Documenting Your Research with LabArchives
There are many ways to document your data, observations, notes, and other evidence generated during the research process. Northwestern University provides a site license to an Electronic Research Notebook (ERN) platform called LabArchives to digitize and organize these materials.
Electronic Research Notebook (ERN)
As you conduct your research, you likely already maintain a record of your research in a paper notebook, Word document, OneNote notebook, or other electronic format. Depending on where you store these artifacts, there is a risk of data loss or corruption due to human error or technology failure. An electronic research notebook is a place to store and share your research notes that provides the following features:
- A permanent, version-controlled record of your research
- Integration of your research data and other files into your notes
Northwestern’s Electronic Research Notebook Service (ERNS)
Northwestern University has a site license for the LabArchives Electronic Lab Notebook for research. See the Service catalog entry for more information about features and limitations.
Getting Started
Anyone with a Northwestern NetID can log in to LabArchives and using their Northwestern email address to join the University's site license.
- See LabArchives Getting Started guides for advice on how to set up your new notebook.
- The LabArchives Help Center is also a great resource for information on the platform.
ERNS Use Cases
Despite the name LabArchives, researchers from a variety of disciplines can benefit from its use. See the following articles from LabArchives to learn more:
- Chemistry Research
- Humanities and Social Sciences Research
- Clinical Research
- Computational Research
- Core Facilities, Shared Services, and Research Services
Training Opportunities
LabArchives is offering introductory online webinars via Zoom for Northwestern researchers. Registration is required. Topics include building a notebook that compliments research workflow and lab structure, identifying best practices and tips for managing a lab notebook with member access management and the activity feed, and maximizing collaboration across their notebook with lab members while protecting their intellectual property. Please visit the Research Events web page for more information.
Support
LabArchives provides user support for using the LabArchives platform. Email support@labarchives.com for help using LabArchives.
Northwestern IT provides support for Northwestern-specific questions. Please email ern-help@northwestern.edu.