About

Electronic research notebooks (ERNs) help researchers to manage the results of research efforts, record and document research processes and procedures, and manage digital research data in ways that increase reproducibility, efficiency, collaboration, searchability, and security.
Drexel University has purchased an enterprise license for LabArchives electronic research notebook (ERN) services for use by its faculty, researchers, staff, graduate students, and undergraduate students in performing or learning research activities.  

LabArchives and their notebook software interface is securely accessible via the internet from anywhere in the world, using modern web browsers on desktops, laptops, and mobile devices. LabArchives can be used for both research and teaching. This license is funded by the Office of Research & Innovation, in partnership with the Office of the Executive Vice President for Research and is provided at no cost to you.

There are a number of very important decisions and considerations that Principal Investigators (PIs) or instructors must make and take into account to determine if a cloud service such as LabArchives is an appropriate choice for where to store research data or manage student work. 
This website is intended to outline the benefits with using an ERN and serve as a guide to start using LabArchives.

Why Lab Archives?

• LabArchives provides the leading ERN on the market with multiple built-in widgets for customization
• A cloud-based solution that can be accessed from anywhere
• Compatible with multiple platforms and devices (including smart phones and tablets)
• Tools that enable compliance with funding agencies' data management requirements
• The only ERN service provider approved for Internet2 higher education member universities
• Efficient review processes for lab notebooks, in both the classroom and research contexts
• Excellent customer service

Key Features

LabArchive's Electronic Research Notebook solution provides a number of benefits to help researchers record, manage and access research data from anywhere. A summary of benefits is below:

• Accessible outside the laboratory
• Searchable
• Adaptable content 
  • Able to link to different pages/entries, reducing the need to re-write experimental procedures that are used regularly
  • Add and view data files
• Sharable
  • Access can be controlled by permissions role
  • Securely share with collaborators outside Drexel University
• Interoperability (read data from instrumentation)
• Provides an audit trail
  • Timestamp and user
  • Track changes on documentation
• Drawing tools, like Chemdoodle
• Ability to record other relevant material
  • Protocols
  • Citations (citation manager built-in)
  • Brainstorming
• Flexible and customizable
• Widgets
  • Build/share your own widgets
  • Delivered
    • Acid and Base Molarity Calculator
    • Bacterial Growth Calculator
    • Buffer Calculator
    • Chemical Inventory
    • Chemical Sketcher
    • Dilution Calculator
    • DNA-RNA Calculator
    • Example 1 - Density of an unknown Liquid
    • Example 2 - Acidity of a Liquid
    • Fire Diamond Widget
    • Freezer Box - General
    • Google Calendar
    • Google Docs
    • Lab Recipes Calculator
    • Meeting Template
    • Molarity Calculator
    • Molecular Weight Calculator
    • PCR Calculator
    • Periodic Table
    • Plasmid Database
    • Radioactivity Calculator
    • Scientific Calculator
    • Spreadsheet
    • Unit Converter

Collaborating and sharing

• Flexible permissions and roles for lab members and collaborators
• Permissions can be set at the level of notebook, page, or entry
• A timestamp and record of every user and action is created within the ERN and cannot be deleted.