When transitioning to LabArchives there are a few things to consider as you set up your lab.
Decide on a Notebook Structure
You can create as many notebooks as you like and you can organize the notebook through the folder structure. You can rename, move or remove any item in the Notebook Navigator (or notebook structure). For more information on Creating your Notebook, Click Here and for information on creating a Folder Structure Click Here
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Is your lab focused on projects or grants?
Project-based or Grant-based notebooks: You may want to create a notebook according to a specific project and add lab members assigned to that project. You can set up folders for project goals, a folder for each lab member, or organize the notebook by date.
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Does each researcher need their own Notebook?
Researcher-based notebooks: You may want to create a notebook for each member of the lab. This is a great way to manage small labs because it can be customized for each individual. Each lab member can create their own folder structure based on the projects they are working on. -
Do you want to share common documents like lab protocols, forms, inventory?
Lab-based notebook: Some labs prefer to keep all work in a single notebook and use folders and subfolders to divide the notebook. This is a great way to get started with LabArchives and makes it easy to add new lab members. -
Do you want to have standard notebook format?
Template based notebooks: If you work in several notebooks, you may want to create a template for a standardized folder structure. You can clone the template notebook whenever you need through the Notebook Manager. For information on the Notebook Manager, Click Here. -
Do you have equipment in the lab that outputs raw data?
Instrument-based notebook: Researchers can copy raw data from this notebook to analyze it. This is great for new analysis methods on old data taken by former lab members. It could also be incorporated into the other three structures, i.e. a folder for each instrument in the Lab-based structure.
For more information on setting up your lab notebooks, Click Here.
Create Notebook Policies and Control Access to the notebook
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Who is the Notebook Owner?
In most cases, a PI or a Lab Manager will own all notebooks and share these notebooks with other members of the team. You can transfer ownership of a notebook through Notebook Settings for more information Click Here. -
Who is allowed to share data with others?
The Owner of the notebook and any individual with the User Role of Account Administrator or Notebook Administrator can share the notebook with others. Administrators can also make changes to the Notebook Settings. Typically, the Account Administrator or Notebook Administrator is a Lab Manager. To avoid unwanted sharing, you may prefer to assign the User Role of "User." For more information on User Roles Click Here. NOTE: If your institution allows public sharing, the Notebook Owner and Account Administrator, and Notebook Administrator can share data publicly through DOI or through a Share URL. For more information on sharing data publicly click here. -
Do you want to setup "Can View" or "Can Edit" rights to different parts of a notebook?
You can setup custom permissions throughout an entire notebook. You can share anything from a single entry to an entire notebook and provide users with edit, view, or no access to different parts of the notebook. This can be useful if you want to share data but prevent the user from editing the data. -
Do you want to allow page signing or witnessing in the notebook?
Page Signing and witnessing can permanently freeze the page to indicate a final version. This is a great way to increase supervisor involvement and prevent future edits to a page. For more information on Page Signing Click Here.