Requirements for Experimental Notebooks MIT Department of Physics (Dated: March 14, 2007) 1. THE ROLE OF THE SCIENTIFIC or tape into your notebook. Analysis scripts, func NOTEBOOK tional forms for non-linear fits. etc. should always be present in your notebooks Learning to maintain a laboratory notebook is one of the most important skills you will develop in Junior Lab Note typical"readings"and instrumental settings a good laboratory notebook is essential when you be- so to be able to quickly setup an experiment on in to write papers or to develop oral presentations sum subsequent days marizing your experimental efforts. A clear well-written Sketch waveforms at various places within the sig- narrative that includes experimental schematics, plots of nal chain. This will help ensure your understanding of each component and permit you to rapidly iden- able you to receive quick feedback and assistance during tify equipment failure lab sessions from peers, TAs and section instructors a poorly maintained notebook will prove immensely When tabulating data, make neat columns with frustrating to you and your instructor. It is very diffi headings and always note correct units cult to answer questions like why didn't the experiment work'or why was my result off by an order of magi Dont wait until after the session has ended to visu- tude? without being able to clearly and easily trace your ally examine the quality of your data. Make prelim- efforts using your notebook. Don't count on being able nary, hand drawn plots of data, AS THEY ARE o recall the gain of your amplifier even one day after a ACQUIRED. These initial plots will very often lab session!!! save you time and frustration in making sure that Finally, we hope that your Junior Lab notebook(s)will your data are reasonable and suggestive of the be hold an honorable place on your bookshelf alongside fu havior you expect. The importance of making ture notebooks you will create as a professional scientist preliminary plots and analyses in real-time cannot be overstated in the vears ahead Your notebook should contain diagrams. narra- tives, tables of raw data, formulas, computations. 2. GENERAL GUIDELINES reduced data, error analysis and conclusions in a neat compact, orderly arrangement Create a descriptive table of contents and make an entry every time you add new materia 2.1. Additional Junior Lab Requirements Date Sign and date each page demonstrating authentic- For each experiment you perform, your notebook hould contain the following Don't ever erase, use white-out, or tear out pages List the objectives of the experiment. Restate the of a lab notebook. Indicate"mistakes" by simply essential physics of the experiment in your own words!!! drawing a single, neat line through the item. These may prove to not so incorrect as initially thought Preparatory questions and solutions nd will very often be useful as a guide to how the experiment was done and provide clues on how to a block diagram of experimental apparatus. better execute the experiment next time A list of things you have to do and the data you Loose-leaf pages are never acceptable within a lab notebook. Graphics or tables generated by com- puter must be neatly taped into the notebook. Re- Identify the required calibrations member to annotate these types of graphics with Attempt to forsee how particular problems can be s much information about how they were created circumvented Bring your notebook to every lab session and Identify the location of the data files or long anal- to all oral exams. Failure to do so will result in ysis programs if they are too big to directly enter penalties to your grade
Requirements for Experimental Notebooks MIT Department of Physics (Dated: March 14, 2007) 1. THE ROLE OF THE SCIENTIFIC NOTEBOOK Learning to maintain a laboratory notebook is one of the most important skills you will develop in Junior Lab. A good laboratory notebook is essential when you begin to write papers or to develop oral presentations summarizing your experimental efforts. A clear well-written narrative that includes experimental schematics, plots of raw data, and details of your analysis methods will enable you to receive quick feedback and assistance during lab sessions from peers, TA’s and section instructors. A poorly maintained notebook will prove immensely frustrating to you and your instructor. It is very diffi- cult to answer questions like ’why didn’t the experiment work’ or ’why was my result off by an order of magnitude?’ without being able to clearly and easily trace your efforts using your notebook. Don’t count on being able to recall the gain of your amplifier even one day after a lab session!!! Finally, we hope that your Junior Lab notebook(s) will hold an honorable place on your bookshelf alongside future notebooks you will create as a professional scientist in the years ahead. 2. GENERAL GUIDELINES • Create a descriptive table of contents and make an entry every time you add new material: Date ———- Contents ———- Page • Sign and date each page demonstrating authenticity. • Don’t ever erase, use white-out, or tear out pages of a lab notebook. Indicate “mistakes” by simply drawing a single, neat line through the item. These may prove to not so incorrect as initially thought and will very often be useful as a guide to how the experiment was done and provide clues on how to better execute the experiment next time. • Loose-leaf pages are never acceptable within a lab notebook. Graphics or tables generated by computer must be neatly taped into the notebook. Remember to annotate these types of graphics with as much information about how they were created as possible. • Identify the location of the data files or long analysis programs if they are too big to directly enter or tape into your notebook. Analysis scripts, functional forms for non-linear fits, etc. should always be present in your notebooks. • Note typical “readings” and instrumental settings so to be able to quickly setup an experiment on subsequent days. • Sketch waveforms at various places within the signal chain. This will help ensure your understanding of each component and permit you to rapidly identify equipment failure. • When tabulating data, make neat columns with headings and always note correct units. • Don’t wait until after the session has ended to visually examine the quality of your data. Make preliminary, hand drawn plots of data, AS THEY ARE ACQUIRED. These initial plots will very often save you time and frustration in making sure that your data are reasonable and suggestive of the behavior you expect. The importance of making preliminary plots and analyses in real-time cannot be overstated. • Your notebook should contain diagrams, narratives, tables of raw data, formulas, computations, reduced data, error analysis and conclusions in a neat compact, orderly arrangement. 2.1. Additional Junior Lab Requirements For each experiment you perform, your notebook should contain the following: • List the objectives of the experiment. Restate the essential physics of the experiment in your own words!!! • Preparatory questions and solutions • A block diagram of experimental apparatus. • A list of things you have to do and the data you must obtain. • Identify the required calibrations. • Attempt to forsee how particular problems can be circumvented. Bring your notebook to every lab session and to all oral exams. Failure to do so will result in penalties to your grade!
