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Setting Up Your Team Notebooks

Learn how to create a standardized notebook and share it with members of your team

LabArchives is designed to be flexible and to complement your workflow. Typically, the PI, project lead, or an Administrator will create the LabArchives Notebooks and share them with other members of the team. Popular notebook structures include project and grant based notebooks, individual researcher notebooks, date-based notebooks, and team or company-based notebooks that contain shared materials to reference and reuse.

Create a Notebook

When you create your account, a notebook called My Notebook will be automatically created. You can use this suggested notebook or create your own notebooks.

• To create a notebook, click Notebooks to view the list of notebooks and click the + Icon to create a new notebook. Name your notebook, select a folder layout, and click Create Notebook .
• When choosing the folder layout, keep in mind that you can further edit and modify the layout at any time.
• If you do not know where to start, choose a layout that is closest to what you may use and then rename, delete, and edit the folders to best meet your needs.

Customize the Notebook Structure

Every notebook can be organized through a system of pages and folders. Many research teams will create a standardized notebook structure used in all team notebooks.

• You can create a new page or folder in a selected notebook by clicking +New .
• All folders and pages can be moved by using drag and drop within the notebook structure.
• Right click (Ctrl + Click for Mac) on the folder or page name for options like renaming or deleting the item. If you delete a page or folder, it can always be recovered in the deleted items folder.
• You can copy content over from another notebook (such as a notebook that contains protocols or other shared materials). Choose Copy from another notebook and then select the content that you wish to add to the current notebook.

Share Your Notebook with Team Members

As the Notebook Owner, you can share anything from a single entry to the entire notebook with other team members. You can also setup custom permissions and rights in the notebook. By default, only the Owner can see the content in the notebook until other members are invited to the notebook. Each notebook member is assigned a role: Notebook Owner, Administrator, User, or Guest.

• To manage users in the notebook, click the triple dot menu on the top right, select Notebook Settings and go to the User Management tab.
• To add a member, click New User , type in their email address, and click Add User . They will receive an email indicating that you shared content with them. When they login, this notebook will be in view.
• By default, new members are invited as a User. You can modify their membership role through the Role menu and remove access at any time through the Trash can icon.
• Use the Transfer Ownership option to transfer notebooks to another team member. It is not un-common for someone other than the PI or team lead to create the notebooks and then transfer them to the appropriate owner.
• Once you transfer ownership, the former Owner becomes the notebook Administrator. A notebook Administrator can also invite other members to the notebook. Users and Guests do not have access to User Management and cannot invite other members.

Collaborate and Communicate with Your Team

Consider establishing notebook policies and guidelines for how your team will use LabArchives. What type of data will be stored in LabArchives? If there will be data stored outside of LabArchives, where will that data be stored? Do you want data entered in a consistent and standardized way—using a specific notebook structure or page structure? Will you establish a naming convention for pages or attachments in the notebook? Do these questions overwhelm you? Then start small and feel good knowing that you are already taking positive steps towards achieving reproducibility and improving your data management.

• You can communicate with other members of your team by adding a comment to an entry. To add a comment, select the Comment bubble on the entry toolbar.
• To alert a specific user, use @mentions. The mentioned user receives an email notification and an activity feed notification about the comment.
• For most entries, when other users are working in an entry you will see a lock indicating that the item is being edited.

Monitor Actions in the Notebook

Every action (deletions, modifications, page signing etc.) in LabArchives is recorded in the revision history and is part of the complete notebook audit trail. As the Notebook Owner, you can easily manage changes made to the notebook using the Activity Feed, Notebook Dashboard, and Advanced Search Feature.

• The activity feed is available by clicking the Bell icon or by selecting Activity Feed in the triple dot menu.
• The activity feed is organized with a system of categories and filters that allow you to monitor specific notebooks or users.
• Expand the search menu to see the Advanced Search options. Search a single notebook or within all the notebooks you are a member of to locate notebook data and monitor projects.
• Search on Tags and other specific fields through the Advanced Search menu. Use Tags as a project-based controlled vocabulary and naming convention that you apply to the contents of your notebook to aid in the discoverability of your data.
• The Notebook Dashboard is accessible by clicking the name of the notebook while it is open. It includes a snapshot view of notebook properties, activities, and users.

Additional Help and Support

• Find help through the Information icon within LabArchives ELN
• Visit the knowledge base to browse by support topic
• Watch video tutorials
• Submit a question to our support team
• Register for one of our weekly webinars to attend a live training session

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How to take Research Notes

How to take research notes.

