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ELNs provide secure collaboration with fellow researchers for the collection and management of research data.
Electronic lab notebooks are alternatives to traditional paper lab notebook. In 2016, the Research IT Board highlighted them as a potential area of investment, and after a careful selection process, the LabArchives web-based ELN system is now available to all members of the University of Oxford. See the LabArchives help pages for details of how to register and access this service.
Reproduced below are the practical suggestions distilled from the earlier stages of the Oxford ELN project, in which best practice was analysed through interviews with researchers at Oxford and at other institutions already using ELN solutions:
Groups that successfully move from a paper to digital will find it easier to search and share a rich record of their research.
An electronic record of research must enable researchers to prove the provenance of their work: i.e. records should be timestamped, signed, and where appropriate cosigned.
Specialist software called electronic lab notebooks (ELNs) can be used in place of paper notebooks because they are compliant with strict information security controls and regulation such as ‘CFR Part 11’.
ELNs must be procured with the following points in mind:
Once a research group has chosen an ELN it will need to develop ‘good practices’ along the following lines: