Documenting Your Research
There are many ways to document your data, observations, notes, and other evidence generated during the research process. Northwestern University provides a site license to an Electronic Research Notebook (ERN) platform called LabArchives to digitize and organize these materials.
Electronic Research Notebook (ERN)
As you conduct your research, you likely already maintain a record of your research in a paper notebook, Word document, OneNote notebook, or other electronic format. Depending on where you store these artifacts, there is a risk of data loss or corruption due to human error or technology failure. An electronic research notebook is a place to store and share your research notes that provides the following features:
- A permanent, version-controlled record of your research
- Integration of your research data and other files into your notes
Northwestern’s Electronic Research Notebook Service (ERNS)
Northwestern University has a site license for the LabArchives Electronic Lab Notebook for research. See the Service catalog entry for more information about features and limitations.
Getting Started
Anyone with a Northwestern NetID can log in to LabArchives and using their Northwestern email address to join the University's site license.
- See LabArchives Getting Started guides for advice on how to set up your new notebook.
- The LabArchives Help Center is also a great resource for information on the platform.
ERNS Use Cases
Despite the name LabArchives, researchers from a variety of disciplines can benefit from its use. See the following articles from LabArchives to learn more:
- Chemistry Research
- Humanities and Social Sciences Research
- Clinical Research
- Computational Research
- Core Facilities, Shared Services, and Research Services
Support
LabArchives provides user support for using the LabArchives platform. Email support@labarchives.com for help using LabArchives.
Northwestern IT provides support for Northwestern-specific questions. Please email ern-help@northwestern.edu.