Your research notebook is an important piece of information useful for future projects and presentations. Maintaining organized and legible notes allows your research notebook to be a valuable resource to you and your research group. It allows others and yourself to replicate experiments, and it also serves as a useful troubleshooting tool. Besides it being an important part of the research process, taking detailed notes of your research will help you stay organized and allow you to easily review your work.

Here are some common reasons to maintain organized notes:

• Keeps a record of your goals and thoughts during your research experiments.
• Keeps a record of what worked and what didn't in your research experiments.
• Enables others to use your notes as a guide for similar procedures and techniques.
• A helpful tool to reference when writing a paper, submitting a proposal, or giving a presentation.
• Assists you in answering experimental questions.
• Useful to efficiently share experimental approaches, data, and results with others.

Before taking notes:

• Ask your research professor what note-taking method they recommend or prefer.
• Consider what type of media you'll be using to take notes.
• Once you have decided on how you'll be taking notes, be sure to keep all of your notes in one place to remain organized.
• Plan on taking notes regularly (meetings, important dates, procedures, journal/manuscript revisions, etc.).
• This is useful when applying to programs or internships that ask about your research experience.

Note Taking Tips:

Taking notes by hand:.

• Research notebooks don’t belong to you so make sure your notes are legible for others.
• Use post-it notes or tabs to flag important sections.
• Start sorting your notes early so that you don't become backed up and disorganized.
• Only write with a pen as pencils aren’t permanent & sharpies can bleed through.
• Make it a habit to write in your notebook and not directly on sticky notes or paper towels. Rewriting notes can waste time and sometimes lead to inaccurate data or results.

Taking Notes Electronically

• Make sure your device is charged and backed up to store data.
• Invest in note-taking apps or E-Ink tablets
• Create shortcuts to your folders so you have easier access
• Create outlines.
• Keep your notes short and legible.

Note Taking Tips Continued:

Things to avoid.

• Avoid using pencils or markers that may bleed through.
• Avoid erasing entries. Instead, draw a straight line through any mistakes and write the date next to the crossed-out information.
• Avoid writing in cursive.
• Avoid delaying your entries so you don’t fall behind and forget information.

Formatting Tips

• Use bullet points to condense your notes to make them simpler to access or color-code them.
• Tracking your failures and mistakes can improve your work in the future.
• If possible, take notes as you’re experimenting or make time at the end of each workday to get it done.
• Record the date at the start of every day, including all dates spent on research.

Types of media to use when taking notes:

Traditional paper notebook.

• Pros: Able to take quick notes, convenient access to notes, cheaper option
• Cons: Requires a table of contents or tabs as it is not easily searchable, can get damaged easily, needs to be scanned if making a digital copy

Electronic notebook  

• Apple Notes  
• Pros: Easily searchable, note-taking apps available, easy to edit & customize
• Cons: Can be difficult to find notes if they are unorganized, not as easy to take quick notes, can be a more expensive option

Combination of both

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• Research Advice

How to Use Notion as a Research Lab Notebook for Ph.D. Research

Notion is one of my favorite tools for organizing my research lab experiments, notes, data, and tasks! Notion is a free and premium cloud-based app that allows you to create highly customizable and visual pages and dashboards for keeping your life organized.

I first started using Notion in 2021 during my Ph.D., when I created the free Simple Graduate Student Notion Dashboard . As I learned more about using Notion , I developed this Research Lab Notebook template to keep track of all my research lab-related tasks, protocols, and notes, all while storing important information like literature reviews and data. This research lab notebook is an excellent Notion template for Ph.D., master’s, and undergraduate students engaged in research. Sign up for a Notion account here if you don’t already have an account!

This Research Lab Notebook template is only for organizing research lab experiments. I currently do not have this template integrated with any manuscript, thesis, or dissertation writing tools aside from literature review. But this template is certainly designed to be used and referenced during the writing process!

What is Notion?

Notion is freemium software that allows you to create pages, templates, and databases for organizing information. This app is more than a basic note-taking app! It allows you to customize your pages and databases to what you need to work smarter and more efficiently. Notion is available across devices, so you can always access your Notion from your phone, computer, or tablet. Notion offers several subscription levels. The free version offers all basic tools for using and creating Notion templates. The premium subscriptions provide more tools and functionality for small and large teams or even entire organizations. The free software is sufficient for individuals, but if you work on a small team, like with a research group, the Plus subscription offers features like unlimited file uploads and more!

