#Graph paper notebook software#
#Graph paper notebook professional#

If you accidentally leave the lab notebook behind or lose it, someone will be able to reach you if the notebook is found. Put your name, your teacher's name (if it applies), and some form of contact information, like an email address or phone number, in a prominent location, like the inside cover. Once you have selected a lab notebook, the following tips and techniques will help you get started keeping an organized, well-maintained lab notebook for your science or engineering project: Using a Lab Notebook Getting Started with Your Science Laboratory Notebook What Makes a Great Science Project Logbook. Portions of this lab notebook overview were adapted from an earlier document written for Science Buddies: Rebbeck, Ph.D., Joanne. CreditsĪmy Cowen and Sandra Slutz, Ph.D., Science Buddies The pages are too easy to rip out and lose, especially if the notebook has perforated pages!įor additional information about purchasing lab notebooks, see the 'Where to Buy' tab.

Do not choose an ordinary spiral-bound notebook. Look for a notebook with lined or graph-paper style pages and a stiff cover. A bound notebook or standard composition book will often work. While nice, an official lab notebook is not always necessary. Students should check with their teachers before using this lab notebook method.

#Graph paper notebook professional#

Electronic lab notebooks are becoming more common in the professional world and for citizen science collaborations but are not yet common for science and engineering fairs. Electronic lab notebooks are simple to organize and make it easy to share data with other scientists (or a teacher).

#Graph paper notebook software#

Lab notebooks can also be kept using software or an online tool.

This format is ideal for keeping the originals and giving copies to research partners or a teacher. With high-quality, hard-to-tear paper, these notebooks are generally rugged and designed to stand up to lots of handling.ĭuplicate style lab notebooks are a subset of the official lab notebooks style with the added feature of carbonless duplicate sets. Official laboratory notebooks may also include quick reference materials like the periodic table, metric conversions, or an amino acid codon table. Official lab notebooks often include useful and convenient features like a designated area for creating a table of contents and numbered pages for easy cross-referencing. Composition books are easy to find at local stores and are inexpensive. Hard covers make the book even more durable, but a soft or cardboard cover will work too. (Click the 'Using a Lab Notebook' tab for specific tips, techniques, and reminders.)Ī bound spine ( not spiral binding) makes it difficult for pages to be easily torn out and lost. Keeping a lab notebook is easy! The most important thing to do is to 'use' your lab notebook. Similarly, writing down your product design ideas, engineering challenges, and product testing data will help you keep track of all of your ideas, what you have already tried, and how well a particular design performed. With a complete record of the project in your lab notebook, you can look back at your notes later if a question arises or if you decide to pursue a related project based on something you observed. By recording the steps of your procedure, your observations, and any questions that arise as you go, you create a record of the project that documents exactly what you did and when you did it. Many science projects require a number of steps and multiple trials. Used properly, your lab notebook contains a detailed and permanent account of every step of your project, from the initial brainstorming to the final data analysis and research report. A lab notebook is an important part of any research or engineering project. Whether you are a research scientist, an engineer, or a first-time science fair student, you should use a lab notebook to document your science investigations, experiments, and product designs. Overview Keep a Great Science or Engineering Project Laboratory Notebook