FAQ on the electronic Lab Book (ELN)
Who can I contact if I have questions or problems?
I have forgotten my password for the eLabJournal or I can no longer log in
Can I save data from research with human samples in the electronic lab notebook?
Can I collaborate with other users who are not in my workgroup?
Why use an electronic lab notebook?
What data and data volumes can be entered into the electronic lab notebook?
Which data formats are supported by the electronic lab notebook?
Who can see or access my data?
What happens if researchers leave, the group no longer uses the ELN or the service is discontinued?
Every beginning is hard...
The transition of laboratory documentation to an electronic system naturally involves some initial effort. Especially at the beginning of using the electronic lab notebook, it makes sense to think about which working groups should be mapped as a separate group in the electronic lab notebook and how the work in the groups can be organized in a rational way in order to enable uniform and clearly arranged collaboration. The documentation includes a quick start guide and some best practices for new users.
Initial considerations may include, for example
- What is a project in the group? What is a study and what is an experiment?
- Are naming conventions useful and if so, where?
- What are the minimum requirements for documentation (especially of shared resources)?
- Who needs which rights? Who should be able to see, comment on and edit what?
- Which add-ons are available in the Marketplace and which are useful for your own work?
- Should sample locations (freezers etc.) be mapped in the eLab and if so, how precisely?
Who can I contact if I have questions or problems?
If you have any questions or problems relating to the eLabJournal that cannot be solved using the documentation or the answers provided here, you can contact the Research Deanery at any time via forschungsdekanat-elabjournal@ukaachen.de, as you can for license requests. You can also contact the manufacturer's support team directly at support@elabnext.com at any time, especially if you have technical questions or if the functionality fails.
I have forgotten my password for the eLabJournal or I can no longer log in
Access to the eLabJournal is regulated via an SSO mechanism. To be able to log in to the electronic lab journal, you need an @ukaachen.de e-mail address and your corresponding password - you do not need to set a separate password for this purpose, but always log in with your user name (e-mail address without "@ukaachen.de") and your UKA password.
If you are unable to log in, you can first check whether the problem has one of the following common causes:
- Check that you are logging into the correct server: elab.cloud.ukaachen.de. The faculty's electronic lab book runs in the UKA's own cloud, not on the servers of the manufacturer eLabNext.
- Have you entered your user name correctly (without "@ukaachen.de") or have you recently changed the password of your UKA account and still have the old password saved in your browser?
- In rare cases, the login problem may persist. In these cases, it is best to send an e-mail with a screenshot of the error message to forschungsdekanat-elabjournal@ukaachen.de.
Can I save data from research with human samples in the electronic lab notebook?
Documentation of research with samples of human origin in the ELN is only permitted if they have undergone the double pseudonymization process of the Biobank RWTH cBMB. It is not necessary to store the respective samples for this purpose. Personal data of the donors associated with the samples may not be documented in the ELN.
A description of the process can be found in the electronic lab book.
Can I collaborate with other users who are not in my workgroup?
Cross-group collaboration is possible in eLabJournal by creating so-called project groups.
Mobile devices and scanners
In terms of availability, an electronic lab notebook behaves differently to a paper-based one. On the one hand, a computer is not always available in the laboratory environment to make entries directly. On the other hand, the ELN can be accessed from any location via the browser.
In particular, it can also be used via tablets or cell phones - an app for Android and iOS systems is also available for this purpose. In addition, scanners, for example, can also be used to facilitate documentation work. A number of add-ons are available in the Marketplace for this purpose.
Why use an electronic lab notebook?
The introduction of an electronic laboratory notebook is initially associated with costs and some initial effort. Nevertheless, there are a number of advantages to using an electronic lab notebook compared to keeping conventional paper-based lab notebooks. These include, among others
- Transparency and traceability in laboratory work (audit trail and time stamp, searchability, ...)
- Supports standardization and collaboration (shareable protocols and templates, electronic signature, commenting...)
- Security (backups, rights management, SSO access, ...)
- Simplicity (intuitive browser-based interface, software integration (esp. MS Office), compatible with mobile devices and scanners, support assistance, linkability and processability of large amounts of data...)
- No "media discontinuity" in evaluation and documentation
- and much more...
In addition, the use of electronic laboratory notebooks is expected to be lege artis in the future, so that a timely change also makes sense in order to ensure future eligibility for applications.
What data and data volumes can be entered into the electronic lab notebook?
Data can be stored in the ELN in a variety of formats - e.g. directly in experiments, linked to samples or in file storage. With eLabSync, they can be synchronized with a local folder (similar to Dropbox, for example).
However, it should be emphasized that the electronic lab notebook is a tool for documenting laboratory research and not a data archive or repository. Accordingly, it is not intended for storing large or diverse data and should be used accordingly.
For larger files (e.g. image files or data volumes), other services (e.g. Coscine) should be used and the files should be linked in the lab notebook.
Which data formats are supported by the electronic lab notebook?
The electronic lab notebook supports a variety of file formats.
There is comprehensive integration for the common MS Office products Word, Excel and PowerPoint, so that corresponding files can be edited directly in the electronic lab notebook and a complete history with an audit trail of the editing is available.
You can also use the eLabWebEdit add-on to edit other file types - such as scripts for data analysis - directly in the electronic lab notebook.
Who needs a license?
Every person who actively uses the eLabJournal requires a license - even if, for example, only read access is required and regardless of the person's status.
However, the licenses are not personal; the licenses available to a group can be freely assigned. Users who have left or who do not use the lab notebook for a longer period of time or only use it very selectively can be blocked and the license space becomes available for another person. The audit trail remains fully intact and the persons can be reactivated if necessary.
Who can use the eLabJournal?
An @ukaachen.de account is required to log in. For people who do not normally have their own UKA account (e.g. students or external project partners), an "internship contract" with account can be requested via the HR department.
Who can see or access my data?
Data access in eLabJournal is always granted within groups or project groups.
The respective group administrations have the option of inviting members to the groups and controlling access/editing rights via roles. If people leave a project, the information stored in the ELB remains in the care of the higher-level responsibility of the management of the institutes and clinics. This procedure corresponds to handing over a paper-based laboratory notebook when leaving the institution.
As an additional security precaution, you can also set up two-factor authentication at personal or group level.
Information on technical security precautions can be found on the manufacturer's website and in the documentation. The eLabNext employees who may be granted access in the event of support are subject to confidentiality agreements.
What happens if researchers leave, the group no longer uses the ELN or the service is discontinued?
If individual researchers leave the clinic/institute or working group, they can be blocked by the respective group administration. All data then remains in the lab notebook and can still be viewed by all authorized persons - however, the blocked person no longer has access to the group and the data. This corresponds to the practice of handing over the (paper-based) lab notebook when leaving the institution. (Blocking is preferable to deletion, as this preserves all links within the lab notebook).
In the event that operation or use of the electronic lab book is discontinued completely, it is possible to export the work at different levels (experiment, study, project) and in different formats. This means that they can also be transferred to a paper version if required.