Journal vs Notebook
For those science nerds out there – I say this with love, as a self-proclaimed one myself, you may have noticed this project is called Her Lab Journal and not notebook. Typically when you work in a lab, you as the researcher do not own the notebook where you capture your work. “Your work” isn’t even the best description instead think of the activities you do as the intellectual property of the institution that your lab supports.
“… this project is more suited to highlight the fluidity of ideas and to evaluate the usefuleness of them.”
A few notes on the fluidity of ideas
According to Dr. Philip Ryan from the National Institute of Health’s Office of Intramural Training & Education1:
A lab notebook is a complete record of procedures (the actions you take), the reagents you use, the observations you make (these are the data), and the relevant thought processes that would enable another scientist to reproduce your observations. In other words, it’s meant to contain succinct methodology
In conclusion, a lab notebook is your legacy – it captures a specific time in your career.
As nice as creating a legacy sounds, I believe this project is more suited to highlight the fluidity of ideas and to evaluate their usefulness. Like a standard journal, I hope this will be a platform that allows me to take home ideas and test out inklings of what is true in this world. Unlike a notebook which must stay at the lab, this journal will be a take-home tool for the expression of ideas, the development of hypothesizes, and reflections of real-world experiences or experiments.
Expectations for this project
As the reader, what can you expect from reviewing Her Lab journal? Although this isn’t a formal lab notebook, I will try to provide the following components in my content:
- Hypothesis or goal;
- Background;
- Information on the experiments or experiences (observations and analysis); and
- Ideas for future opportunities to explore
Although, I make no promises of adhering to this rigid presentation structure 😀