FAQ's
What is LabArchives?
LabArchives is a secure cloud-based electronic research notebook application enabling researchers to create, store, share and manage their research data. LabArchives provides a flexible, extensible platform that can be customized to match a research lab’s workflow providing benefits to Principal Investigators, lab managers & staff, post-doctoral fellows and grad students. The classroom edition provides instructors features to manage, engage, monitor and evaluate students’ laboratory work.
Who is eligible for an account on Drexel’s LabArchives?
All faculty, students, and staff with a valid Drexel email address are eligible.
What courses are eligible to use the Classroom Edition of LabArchives?
Why should I use the ERN instead of OneNote, Evernote, Google Drive, or Box?
Advantages of using LabArchives to store your digital research data instead of popular consumer tools include:
- Additional legal and security protections
- Permanency of digital data
- Auditability
- Assists in compliance with Penn and governmental policies
- Searchability
- Signing and Witnessing
- Customization features such as templates, widgets, protocols
- Integration with other software and services
How will I access my notebooks if there is an outage or loss of connectivity?
The LabArchives service has been in use at several higher education institutions and has a record of high availability. However, your access to LabArchives, like other web-based services, is dependent on Internet connectivity. If you are offline, or if the LabArchives service is down, you will not be able to edit or access the most recent version of your notebooks. Therefore, it is recommended that you establish a backup strategy that includes exporting and archiving notebooks (both PDF and HTML formats can be exported). In addition, keeping secondary copies of data and other types of files in another location may ensure your access to critical files in the event of an outage. Note that these are good backup strategies even if no outages occur.
How long can I count on the ERN service being available?
The campus has a multi-year site license for the LabArchives service. During the initial years of the service, a campus ERN Advisory group will evaluate how well the ERN service fits the needs of researchers and determine future direction. It is very likely that ERNs are here to stay, provided they offer benefits to researchers, instructors and students.
What are the advantages of using an Electronic Research Notebook?
Here are just a few of the highlights: Elimination of paper notebooks and need for large amounts of shelf space
- Ability to access your notebook from anywhere
- Easily comply with Data Management and Data Sharing Federal and publication requirements by sharing DOIs or public URL
- View/ manage group members’ notebooks and retain them even when they are no longer at Drexel University
- Intellectual property controls (versioning, timestamp, electronic signature that is FDA Title 21 CFR Part 11 compliant)
What entry formats are supported?
Rich text data, tables, images, sketches, as well as annotations of images.
Are there trainings?
Drexel University will have periodic informational sessions on LabArchives. There are online
tutorials and
webinars to assist users.
What features are integrated?
Integrates with GraphPad Prism, MS-Office, PubMed, and provides for easy customization. There are other widgets available for added flexibility.
What operating systems support LabArchives?
Supports Windows, Mac (including mobile devices), Android, and Linux.
Can I use LabArchives from a Mobile device?
Does LabArchives offer electronic signatures?
Yes, and once signed, those pages are no longer editable. LabArchives is also 21 CFR Part 11 compliant for files under 250 MB in size. More information can be found
here in the LabArchives Knowledgebase.
Where will my data be stored?
LabArchives hosts all its software and customer data at Amazon data centers located in two regions: the primary is US East (Virginia) and their failover is US West (Oregon). Data is always stored within the United States and does not travel outside of US borders.
What if I have data files that are too numerous or large to upload?
There is a maximum notebook size of 1 terabyte and a maximum individual file size of 4 gigabyte. To include larger files in your ERN document, you will need to store them elsewhere and link to them from an ERN entry. It may be useful to include information about the server location and file names in the ERN entries that point to linked files. This imperfect approach does not guarantee that files linked remain intact, unaltered, and accessible for many years. Linked files are not protected or verified by the LabArchives software, so policies should be set in place to ensure that linked files are never changed or moved.
Does anyone at Drexel or LabArchives have access to my research data?
No. No University or LabArchives employee can view your laboratory notebook without your permission and/or knowledge.
Who can access my account and my data?
As the owner of the lab notebook, you have full administrative control, including what is shared, with whom, and what they are allowed to view and edit within your notebook. You can maintain both private and collaborative information within your LabArchives account.
Can I export or download my notebooks? I am concerned about network or power disruptions.
Yes. You may follow the
instructions in the LabArchives Knowledgebase to create an offline version of your notebook in formats such as PDF or HTML. You can then store, print, or access your notebooks as you would any other files.
I am new to Drexel and used LabArchives at another institution. Can I transfer my data?
I am leaving Drexel. Can I retain my data?
My collaborator is leaving Drexel. Can we transfer their data to stay at Drexel?
Yes. If relevant to your situation, you may wish to review the Procedural Guidelines for Principal Investigators Leaving Drexel University. Additionally, you can find information on transferring ownership of notebooks in the
LabArchives KnowledgeBase.
Will I be able to use LabArchives with collaborators outside my lab?
Yes, there are several options that will allow you to use LabArchives with collaborators outside your lab. Levels of access, from read-only to full editing privileges, can be set for all users. More information can be found in the LabArchives KnowledgeBase.
Is it okay to store Protected Health Information (PHI) in LabArchives?
Where can I get support for myself and my students for the Classroom addition?
Are TAs or other instructors able to access students’ notebooks?
Yes. Anyone with a valid Drexel email address can access our LabArchives subscription. For instructions on giving access to TAs and other instructors, go to this section of the
LabArchives KnowledgeBase.
Is there any feedback mechanisms for my students’ notebooks?
Yes, instructors can provide feedback on their students’ notebooks via the comment feature. For more information, see the LabArchives KnowledgeBase.
What happens if the contract with LabArchives terminates or LabArchives goes out of business?
The contract between LabArchives and Drexel University is covered by the Office of Research & Innovation. If, for any reason, the contract is terminated, LabArchives agrees to maintain all of the Drexel data in a 'read-only' format and allow users to export the data for a period of 3 (three) years from the date the subscription terminates. The data remains the sole and exclusive property of Drexel University consistent with the Intellectual Property Policy.