In addition to signing up for Notion, you can add on the Notion AI tool as well. This newly launched tool integrates the power of AI into your Notion workspace. I’ve enjoyed using Notion AI for summarizing, paraphrasing, brainstorming, and organizing my thoughts. The AI tool is seamlessly integrated into Notion and works very well!

Sign up for a Notion account here !

Why do I love using Notion?

I’ve been using Notion for several years now and have found it to be one of the best (and most fun) software to use for note-taking and organizing. Firstly, it’s plain fun to organize and design your template! You can easily create your own Notion aesthetic and design pages to fit your needs. I also love how I can use it across all my devices. It’s also very affordable for students, as there is a free version. And Notion AI is well-priced at just $8 a month.

Research Lab Notebook Notion Template Features

What is included in the research lab notebook notion template.

The Research Lab Notebook Notion Template includes

• Homepage with daily and weekly experiment and task trackers
• Daily lab notebook database for tracking the day’s experiments and taking notes.
• Project management database views so you can manage all your research projects in a single view
• Detailed literature review template/literature review database
• Data management plan page
• Protocols database that can be related to lab notebook tasks and entries so you never forget which protocol you used!

Research Tasks and Experiments Database – The Brain of the Notion Template

The Daily and Weekly Tasks and Experiments databases are linked copies of the “All Research Projects Tasks and Experiments” database, so I will start by explaining this database first. The “Research Projects Tasks and Experiments” database is where you can input all of your research-related tasks and experiments. Each task or experiment can be labeled with the project, the goals, the due date, and the status.

After you input this information, if the date is “Today” the tasks will populate the Today’s Tasks and Experiments Table. And if the date is “Today or within one week from today,” it will populate the This Weeks Tasks and Experiments Table! On the master Research Projects Tasks and Experiments database, you can create additional views by simply adding a view along the top of the database. I’ve included views by project, status, or the calendar view. The project view is beneficial when you want to look at everything you’ve completed for a single project.

Daily Research Lab Notebook

Now, once you’re in the lab and working, you’ll want to keep track of everything you do during the day! You can do this in the Research Lab Notebook. Here, when you create a new entry, custom template will be generated so you can begin planning and tracking your day! The “Tasks and Experiments” property allows you to link to the associated tasks you created in the Research Projects Tasks and Experiments database. This way, your tasks and lab notebook are always linked! In this column, you can link to multiple tasks and experiments in case you do multiple experiments in one day.

n the next column, you can similarly link to any protocols stored in the protocol database. And when you go back to your protocol database, you can see all the lab notebook entries that used that protocol! Cool right? Everything links together so you can easily reference your experiments, lab notebook, and protocols from multiple pages on this template. You can also use different views to visualize your lab notebook by project.

Protocols Manager

Here is a quick view of the protocol database! Create your protocol here and use the relation property to link it to any of your lab notebook entries! For each protocol entry, you can write out your methodology, take notes, and link to any associated literature.

Literature Review Template

Like the protocols database, there is a designated page for reviewing literature! This database uses properties that will guide you through your reading, offers a space for file uploads and note taking, and a property for relating your entries to lab notebook entries and protocols!

I hope this template is helpful for you to keep all of your research notes organized in Notion! Let us know in the comments what other ways you use Notion to keep your research life organized!

How can I get the Research Lab Notebook Notion Template?

This template is a premium template, so it is for sale on the She Science Gumroad Shop or Etsy Shop . Once you purchase, you have lifetime access to the template and will receive any major updates via email!

Is there a subscription cost?

The Research Lab Notebook Notion Template can be used with a free Notion account.

How Much is the Research Lab Notebook Notion Template?

The Research Lab Notebook Notion Template is $9.

How do I get my Notion Template?

After your purchase, you will receive a PDF eBook with a link to lifetime access to the template and a guide on how to use the template.

Are you ready to organize your research?

The Research Lab Notebook Notion Template is here to help keep your research lab notes, experiments, tasks, and data organized!

✓ Maximize your productivity

✓ Never miss an experiment ✓ Manage your projects

Learn more about She Science’s Notion Templates

• Simple grad student Notion template
• All-in-one grad student Notion template for grad school, personal life, and professional development.
• Ph.D. Degree and Dissertation Planner template

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How to Use Notion to Organize Your Research, Classes, and Grad School Life – She Sciences

July 21, 2022 at 7:13 pm

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How to Set Up a Research Notebook

Getting Started with a Research Project

The Table of Contents in a Research Notebook

Number the Pages in a Research Notebook

Don't forget these in a research notebook.

