Most important features when choosing an electronic lab notebook

11 Most Important
Electronic Lab Notebook Features
www.scinote.netFree Open Source ELN

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ELN Features Checklist
Most important electronic lab notebook features you would want
to check before making a final decision
Free Open Source ELN

Is the electronic lab notebook easy to use?
How much time for implementation can you afford?
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1. Ease of Use

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Try to choose an ELN that doesn’t require complex integration
or intensive trainings before you are ready to use it.
Some companies offer fully functional versions of ELN for free
and payments only apply if you need additional modifications
or more storage space.
Ease of Use

Does the digital notebook enable search option that allows
you to search through all your data and contents of the
attached files?
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2. Search through files

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Can you find your data easily?
Advanced search is actually one of the biggest advantages of
ELNs.
It enables you to instantly find those results you saved a couple
of weeks or a couple of years ago.
Search through files

Can you import different files e.g. .txt, .xls, .jpeg, .pdf and
other?
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3. Saving different types of files

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The main purpose of digital notebooks should be to organize
your research and replace your paper notebooks completely.
This means that you should be able to save your notes,
different file types, pictures, figures and everything else all in
one place.
Saving different types of files

Do you ever need to summarize your results for the PI, lab manager
or a grant?
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4.Writing and creating reports within an ELN

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Can you gather specific data you would like to include in your
report, edit it and print it?
Is there any automated way for creating reports within the
ELN? How flexible is it?
Writing and creating reports within an ELN

How big is your team?Would more people be using the digital
notebook? Is it important that only certain people see certain data?
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5. Collaboration with your team

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Can you collaborate with colleagues on the same or different
projects?
If you are working with students, can you use the ELN to
monitor their work and activities?
Try to define user preferences that suit your team and meet
your levels of privacy, authority and organization.
Collaboration with your team

Are you looking for a free solution? Some available options on
the market use freemium models, others offer paid
subscription, some are completely free.
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6. Defining your budget

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You should be able to discuss all pricing details with someone
from the support team.The support team should be
transparent about it all so you know what to expect when it
comes to initial and future costs.
Defining your budget

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7. Cloud or local?What to choose?
There are different regulatory requirements for scientific
data storage depending on your location and your line of
work

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Today, the vast majority of software solutions and applications we
use operate in a cloud.This means that your data will be safely
saved on remote servers by one of the established cloud providers,
for exampleAmazon.
Some ELN vendors also offer possibility to install ELN on your
institution’s servers.
It is possible that cloud solutions are not accepted by your
institution due to the data safety regulations.
Cloud or local?What to choose?

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More articles about saving research data in the cloud:
I am concerned about using software in the cloud, can you tell me more
about that?
http://scinote.net/electronic-lab-notebook-tour-10-frequently-asked-
questions/
Saving scientific data in the cloud – biggest hurdles to overcome
http://scinote.net/saving-scientific-data-cloud-biggest-hurdles-overcome/
Cloud or local?What to choose?

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8. Printing your data
Can you easily print data from the digital notebook?

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Most probably you won’t be able to avoid printing or signing
reports completely, so it is useful to be able to print your data
from the ELN anytime you need it on paper.
Printing your data

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9. Exporting your data
Can you easily export all your data from the digital
notebook?

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If you ever decide to change the ELN vendor, it is very
important that you can export your data in the format that is
suitable for your further use.
Exporting your data

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10. Data archiving
It is important that your data is safely archived on a cloud
or on the local servers.

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Around 17% of scientific data is lost each year. So make sure
you can archive all your data to be able to retrieve it if you ever
need it again, instead of completely deleting it.
Data archiving

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11. Meeting the support team
Make sure you can contact the team behind the ELN and
ask them any question that wasn’t obvious from your
online search.

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Check how responsive the support team is. Are they ready to
listen to your needs and take them into account?
Live, online demonstrations of ELNs are a good way to meet
the team behind the ELN, see how it works, ask questions
directly and discuss your needs with the product specialists.
Meeting the support team

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No software is perfect, but out of cca 100 ELNs to choose from,
there is at least one that fits your needs.
What else is important to you?

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If you want to learn more about ELN‘s, check out our blog
for researchers who want to go digital :
http://scinote.net/blog/

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Free Open Source Electronic Lab Notebook
Thank you!

Most important features when choosing an electronic lab notebook

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