The Electronic Research Notebook (ERN) is a Software as a Service (SaaS) tool that provides a secure and compliant replacement for traditional paper lab notebooks.  The pages of it may be digitally signed to help prove discovery in a court of law in patent disputes.  As modern research and lab data is largely digital and not well managed by paper notebooks, a software tool is a much better suited solution to the problem of managing modern research and laboratories. An ERN is also not vulnerable to physical damage, theft, or researchers taking the notebook with them when they leave the institution, but also allows a researcher to take an exact copy of their notebook if they leave the University.  Also, a digital notebook is inherently searchable and multimedia, something that is not easily replicated in a traditional paper lab notebook.  Accessibility is also improved using screen readers and speech to text tools.    

Data and research can also be entered from a variety of platforms (personally and departmentally owned general compute, tablets, smartphones, etc) while ensuring the data does not reside on personally owned possibly noncompliant devices.  This helps maintain compliance with ePHI regulations and protects the University from liability.  

The NIH has mandated increased reproducibility for funded research, and that data be retained for up to ten years.  An ERN helps the University meet these mandates and reduces the risk of noncompliance.  

Support:

Michigan Medicine Support Contact:  734-936-8000, ServiceNow

College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Support Contact: lsait@umich.edu

LabArchives support page, email is support@labarchives.com, and phone is (800) 653-5016, 24 hours/5 days per week.

How to Start Your University of Michigan Account

1. First create an account by going to the following link, which will open a new tab/page to the "University of Michigan" edition of LabArchives: ern.umich.edu
2. Follow the instructions to create an account.
3. After signing up, use the following link to log in: ern.umich.edu

Note: you need not select an institution to login once your account is created.

Best Practices:

• University of Michigan:
  
  • A Best Practice guide from MLibrary: guides.lib.umich.edu/ern
  • "Keep a Good Lab Notebook", a presentation by Yongqun "Oliver" He, Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
• University of Wisconsin:
  
  • Best Notebook Practices (from eln.wisc.edu )
  • ERN Archiving (from eln.wisc.edu)
• LabArchives (the vendor of the ERN):
  
  • LabArchives Knowledgebase, a link from LabArchives
  • Quick Start Guide a link from LabArchives
  • Setting Up Your Team Notebooks, a link from LabArchives
  • LabArchives YouTube Channel Video with Lessons for using LabArchives