Possible Ideas

Back matter ideas.

Words and Phrases

Research in the research notebook.

18 comments

For the most part, your system is like mine. One thing I've added is that I keep a list of revisions on the last page of the spiral that includes number, date, major change, and if I shared with anyone for feedback. Wonderful post!

OOO! That's a good idea. I do go into my outline (where I have footnotes) to add revisions with sources. (I learned that the hard way.) :) I like the idea of adding it to the spiral!

Annette this is such a thorough, detailed and very helpful presentation of your research process. I have just joined this group because there really aren't many books about writing nonfiction and I knew I needed something more in-depth. I will definitely sign up for your newsletter. Thank you for this article. Terry Northcutt

Terry, thank you for your encouragement! It's a blog post that I'd been wanting to write for months...but knew it wouldn't be a quickie. :) Best of luck to you as you dive into writing more nonfiction! Use KIDLIT25 for a 25% discount if you're interested in my video NF course.

Annette, I picked up several tips in this blog post, but especially love your nicknames/codes for various references! Congrats on your various books!

Thanks so much, Josette! Happy writing!

Thanks so much Annette for taking the time to write all of this down!

Annette, I love this post! As a fellow nonfiction KidLit writer, I love seeing an up close and personal look at your research process. You are amazing!!!!

Thanks so much, Nancy! You and I are always learning...even from one another!

Great post, Annette! Very informative and thorough. Thank you. :)

You're so welcome, Kathy!

Thank you Annette! I am planning a non-fiction for my next book, and I definitely am finding these ideas helpful. I had started the book a couple years ago, but I really lacked the organization and knowledge to go forward with it. This helps me feel like I should pick up my pencil and give it a try again.

Thanks so much, Brittany! Probably the most important tip isn't related to research...but to have FUN with your book! Happy writing! Oh, if you're interested in my NF video course, use KIDLIT25 for 25% discount!

Love the tips. You are definitely more organized than me when it comes to research. On the other hand, I did start a writing journal to record my thoughts/feelings about my writing projects. At first I wondered if I should be using up my precious writing time to journal, but I've found it to be extremely valuable. Helps me focus and keep track of what I need to work on next. Now, adding your tips to my writing journal. :-)

Have fun with this! Reflection is an important part of writing...I need to do more of THAT!

Awesome post and great tips and techniques! I see why you are so successful!

Thanks so much, Mindy! Now if only I could get my desk to be organized like a simple notebook and folder!

Oooh! Thanks for this notebook idea and the details! Pull out the spiral notebooks.

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Electronic Research Notebook

What is an electronic research notebook.

An Electronic Research Notebook (ERN), typically referred to as an electronic laboratory notebook (ELN),  is a tool that can make documenting your research activities easier and more efficient. It provides a multi-functional data manager that can quickly and accurately import protocols, notes, observations and other research data so that you can organize all your information in one place. You can link to data files and other information so nothing relating to your research is lost or misplaced.

ASU has licensed LabArchives as our ERN solution and offers the product at no cost to faculty, researchers, staff and students for research activities. Using LabArchives will improve the quality of your research notes and help you process your findings more efficiently.

Your research data will be stored securely in the cloud on equipment located in the U.S. Security and availability of ASU research data is a top priority for the university and LabArchives includes numerous technical and administrative safeguards to ensure ASU’s data are stored securely. Refer to the data considerations page to explore if LabArchives meets your needs.

Getting started with LabArchives

• Ready to create your ASU LabArchives account? Just click on the “New Account Login” button on the sidebar menu.
• Do you want to get your account organized? You can find a quick start guide  here .
• If you decide to share data with others you will need to think about the role you will give. You will find guidance on that  here .
• Once you have your LabArchives account, you will want to organize your notebook. Use the tutorials in the Knowledgebase  for instructions.
• Check out the  Knowledgebase  for more information on how to get the most benefit from LabArchives
• You will also find lots of  video tutorials  on YouTube that explain how to use the product.

