Riley Erin M, Hattaway Holly Z, Felse P Arthur
Master of Biotechnology Program, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208 USA.
Present address: Catalent Pharmaceuticals, 726 Heartland Trail, Madison, WI 53717 USA.
J Biol Eng. 2017 Nov 24;11:40. doi: 10.1186/s13036-017-0083-2. eCollection 2017.
Electronic lab notebooks (ELNs) are better equipped than paper lab notebooks (PLNs) to handle present-day life science and engineering experiments that generate large data sets and require high levels of data integrity. But limited training and a lack of workforce with ELN knowledge have restricted the use of ELN in academic and industry research laboratories which still rely on cumbersome PLNs for recordkeeping. We used LabArchives, a cloud-based ELN in our bioprocess engineering lab course to train students in electronic record keeping, good documentation practices (GDPs), and data integrity.
Implementation of ELN in the bioprocess engineering lab course, an analysis of user experiences, and our development actions to improve ELN training are presented here. ELN improved pedagogy and learning outcomes of the lab course through stream lined workflow, quick data recording and archiving, and enhanced data sharing and collaboration. It also enabled superior data integrity, simplified information exchange, and allowed real-time and remote monitoring of experiments. Several attributes related to positive user experiences of ELN improved between the two subsequent years in which ELN was offered. Student responses also indicate that ELN is better than PLN for compliance.
We demonstrated that ELN can be successfully implemented in a lab course with significant benefits to pedagogy, GDP training, and data integrity. The methods and processes presented here for ELN implementation can be adapted to many types of laboratory experiments.
电子实验室笔记本（ELN）比纸质实验室笔记本（PLN）更有能力处理当今生成大量数据集且需要高水平数据完整性的生命科学和工程实验。但有限的培训以及缺乏具备ELN知识的劳动力，限制了ELN在学术和工业研究实验室中的使用，这些实验室仍依赖繁琐的PLN进行记录保存。我们在生物过程工程实验室课程中使用了基于云的ELN——LabArchives，来培训学生进行电子记录保存、良好文件规范（GDP）和数据完整性方面的知识。
本文介绍了在生物过程工程实验室课程中ELN的实施情况、用户体验分析以及我们为改进ELN培训所采取的开发行动。ELN通过简化工作流程、快速数据记录和存档以及增强数据共享与协作，改善了实验室课程的教学方法和学习成果。它还实现了卓越的数据完整性，简化了信息交换，并允许对实验进行实时和远程监控。在提供ELN的随后两年中，与ELN积极用户体验相关的几个属性有所改善。学生的反馈也表明，在合规方面ELN比PLN更好。
我们证明了ELN可以在实验室课程中成功实施，对教学方法、GDP培训和数据完整性有显著益处。本文介绍的ELN实施方法和流程可适用于多种类型的实验室实验。
