Best Practices

Purpose of Logbook

1. Responsible Conduct of Research - required by our NSF Grant Contract
2. A record of what happened under what conditions and a guess as to why
3. A tool for thinking: writing as a way to clarifying & articulating your thought process
4. Our first defense against accusations of scientific fraud
5. The final word in clarifying effort in the unlikely case there is any ambiguity i.e. if you didn't write it down, then it didn't happen
6. Part of the minimal requirement of doing your job as a Scientist

Types of Logbooks

1. Archival/Personal logbooks: Bookfactory
2. Equipment/Lab logbooks: Ampad 22-157

General Contents of Logbooks

1. A record of experimental conditions and apparatus
2. A record of the experimenter's real time observations, actions, and thought process
3. Notes from meetings and discussions
4. Descriptive commentary - just the facts
   1. What happened?
   2. When did it happen?
   3. What did I do?
5. Reflective commentary - an articulation of your thought process
   1. Why did it happen?
   2. What did I do that?
   3. What did I think will happen?
   4. What went well?
   5. What should be improved for next time?

Specific Contents of Logbooks

1. Leave first couple of sheets blank for table of contents. This helps you find info later.
2. Write down date and time. This helps you figure out when things happened and how long they took.
3. Write down a record of what you've down while you're doing it.
4. Write down your goal for the day.
5. Write down what you expect to see and whether your guess was correct.
6. Write down summary findings and proposed next steps.
7. Write down equipment model numbers and serial numbers.
8. Paste useful manual pages directly into logbook.
9. Paste equipment specifications directly into logbook.
10. Paste interesting plots directly into logbook.
11. Make sketch of experimental setup.
12. Write down equipment operating settings.
13. Write down equipment readings when things are working properly for future reference.
14. Write down status of equipment before leaving lab.
15. Write down daily summary including next steps.
16. Write down contact info to vendors, especially useful technical supports people.
17. Write down notes from meetings including next steps.

1. Weekly Summary - due by 2359 every Saturday
2. Monthly Summary - due by 2359 of the last Saturday of the month
3. Write down steps for useful procedures.

1. Read the manual, particularly theory of operating and sources of common errors.
2. Label equipment with “Stolen from Spinlab” label.
3. Catalog equipment model number, serial number, and maintenance info on group wiki.
4. If something is broken, then report it ASAP so that we can get it diagnosed/repaired sooner than later.

1. Start early on long lead time items.
2. Refer to logbook entries to see how long tasks really take.
3. Stop work 30 minutes before you want to leave so you have time to
   1. summarize work in logbook
   2. safely turn off equipment
   3. clean up and organize your work space of the next day or for the next person
4. Plan your work.
5. Send useful (indicate what action the recipient is supposed to take and indicate a desired delivery date or an estimate for a completion date) and professional (acknowledge their help and professional status) emails.

1. In the Effort Log: Please indicate what fraction of the work was performed at home (away from work)
2. In the Effort Log: Please list the relevant ELOG logbook & entry numbers for the past week
3. In order to be paid on time, please enter hours worked by Saturday midnight of every week.
4. Reappointment each semester requires a triannual review, which must occur at least once by the end of each semester or anytime by request. Form is here.

1. Amateurs remember, professionals write it down.
2. Read & struggle on your own first, make a list of questions, then ask questions.
3. Our primary obligation as scientists is to perform & report our work honestly. Being correct is just icing on the cake.
4. When drawing a conclusion, one must explicitly state all assumptions and thoroughly discuss the alternatives fairly.
5. Good enough is better than perfect.
6. You will not succeed at first, so plan on trying again.
7. Correlation is not causation.
8. Measure twice, cut once.
9. Read the manual.
10. When you have to eat three frogs, start with the biggest one first.
11. Writing is Thinking.
12. Failure is a gift.
13. B-level work is bad for your soul.
14. There is no magic, just do the work.
15. Work with people smarter than you.
16. Fail early, fail often.
17. Listen to everyone's ideas.
18. Face towards the most important problems.
19. We invest in people not ideas.
20. Brick by brick.
21. The Gaiser Rule: Two ears, one mouth.
22. Make sure to pick fun people to solve problems with.
23. The road to success is paved with mistakes well handled.
24. You can prevent mistakes, but you can solve problems graciously.
25. Be curious, not judgemental.
26. Put us out of business with your generosity.
27. Our only job is to train world class scientists.
28. Deliver first and then overcommunicate relevance to our sponsors.
29. We not me.
30. Do more of what works.

1. Make a little bit of progress every day: (1.01)^241 = 11
2. Perform the experiment many times improving it incrementally each time
3. Read a paper every two weeks on average (or monthly if an undergrad)
4. Go to a seminar/talk about twice a week (or monthly if an undergrad)
5. Choose and learn a new skill or about a new topic every month
6. Work on a couple of different projects and alternate between the two
7. Actively seek feedback and constructive criticism
8. Try to work on what you have an interest in
9. Plan the work before performing the work to make sure it is relevant and done safely
10. Perform daily, weekly, and monthly reviews of the work
11. Request the resources you need from JTS in order to perform the work successfully
12. Make your work visible
13. If you didn't write it down, it didn't happen
14. Prime Directive of the Knob-Turner: The knob-turner must stare at the correct needle when turning the knob.
15. The VOLVO Rule: When troubleshooting, turn only ONE knob at a time.
16. “Round Black Knob” is never a good name for a knob.
17. Develop a ''Growth Mindset''
18. Learn to handle ''Impostor Syndrome''

How to Solve it by G. Polya

Time management tool: Gantt chart template - Roy Ready

5 Things I Wish I knew before I started High-Voltage Conditioning - Roy Ready

Kristen’s Guide to Success in Spinlab by Kristen Parzuchowski (Spinlab Alumna 2015-2017)

ON BEING A SUCCESSFUL GRADUATE STUDENT IN THE SCIENCES by John N. Thompson

The importance of stupidity in scientific research by Martin A. Schwartz, Journal of Cell Science 2008 121: 1771

Spencer Hall's Resources for Graduate Students and Post-Docs by Spencer Hall

Time Management by Randy Pausch

Modeling Framework by The Lewandowksi Group

Cargo Cult Science (1974 Caltech Commencement) by Richard Feynman

What is Problem Solving by Michael E. Martinez

How To Think by Ed Boyden

The Art of Doing Science and Engineering: Learning to Learn by R. W. Hamming (series of lectures delivered to graduate students at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey)

You and Your Research by R. W. Hamming (text version of similar talk given in 1986)

Creative Thinking - March 20, 1952 by Claude Shannon

EWD 637 - The Three Golden Rules for Successful Scientific Research by Edsger W. Dijkstra

Barking up the Wrong Tree by Eric Barker

Four golden lessons by Steven Weinberg

Austin's Butterfly by Ron Berger