In 2019 NIST published an important report on this topic. I
reproduce a bit of it here:
--------------------------------
Summary Report on Scientific Integrity - November 2019
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is a
non-regulatory agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce.
NIST's mission is to promote U.S. innovation and industrial
competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and
technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our
quality of life.
Foundation of Scientific Integrity in Government
NIST has in place a number of policies and procedures to ensure the
integrity of the scientific and technological information it
develops and disseminates to the public. Relevant policies currently
in effect are summarized below.
The NIST Manual sets forth policies and defines responsibilities
that apply to the communication of NIST technical program results by
staff members, guest researchers, research associates, and others
who participate in technical programs.
Research Notebooks
The NIST Manual explains that all NIST technical communications are
derived from the technical activities of its employees and supported
by the technological records (e.g., research notebooks) they
maintain.
It is NIST policy that all NIST employees engaged in research and
development activities are responsible for maintaining a thorough
and accurate record of their work by keeping a research notebook
following internal Operating Unit policies.
Recognizing that scientific data at NIST are increasingly generated,
stored and reported digitally, the NIST Leadership Board established
a Scientific Data Lifecycle Management Working Group to study the
collection, storage, use, repurposing and preservation of NIST's
digital scientific data.
Statements of Uncertainty
A key element of Scientific Integrity relating to scientific and
technical research has to do with statements of uncertainty
associated with measurement results.
According to long-standing published NIST policy, a measurement
result is considered complete only when accompanied by a
quantitative statement of its uncertainty.
NIST policy requires uncertainty statements, and also requires that
a uniform approach to expressing measurement uncertainty be
followed.
To ensure that uncertainty statements are consistent with each other
and with international practice, the NIST policy adopts the approach
to expressing measurement uncertainty recommended by the
International Committee for Weights and Measures (CIPM).
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To me this lays it out in black and white - the requirement, the
justification and the direction to follow.
I consider it the responsibility of every laboratory course to
include education on the care and feeding of laboratory notebooks.
This education, however, cannot possibly be comprehensive in any
particular course, rather as in my case it is incremental - in each
course the students are exposed to more intellectually sophisticated
concepts regarding laboratory records. With time and accumulated
course credits they develop and internalize a full picture. I
wouldn't expect 100-level students to understand how the
pharmaceutical industry maintains, utilizes and even prosecutes
intellectual property cases using laboratory records. Yet, I do
expect that of 400-level students.
In concert with my position I dedicate a significant portion of each
and every laboratory course I conduct to the care and maintenance of
laboratory records in the form of a laboratory notebook. I begin
with a verbal statement espousing the NIST policy, how students will
maintain a hard copy notebook, how modern Laboratory Information
Management Systems (LIMS) are in use in many industries yet we will
not in this course for a number of reasons (cost of implementation,
variety of systems and sticking with the fundamental pedagogy while
not getting caught up in the technology), how laboratory records are
used in laboratories (academic and industrial) and lastly how the
student notebooks will be reviewed and assessed by teaching staff.
Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) do the review and assessment
work (they also need the training) and it is for credit.
I have a special spot on my faculty course web site for some
material on this topic. See the site in the sig below, follow the
links for courses->all courses->laboratory notebooks - records
and style. Students use this material in all my courses.
BTW, My site including course items is freely available to ALL. Feel
free to browse it and even use it in your own situations. Don't
forget always to provide suitable and adequate acknowledgement. (I
also discuss how to acknowledge all kinds of assistance in
publications in another part of my courses.) I welcome learning how
it is used elsewhere.
jadv
--
Joseph A DiVerdi, PhD, MBA
Professor of Chemistry
Vice-Chair of Faculty Council
Colorado State University
+1.970.980.5868
diverdi.colostate.edu
K0NMR
On 2024-10-14 2:14 PM, David EldrEdge wrote:
Hello All,
Does your institution use and teach lab notebooks? If so,
which labs and levels?
I'm in my third semester as adjunct at a
community college teaching Gen Chem II labs.
My department was pleased that I would be
willing to introduce lab notebook pedagogy and fully
implement at this level of inorganic chemistry.
(The organic labs already incorporate lab
notebooks and do a great job of teaching its use).
I am finding out that not all Utah universities
are using lab notebooks at this level of Gen Chem labs, and
of those that do, only one actually teaches the rigors of
proper implementation. (Shout out to UVU for that).
I want to know what your university does. Which levels
and/or why or why not?
Here is a link to a rubric I modified from Prof. Tom
Strangfeld at UVU. (I was his lab aid in the late 80s early
90s)
Would love some thoughts and feedback.
Warm regards,
David EldrEdge
Co-Owner
NALTIC Industrials, LLC
888.891.0077
435.503.4972
