Date post: | 30-Dec-2015 |
Category: |
Documents |
Upload: | sharleen-norman |
View: | 220 times |
Download: | 5 times |
Data Management
Science as a ProfessionGraduate School of Biomedical Science
Baylor College of Medicine
Gayle R. Slaughter, Ph.D.
Assistant Dean of Graduate Education
Associate Professor of Molecular & Cellular Biology
Why do we need scientific records?
Why do we need scientific records?
Know what has been done
Know how to do experiments
Record of progress for granting agencies
Record of achievement for publications and patents
Data Ownership
Who owns scientific data?Person who does the experiment?
Head of the lab?
Institution to which grant is awarded?
Granting agency?
Data Ownership
Use of Rosalind Franklin’s x-ray photos of DNA by
James Watson and Francis Crick
Responsibility for Data Acquisition
Person doing the experiment
Supervisor should oversee
Advise as to the system used
Allow time to keep records
Review records
Critique record keeping
Systems for Data Acquisition
Notes on scraps of paper, or even papers not in organized place, are unacceptable
Daily notebooks
Bound journals
Looseleaf notebooks
Computer logs
Primary data; if can’t fit in notebook
Summaries of findings
Types of Lab Notebooks
General notebook: Experiment description, data, interpretation, conclusions
Procedure or reagent notebook
Computerized records
Summary of findings, figures for papers
Table of Contents
Need to leave a few pages at beginning blank
Organize by date, usually
Include page numbers
Categorize by:
Techniques and protocols
Type of experiment
Title of experiment
Include * by experiments that yielded publishable data; may also place copy in another notebook
Hypothetical Experimental Description
RNA Isolation from Rat Testis Cells (11/18/92)
RNA was isolated by standard procedure from 106 testis cells isolated as usual. Northern blot was prepared and hybridized to P32-CaM cDNA. Blot showed three RNA bands of 1.8, 1.6, and 1.4 kb. Blot was scanned and digitized with a relative ratio for the 1.6 kb RNA band that changed by as much as six fold.
Hypothetical Experimental DescriptionRNA Isolation from Rat Testis Cells (11/18/92)
Protocol: RNA isolated according to Biol. Repr. 37: 1247 (1) from 106 testis cells from the spermatogonial (SG), pachytene spermatocyte (PcS), & round spermatid (RS) fractions isolated as described in Mol. Endo. 3:1569 (2) with the cell distributions reported on 10/18/92 on Book 3, p 54. Northern blot was prepared & hybridized to the P32 EcoR1/Hind3 320 bp rat CaM 1 cDNA and washed according to ref. 1. Results: Blot showed three RNA bands of 1.8, 1.6, and 1.4 kb. Blot was scanned and digitized according to ref 2 with the following relative ratio of RNA bands: SG = 1:2:4; PcS = 1:12:3; RS = 1:4:8. Conclusion: CaM RNA bands are found at different ratios in different stages of spermatogenesis. Future Directions: strip and probe blot with CaM II and III cDNAs and CaM act. protein kinase to see if CaMapk is coordinately regulated with one CaM RNA/gene.
Sample Format for Experiment Description
What information are we missing?
What elements would you include in the ideal lab notebook that is a record of daily experiments?
Sample Format for Experiment Description
Title of experiment
Objective, purpose
Rationale for doing experiment
Procedures and reagents
Experimental design and performance
Details of samples, set-up, what you did
Results: primary data, calculations, graphs Interpretation, conclusions, next step
Guidelines for Lab Notebooks
Permanent, well organized record
Honest, complete information
Sufficient information to understand, repeat
Keep data up-to-date; keep all primary data
Sign, number, date every page
Maintain at least 3 years after project ends
Most people keep for forever
What would you do?
You have just inherited a very interesting project from a former graduate student whose lab notebook is indecipherable? How do you get the information you need to move ahead with the project?
Why make corrections to lab notes?
Find mistakes
Errors in recording or calculating
Forgot to record something
New information that changes interpretation
Not really a change but an addition; explanation regarding interpretation,
or conclusion
Making Corrections to Lab Notes
Do not erase or use whiteout
Draw a line through what is being changed
Write above or in the margin; date & initial it
Use a different color ink
Computer record; add a blank line, put in the correction with a date
beside it
Concerns about Computer Records
Difficulty inputting some primary data
Scanners are improving; some data difficult
Ease of manipulation; temptation to alter data
Loss of data - need to backup
Constantly changing computer systems
Computers; operating systems
Hacking or duplication (for sensitive information)
Guidelines for Computer Records
Permanent, well organized record, back-up
Number, date every page
Honest, complete information
Sufficient information to understand, repeat
Keep data up-to-date; keep all primary data in a specified, easy to find place
Keep a record of un-manipulated data
Maintain for 3 years after project ends
Guidelines for Record Handling
Follow the rules of the workplace!!
Types of records
Rules on records: dating, signing
Access of others to records
Policies regarding duplication and
distribution
What would you do?
You have made a major discovery, but the journal to which you submitted the work dragged their heels and has requested changes that will take months to complete. You need to get a claim to your discovery! You have a personal website. Should you post the finding there? What could you do to stake the claim?
Guidelines for Record Handling
Information may not be disclosed without the permission of your mentor.
Cannot jeopardize publication or patents
Some information may require government clearance for disclosure
Homeland Security projects, for example
Key Questions on Data Management
Could you understand the lab notebook 10 years from now?
Can anyone who didn’t do the experiments repeat them?
Can you find the primary data, materials used to do the experiments?
What happens when records aren’t maintained or can’t be understood?
Difficulty understanding research
Difficulty reproducing results
Inability to document progress
Difficulty responding to questions
Can’t defend challenges that arise
Loss of public trust
Baltimore/Imanishi-Kari Fraud Case
Baltimore/Imanishi-Kari Fraud Case
One of the most publicized cases of suspected fraud inAmerican science
Came at time when American science was under assault
Involved multiple government agencies, labs, outstanding scientists
Changing verdicts
Never completely resolved to everyone’s satisfaction
Impact of Fraud or Suspicion of Fraud
What happens when questions are raised about the validity of work?
Concerns about relying on data
Lost time to defend against charges
Lost time to investigate charges
Damage to careers, friendships
Public loses confidence in science
Keys to Reliable Record Keeping
Provide a table of contents in each book
Keep all records up to date
Number experiments in a series in order
Put primary data in the lab notebook if possible; if not, put in easy to find place
Make corrections in different color and date