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Recent testimonials

LabArchives provides full access to the research productivity of my lab, at any time, from anywhere, by anyone who is a member of my research team. It is searchable and shareable, allowing my researchers to easily share their lab notebook content (protocols, results, plans) with each other and with me. I have set up a private notebook for myself (outside of my research group’s notebook), where I record meeting notes, capture grant ideas, etc. I used to keep these records in a paper notebook, until one got stolen – along with my backpack and laptop – on a foreign trip. The information on the laptop was all backed up to the cloud, so nothing was lost, but I didn’t have a back-up of my paper notebook. That’s when I decided I needed to move to electronic record keeping for all of my University work.

The research on bright electron beams performed in my lab requires the development of a lot of new measurement techniques and instrumentation. Hence an ERN that has a predefined format or template does not work for us. Labarchives is very flexible in terms of the format one can use for data and record entry and easily links to Office documents. It gives the flexibility of a physical lab notebook that researchers are often used to along with the convenience of digital record-keeping, easy searchability, and remote accessibility that ERNs provide.

My lab started using LabArchives recently and we love it! Now that nearly all lab data is or becomes electronic in format it makes record keeping so much easier. And it makes it much easier for my group members and I to review and share data and notes – which has helped improve work efficiency during this coronavirus pandemic when people are trying not to overlap too much in the lab/office.

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• Research Profiles
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The Laboratory Notebook

Articles on the laboratory notebook.

• Getting Started
• Research Environments
• Structuring a UR Experience
• Research Funding

As you begin your undergraduate research project, you should document everything that you do in writing in a lab notebook. As a general rule, you can use any permanently bound book containing sequentially numbered pages for this purpose. Ideally, a notebook that is labeled “laboratory notebook” is preferable as it likely has been designed for this purpose. If you decide to use another kind of book for this purpose, make sure that the paper is acid-free and that the notebook looks well constructed (cover, binding, etc.). Since this notebook normally remains the property of the laboratory and/or institution at which you are working, it is best to ask your advisor for a laboratory notebook and to use whatever notebook you are given for this purpose.

The Purpose of a Laboratory Notebook

A real time record of what was done at what specific point in time on a project for the individuals and/or organizations that may have funded the research, for your advisor and you to facilitate your efforts in publishing and/or patenting your work. A good record gives confidence in the reproducibility of your work, aids others in building on your research.

What to Record in a Laboratory Notebook

What should you record in a laboratory notebook? Everything that is directly relevant to your work. Your laboratory notebook should provide literature citations for any relevant research and/or protocols that you follow in your work. Your notebook should provide a detailed record of exactly what you do in the laboratory in order to obtain your experimental results. The record should be as detailed as possible. If you did not know how to do something then assume that the reader of your notebook will also not know how to do it. You should include information on all the reagents, equipment and instrumentation that you use. For instrumentation and equipment: What model? What make? Where are they located? For reagents: What supplier/manufacturer? What level purity? What lot number? Where is the supplier/manufacturer located? Your notebook should also contain all of your experimental results where practical and if impractical you should include a drawing or photograph that shows the critical elements/characteristics. If you use some computer program to process and/or analyze your data, you should explain exactly how the data were processed. If your data are in electronic format, you should provide the names of all the data files and identify where the data are stored in the laboratory. Bottom-line: When in doubt, write it out!

Format for a Laboratory Notebook

Be sure to consult your research advisor to determine what policies he/she may require in terms of notebook format. In general, there is no set format one must follow. As a general rule, it is a good idea to set aside several pages at the start of the notebook for use as a table of contents. This will help you and others find things in the notebook quickly later. A brief (10 word) description of the experiment, date – including year, and the page numbers on which the experiment is described constitute a useful table of contents entry.

Each entry should begin on a new page of the notebook. A descriptive title should appear at the top of the page together with the data on which the work is being done (be sure to include the year). Note that exactly the same information should appear in your table of contents at the front of your notebook. Get in the habit of identifying each day’s work in your table of contents the day you are doing the actual work. It only takes a second and will make your notebook that much more valuable both to you and future students in being able to locate past experiments and results.

Each page of your notebook should ideally contain one day’s work. If you need more than one page to record a day’s worth of work then do so. However, if you have empty space at the bottom of a page do not begin a new day’s work there. Rather get in the habit of drawing a single diagonal line through the empty space and then begin the next day’s work on a fresh page.

If you believe that your work will result in a patent, then it is useful to make sure that someone else (your advisor or a colleague in the laboratory) “witnesses” your work. This means that they read through each day’s work and then initial and date that page. Your witness need not be an expert in your field of research. Their role is simply to acknowledge that the work you have described was written into the official record on those pages of your laboratory notebook on the date indicated.

