Chapter 24. Research and Other Sponsored Programs
Section 24.2. Research Projects

24.2.6.1. Research Notebooks

Research Notebooks: A standardized notebook that is used to record and maintain adequate records of all work by research institute staff members of the University conducting research. Academic faculty are also encouraged to keep research notebooks.

The purpose of research notebooks is twofold. The first purpose is to communicate technological achievement to appropriate University management. The second purpose is to provide an accurate record in a form which is acceptable to the Patent Office, or in a court of law, to serve as proof or to assist in proving that an invention was first conceived and made by the University inventor.

The following items describe the standard form and contents of a research notebook at the University:

1. The notebook shall be bound and pages numbered sequentially. (Secondary records or duplicate pages should be made periodically and stored in another area to prevent loss.)



2. Entries are to be made in ink or indelible pencil.



3. Each page shall contain the date (month, day, and year) and the signature of the individual conducting the work.



4. The work shall be identified with a description of the project or a project number.



5. Notes shall be in sufficient detail to provide understanding and repetition of the work performed:



1. Describe the idea or conception of the invention or technical achievement.



2. Describe the experimental procedure or plan.



3. Describe the equipment use, how it operates, and conditions of operation.



6. Data shall be entered directly in the notebook with an analysis and conclusion which can be derived from the data.



7. Information entered shall be original, not transcribed, and shall be dated, signed, and witnessed. Data from equipment, graphs, etc. should be identified and referenced in the notebook.



8. Provide an identifying code for any sample or product developed. The code should be placed on the compound or product and entered in the notebook. This code should be used for tracking the sample or product and is particularly helpful when something is sent out for evaluation.



9. Mistakes should be crossed out, initialed, and dated. The correction should be noted chronologically on the next available page. Pages should not be obliterated or removed.



10. Unfilled pages shall have an X drawn from the point just below the last entry to the line provided for witnessing on the bottom of the page.



11. Conception and reduction to practice pages of the notebook shall be read, understood, witnessed, dated, and signed by one and preferably two persons other than the note-keeper, but NOT by the co-inventor. Witnessing shall be done no later than one week following the entry.


NOTE: A co-inventor is someone who makes an intellectual rather than purely experimental contribution to the work.


12. Internal reports made weekly, monthly, or quarterly to the principal investigator’s supervisor will serve as back up to the notebook. At a minimum, such reports should contain:



1. Critical dates



2. A summary of results



3. A list of all persons working on the project and the function of each



4. Sample and/or product codes