How to keep a good logbook

School of Applied Science

Republic Polytechnic
Singapore
Why is it important to keep a good logbook?

• The logbook is a crucial part of

any research project
• Detailed account of every phase
of your project
• Evidence that certain activities
occurred at specific times
• Subject to scrutiny by scientific
community
• Acceptable evidence in a court
of law
 Purpose of Logbook
• A record of important procedures for experiments
you have developed during your experimentation.
• A record of the results of experiments that you have
performed.
• The means to reproduce the results of your experiments
by following the procedures you have developed at
another time or place.
A good logbook is not simply a list of results of
experiments but allows you to develop methods that you
can use for further experimentation and would allow
someone else to reproduce your results and understand
why you did what you did in your experiments
What do you need to look for in a logbook?

• Durable hard-bound logbook

• Label your logbook

– Name, school, class, telephone number, email address …
What do you need to look for in a logbook?
• Ball point pen not pencil
What do you need to look for in a logbook?

• Pages should be numbered

What do you need to look for in a logbook?

• Table of contents, index, create tabs for quick

referencing
What do you need to look for in a logbook?

• Label your
entries
• Clear
descriptive
headings
• Legible and
grammatical
What do you need to look for in a logbook?

• Always date every entry

• Entry must be written in real-time

• Active language
What do you need to look for in a logbook?
• Record objective, background, methods, data,
measurements, observations, results, discussion
and conclusion

• Use during all phases of your project

What do you need to look for in a logbook?

• Graphs and printed copies can be pasted or taped

into book
What do you need to look for in a logbook?

• No blank pages
• No liquid paper, cross out mistakes with single line,
initial and date
What do you need to look for in a logbook?

• Read by a second person, dated and signed in a

timely manner
 Organisng and writing a logbook
Laboratory research experiments
• Objective/Purpose
• Introduction/Background
• Experimental plan
• Method/Procedure
• Observations and data
• Use drawings, sketches,
photographs, graphs and
tables
• Page numbers
• Discussion
• Reflection
• Conclusions
• Literature surveys
 Checklist

• Ball point pen

• Legible and unambiguous (clear and accurate)
• Table of contents
• Each entry signed and dated
• Clear heading that describes each section
• No blank pages
• Cross out mistakes with single line, initial and date
• Complete, could another researcher repeat the work
• Checked and signed by second person
Thank You!