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