ELEC 243 Lab
Chapter 2
Your Lab Notebook
A lab notebook serves several functions.
In industry it serves as a legal document
to establish priority of invention
in patent disputes.
While we don't expect many patentable discoveries to come
out of 243 Lab, you should develop good notebook habits
in case you should go to work for a company that does have
such expectations.
In scientific research, it provides a record that allows you
to duplicate your work if you succeed at your endeavor
(or if you achieve some unexpected but significant result).
It's also useful in identifying what might have gone wrong
if you achieve neither your desired result
nor the discovery of a replacement for aniline.
With this background, let's see what your lab notebook
should look like.
The Book Itself
Each lab group will keep a single notebook.
The lab notebook must be a bound book
(i.e. sewn-in pages, not spiral or loose leaf)
with consecutively numbered pages.
If the pages are not numbered when you buy the notebook,
number them (every page) before using it.
Composition books having
quadrille ruled sheets
make good lab notebooks;
they allow tables, graphs, and circuit diagrams to be
laid out neatly.
Notebooks with duplicate pages and carbon paper are
impressive, but
rather messy and
not really necessary.
Format
Reserve the first few pages for a table of contents.
Each time you have a session with your notebook
(pre-lab calculations, during lab, or post-lab summary)
start a new page and make an entry in the table of contents.
At the top of the first page of a session,
write the date, lab number, title,
and the names of the team members.
Indicate which member is actually doing the writing.
Make all entries in ink.
If you make a mistake, draw a single line through it,
leaving it legible.
Some of the greatest advances in modern technology began
life as mistakes.
Use all pages consecutively; leave no blank pages.
Content
Your lab notebook will contain a record of each of the
phases of your weekly lab cycle.
Here are a few guidelines:
- Before Lab.
-
Before you come to lab, you should have a plan for what you're going
to do.
As you formulate this plan,
put any calculations, designs, ideas,
questions for the labbie, etc.
in your notebook.
To save time in lab, you can set up the tables and
graphs for the data you will be taking.
Another timesaver is to build some (or all) of your
circuits on your breadboard before lab.
Be sure to enter the diagrams into the notebook too.
- During Lab.
-
-
Describe the
experimental
setup completely but succinctly.
-
Include a complete diagram for each circuit you design or construct.
Label the values of each component, including units.
-
Indicate clearly the points in the circuit where
voltage or current measurements were taken.
-
All data should be recorded directly in to the notebook at the time
it is taken.
Never write data on scrap paper,
the backs of envelopes,
or the palm of your hand.
-
Multiple or sequential measurements should be recorded in a table.
Table headings should include the name of the variable and the units.
-
Graphs in this portion of the notebook are mainly for
your own benefit:
to verify that the data are reasonable and that
there is nothing amiss.
You may sketch them by hand or use
Matlab and glue or tape
them in place.
In either case, the actual data should be recorded in a table.
-
Label each axis of a graph, including units, and give each graph
a title describing what it is.
-
If something doesn't work or behaves unexpectedly,
make a note of it.
When you fix something, describe what was wrong and how you fixed it.
-
There are two types of questions in the lab handout:
numbered questions (labeled "Question 1:", etc)
and the "in-line" questions
that are interspersed with the description of the procedure
(e.g. "Did the bulb light?", "What was the current?").
The answers to these questions will form part of your
lab report, so be sure that you record enough information
to be able to answer each question.