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==Structure==
The guidelines for lab notebooks vary widely between institution and between individual labs, but some guidelines are fairly common, for example, like those in the reference.<ref>Hans Friedrich Ebel, Claus Bliefert, William E. Russey,"The art of scientific writing: from student reports to professional publications in chemistry and related fields", 2nd edition, Wiley, 2004, pp.15-20. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Aj1Filb-TvoC&pg=PA15&dq=laboratory+notebook&hl=en&ei=xKSjTZftFondgQeX_djaBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CFAQ6AEwAzgU#v=onepage&q=laboratory%20notebook&f=false (Google books)]</ref> The lab notebook is typically permanently bound and pages are numbered. Dates are given as a rule. All entries are with a permanent writing tool, e.g., a ballpoint pen (though a [[permanent marker]] may be undesirable, as the ink might bleed through multiple pages). The lab notebook is usually written as the experiments progress, rather than at a later date. In many laboratories, it is the original place of record of data (no copying is carried out from other notes) as well as any observations or insights. For data recorded by other means (e.g., on a computer), the lab notebook will record that the data was obtained and the identification of the data set will be given in the notebook.<ref>Martin Kühne and Andreas W. Liehr, "Improving the Traditional Information Management in Natural Sciences", Data Science Journal, 2009, 8, 18-26, [https://dx.doi.org/10.2481/dsj.8.18 DOI 10.2481/dsj.8.18]</ref> Many{{who|date=August 2020}} adhere to the concept that a lab notebook should be thought of as a diary of activities that are described in sufficient detail to allow another scientist to replicate the steps. In laboratories with several staff and a common laboratory notebook, entries in the notebook are signed by those making them.
==Legal aspects==
To ensure that data cannot be easily altered, notebooks with permanently bound pages are often recommended. Researchers are often encouraged{{by whom|date=August 2020}} to write only with unerasable pen, to sign and date each page, and to have their notebooks inspected periodically by another scientist who can read and understand it. All of these guidelines can be useful in proving exactly when a discovery was made, in the case of a patent dispute. It is worth noting however that following March 2013, lab notebooks are of limited legal use in the United States, due to a change in the law that grants patents to the first person to file, rather than the first person to invent.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} The lab notebook is still useful for proving that work was not stolen, but can no longer be used to dispute the patent of an unrelated party.
==Electronic formats==
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