Ultimately, if you want your work to become part of the archival primary literature as a peer-reviewed publication, you will need to be able to describe exactly the materials (source and quality), instrumentation (make and model), procedures, experimental conditions, instrumental parameters, and data processing parameters were used to acquire your experimental results. This information is usually summarized in the “Experimental” or “Research Methods” section of a technical paper. If you are planning on writing a thesis, you will need the information for the “Experimental” chapter. For this reason you should get in the habit of writing everything in your laboratory notebook. Ideally, you should record this information as you go along where it is relevant to each day’s work. However, if you use the same reagents or instruments over and over again you might dedicate a page near the back of your notebook specifically for this purpose.

• H.M. Kanare. (1985) “Writing the Laboratory Notebook.” Washington D.C.: American Chemical Society.
• R. Lewis. (1998) The Scientist. February 2, p. 14. “Laboratory Notebooks Chronicle a Scientist’s Progress.” Avail. URL: http://www.the-scientist.com/
• A.J. Rayl (1991) The Scientist. November 11, p. 18. “Misconduct Case Stresses Importance of Good Notebook Keeping.” Avail. URL: http://www.the-scientist.com/

Data Management

• Naming and Organizing Data
• Storing, Backing up, and Versioning Data
• Documenting Methods and Describing Data

Creating Digital Research Notebooks

Digital notebook advantages, open science framework (free), create an osf project research notebook, labarchives (brown-paid subscription), create a labarchives lab notebook, further reading, learning objectives.

This page is designed to help you:

• Compare the advantages of using a digital research notebook
• Create a digital notebook for you and your collaborators to document the steps of your project and manage your project’s data

Below you'll find two tutorials for setting up a digital notebook using a free and open platform or using an Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN) paid for by Brown University.

• Create an Open Science Framework (OSF) online digital research notebook
• Create a LabArchives Electronic Lab Notebook  (ELN)

• Access online and via mobile
• Search for text and keywords
• Share with collaborators
• Track revisions
• Export and save digital copies

The Open Science Framework (OSF) is a free online project management platform developed by the Center for Open Science that is often used as a cloud-based research notebook. OSF is open software, so it is your own account and you will still have access if you leave Brown. Although "science' is in the name it is subject agnostic and can just as easily be used by humanities researchers.

• Set up an OSF Project to serve as a notebook for each of your research projects and share access with any collaborators.
• Add collaborators and grant viewing and/or editing privileges.
• After a project is completed (or even while the project is ongoing) make your OSF Project open to the public and get a link (URL) for sharing with others to view your project online and for citation.

An OSF Project is made up of Components . Each component you create and add to your project can represent a discrete part or stage of your project. For example, you could create a component for your experimental protocol, the data you have collected, your analysis, and one for writing up the results. Each component has its own Wiki that you and your collaborators can use to record your notes, experimental steps, and observations.

You can connect any existing free cloud storage and popular collaborative platforms to a component, such as GitHub for analysis code or Google Drive or DropBox for shared folders of project files. 

Create OSF Account

Go online and visit the URL: https://osf.io 

Click on Sign In in the upper right corner.

• Click on Select Your Institution and scroll down and select Brown University from the drop down menu
• Click Sign In and enter your Brown University username and password.

If you do not have a Brown University username and password, then click Sign Up and follow steps to create a free OSF account.

Create OSF Project

After signing in, you arrive on your  Dashboard  page. Your dashboard will show the OSF projects that you have created and/or OSF projects that you have been added to as a collaborator. To create a new OSF project follow these steps.

• At the top of the Dashboard page select  Create new project  (another way is from the search bar at the top of the page select  My Projects  and then  Create new project ).
• A pop-up window will appear where you will be able to enter the name of your new research project and then click  Create .

After you create your OSF Project you will be taken to its landing page. At the top you will see the URL for your project, the title of your project, your name and any collaborators you add, and the privacy setting. The default privacy setting for your new OSF project and any components you add is private, which means it is only viewable by you and/or any collaborators that you have added. You can choose to change this and make the project or any of its components public at any time.

