
• Don't waste time being overly neat.
• Don't tear out any orignal (white) pages.
  

Format.

The notebook entries for each experiment should be divided into two sections, (1) the "Pre-lab Plan" and (2) the "In-lab Journal". 

Each of these parts should be done on its own separate page(s). Do not start the in-lab journal on the same page as which the pre-lab plan ends.

"Pre-lab Plan"- To be completed before the start of each new experiment and turned in (yellow sheets) at the beginning of the lab period during which the experiment will be started. Each student must prepare their own individual pre-lab plan in their own lab notebook.

This section consists of the following:

Experiment Number, Title, Date and Course & Section Number

Balanced Chemical Equation: If the experiment involves a chemical reaction, then the balanced chemical equation should be given and should show the structures of the reactants to be used and the major product expected. 

References: Give the title, author, and page numbers of all reference materials used.

Purpose: In two or three sentences describe the experiment in more detail than the title conveys. Tell exactly what will be done and how the results will be evaluated.

Table of Chemicals (TOC): Include all reactants and products of any chemical reaction being performed. Also include catalysts, solvents, and reagents for the purification steps. The structure, molecular weight, relevant physical constants, (i.e., densities of liquids to be measured by volume, bps of liquids, mps of solids), and amount to be used of each chemical (in moles as well as in the units in which it will be measured) are all needed. Make sure to do any needed calculations of amounts to be used before lab. Also include the theoretical yield of the desired product.

Planned Procedures:This should be a relatively brief outline (preferably in the form of a flow-chart or step-by-step list) extracted from the procedure given in the lab text and/or handout. Your planned procedures should be complete enough to allow you to be able to do the experiment while referring to your notebook only. Include sketches of any glassware apparatuses you will have to assemble. In addition, the sequence in the carrying out of important steps should be emphasized.

Safety Precautions/SDS information: Include all special safety precautions associated with the specific experiment to be performed. Identify  the hazards associated with each chemical to be used by looking up an SDS for it and note these in your TOC.

"In-lab Journal" - To be completed during the lab and turned in to the instructor before leaving the lab. Make sure you start a new page for every new day in the lab. The date at the top of the page should be the actual date when all of the writing on that page was done! Each team keeps and submits only one in-lab journal with a designated team member being primarily responsible for writing it, as shown in the team assignments table on the lab grading policies page.

Observations and Data  go in the right-hand column of the notebook page.

Observations

• All observations should be carefully noted - make sure you use enough words to adequately describe what you observe.
• Observations should always include the appearances of all starting materials and products.
• Observations of color changes, odors, phase separations, heat evolution, gas evolution, or any other unusual or unanticipated results are particularly important.
• Labeled sketches of glassware setups used are good to include here.
• Also record your initial observations on any spectra obtained, e.g., number of peaks, key peak positions, etc.

Data

• Make the data entries easy to find by underlining them or placing in a table.. 
• Never record data or observations first on a loose sheet of paper with the intention of copying it into your notebook later. 
• The data that is recorded should include (if applicable):
• tare masses (always subtract tare masses and record the mass of substance in the notebook)
• amounts of reactants actually used (as measured)
• weight of product obtained and % yield calculation
• any physical constants that are measured (i.e., mp, bp, refractive index, etc.)
• Also record the file name and acquisition time for all NMR spectra.

Actual Procedures go in the left-hand column of the notebook page.

• During the lab you should record faithfully what you are doing while you are doing it. 
• Do not merely copy the lab manual or handout procedure because you may actually do the work slightly differently. 
• It is customary in scientific writing to use the past tense, passive voice:
• Bad - "I am now refluxing a solution of 1-butanol and sulfuric acid. It has now been two hours and I am now discontinuing the reflux."
• Better - "I refluxed a solution of butanol and sulfuric acid for two hours...."
• Better - "Reflux a solution of 1-butanol and sulfuric acid for two hours...."
• Best - "A solution of 1-butanol and sulfuric acid was refluxed for 2.0 h...."

Signatures: - All three lab partners should sign at the bottom of the last page of the journal, signifying that they have read and agree with what has been recorded.

Note - Please also read chapter 3 in Mohrig for another perspective on how to keep a laboratory notebook.