Part 3: Construction and Maintenence of the Laboratory Notebook

This part is simple.

You will do a websearch for the term "Laboratory Notebook." Google is recommended, but feel free to try others as well. Look for pages from universities and other high schools, especially how-to pages and examples. There are a few sites listed on the Resource page to get you started, but you are expected to use sites beyond this starting point. Get a feel for the process overall. Look for two main types of information:

1. What type of information is recorded? This will be found as main headers in the notebook: Abstract or purpose, Introduction, etc. You will see some variation; note these variations and look for any difference. Record the headers you find as well as your best description of the actual information recorded. What does this information tell you? What purpose does it serve?
2. How is the information recorded? Pay attention to form, writing style, and even (gasp) neatness. Are there charts and tables? How are calculations presented? The recording of data and method of showing the calculations are crucial sections, yet are most often done haphazardly by students. Careful attention to these sections will result in your success, which will be reflected in your lab score.
3. Pay attention to the flow of information. How does it all work together?
4. What legal ramifications are connected to the proper keeping of a laboratory notebook?

You will find a fair amount of disagreement over a few technical matters. Please consider the options you find, and their consequences and practicality in the high school lab. Think about which option would be most applicable to you in the high school setting, and the modifications you might need to make in college and later int he workplace. We will discuss these options and you will receive guidance as to the methods we will use this year.

List the sections you find, with a clear and concise description of the information included in each. Be thorough enough to clearly explain how to construct each section. You may write this longhand of create a Word document. This need not be a formal paper but as you will submit it, it must be neat. Of course you will include URLs for all sites you use.