• Click on  Description  and you can add a sentence describing your project to help you navigate projects in your dashboard page, e.g., “Digital Research Notebook for Summer Research Project.” 
• Below in the box titled  Wiki  click on the box-and-arrow icon and this will take you to the Wiki’s  Edit  panel. Enter your research questions and more detailed abstract about the project and click Save. You can edit your project wiki at any time.
• Affiliate your project with Brown University by clicking on  Settings  on the upper toolbar
• Select  Project Affiliation/Branding  among menu options
• Search and select Brown University in the search bar and click  Save .

View the online tutorial  Creating and Managing Projects  on the OSF site or watch the video below for more information on creating an OSF Project.

Create OSF Project Components

On the landing page of your OSF Project, in the box titled  Components , click on  Add component  and in the pop-up window give your component a name. You can repeat this as many times to add the separate parts comprising your project as they are required, such as a component for each of your experiments or for each of the stages of your project, such as an interview or survey. As you add components they will be listed on the Project’s landing page and you can reorder these, if needed. An important aspect of a component is integrating it with any tools that you and your collaborators use, such as GitHub repository or Google Drive, Box, or DropBox. To integrate these tools into your OSF Project components follow these steps.

• On the toolbar at the top of your project's landing page click   Add-ons
• Locate your preferred cloud storage provider from those available on the  Select Add-ons  menu.
• Next to the provider click on  Enable  and click  Confirm  in the pop-up window.
• The ones you choose to integrate into your Project space will appear in the box  Configure Add-ons . Click  Connect Account  next to each provider and then enter your username and password for each account you wish to grant OSF the permission to access.

View the online tutorials  Create Components   and  Connecting Add-Ons   on the OSF site or watch the video below for more information on creating components for your OSF Project and integrating cloud-based storage and collaborative tools .

Add Contributors

You can team contributors and grant them certain permissions via these steps.

On your Project landing page select  Contributors  from the top toolbar.

• Click  Add+  and enter the names and email addresses of your collaborators. If they already have an existing OSF account you can search for their name in the search bar and click to add them to your project. If they do not have an existing account click  Add as an unregistered contributor . Unregistered users will receive an email from OSF informing them of their addition to your project and inviting them to create an OSF account.
• Next to their name click on the  Permissions  drop down and select  Read  if you only want them to be able to view your project or  Read + Write  if you want them to be able to edit and add to your project.

View the online tutorial  Contributors and Permissions  on the OSF site or watch the video below for more information on adding collaborators to your OSF Project.

LabArchives@Brown  (LabArchives Brown University Edition) is Brown University’s institutional paid subscription to LabArchives . It is available to all members of the Brown University community, including clinical faculty affiliates. LabArchives is an electronic laboratory notebook (ELN) platform that offers more advanced features than many open digital research notebook platforms, including unlimited storage and more secure storage and versioning options such as being FDA 21 CFR Part 11 compliant. Create a LabArchives Electronic Lab Notebook by following the tutorial below.

Students can create as many LabArchives notebooks as they wish. Once logged in students can view the notebooks they own as well as ones shared with them.

For Independent Research Projects

If you are a student and are working on an independent project, then by default you will have the  Owner Role  of your notebooks that you create. You can choose to add collaborators and grant them certain viewing and editing privileges. As owner you can share an entry, page, folder or even your entire notebook with a collaborator. You can have your notebooks transferred to a private LabArchives account when you leave Brown so that you can retain access.

Working with a Faculty Member/Primary Investigator (PI)

If you are working under a faculty member on their project or in their lab that uses LabArchives, then they may set up a notebook for you and invite you to the notebook as a User. You can make a copy of your LabArchives notebook before leaving Brown.

When you log-in to  LabArchives@Brown  you will see a landing page dashboard titled  Notebooks . Along the left side bar you can sort and view all the notebooks that you have created as well as those you do not own but you have been provided with view access or added as a contributor to a notebook owned by someone else such as a faculty member serving as a Principal Investigator (PI).

Create an Account

• Go online and visit the URL: https://library.brown.edu/info/labarchives/
• Click on Sign up or log in to LabArchives
• Enter your Brown University username and password

If you do not have a Brown University username and password, then visit labarchives.com and create a free account by clicking Sign Up and following the steps to create a username and password. The free version of LabArchives does not have the same storage features as the LabArchives Brown University Edition, including restrictions on the size of a file that can be uploaded and total storage size.

Create a Notebook

When you log-in to LabArchives@Brown you will see a landing page dashboard on the top of left-side toolbar called  Notebooks . Click on  Notebooks  and the  + icon  to create a new notebook. 

In the next pop-up window  Create a New Notebook  you can enter a name for the new notebook, e.g., “Summer Research Project 20XX.” Next will be asked to choose a Folder Layout. 

• If you select None , then you can create and name the folders as you need to fit your project (recommended)
• After selecting the folder layout click  Create Notebook . Your notebook will now appear in the left-side toolbar under  Notebooks .

View the tutorial  Getting Started   on LabArchives site or watch the video below for more information.

Add New Folders and Subfolders

After creating a new notebook you can start creating any folders and subfolders within folders where you want to store the pages of entries and/or project files. 

• To create a new folder go to the left-side bar and click into the notebook in which you wish to add the folder and click  + New  and then  Add new folder .
• To create a new subfolder within an existing folder click on the existing folder to open the folder and  click + New  and then  Add new folder  .

Add New Pages

In order to make an entry in your notebook, i.e., start writing notes and observations in your notebook or add a file or an attachment, you first have to create a Page. To keep your notebook organized it is recommended to organize pages with folders. For example, you could create a folder and name it the name of the project and then create subfolders named with the date, YYYYMMDD to hold the pages created on that date.

• To create a new page in your notebook click on the folder or subfolder you want the page to appear and click  + New  and  Add new page . A pop-up window will appear asking you to provide a name for the page.

Create New Entries

To make an entry on a page find the page you would like to add the entry.

• In the toolbar at the top of the page click  + New   and a drop down menu will appear with several options. Entries can be made in several different ways
• If you want to be able to type directly on the page you can select  Rich Text   on the upper toolbar. A  Rich Text Entry Editor  will appear and you can begin typing and create any hyperlinks or attachments as needed.
• If you prefer using  Microsoft Office  tools such as  Word  or  Excel  you can click on the built in  Office Document  in the upper toolbar. You can also use your own Microsoft Office tools and save to LabArchives by downloading the  LabArchives Microsoft Office Plugin  by clicking on the ellipsis ⋮ icon in the upper right hand corner of the notebook and clicking on  Downloads .
• If you want to attach a file click on  Attachment  located on the upper toolbar (e.g., attach a file such as an image to an entry and to use the annotation tools to write notes on the image).
• Add  Google Docs  or other tools (freezer boxes, calculators, periodic table) by clicking on the  Widget  in the upper toolbar   and select from the drop down menu. 

Remember to save an entry to the page by clicking  Save to Page .

View the online tutorial  Creating and Managing Entries  on LabArchives site or watch the video below for more information.

Sharing with Collaborators

Share a folder and pages.

• To share a folder or page left click (mac)/right click (pc) on the folder or page in the left-side navigation bar and select  Share . In the pop-up enter the names and email addresses of the persons with whom you would like to share access or you can choose to generate a sharing link. 

Share an Entry

• Scroll to the entry you wish to share on the page. Hover your cursor over the top and a toolbar will appear with the  Share  icon. In the pop-up enter the names and email addresses of the persons with whom you would like to share access or you can generate a sharing link. 

Share a notebook

• Click on the ellipsis  ⋮  icon in the upper-right hand corner of the notebook. Click on  Notebook Settings . Under  User Management  you can invite a collaborator to your notebook by entering their names and email addresses. Next to their names click on  Role  to select their permissions (e.g., Read + Write). They will receive an invitation to create an account or or you can choose to generate a sharing link.

View the online tutorial  Sharing LabArchives Notebooks  on the LabArchives site or view the video below for more information.

• Harvard Medical School Electronic Lab Notebook Feature Comparison Matrix

This guide was designed to help you:

• Compare the advantages of using a digital research notebook
• Create a digital notebook for you and your collaborators to document the steps of your project and manage your project’s data
• << Previous: Documenting Methods and Describing Data
• Last Updated: Jul 12, 2023 8:33 AM
• URL: https://libguides.brown.edu/DataManagement

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Academic Research Record-Keeping: Best Practices for Individuals, Group Leaders, and Institutions

Dr. alan a. schreier.

Director of new program development and coordinator of university compliance, Division of Research and Graduate Studies, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina

Dr. Kenneth Wilson

Associate professor, Department of Sociology, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina

Dr. David Resnik

Institute bioethicist, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina

During the last half of the 20th century, social and technological changes in academic research groups have challenged traditional research record-keeping practices, making them either insufficient or obsolete. New practices have developed but standards (best practices) are still evolving. Based on the authors’ review and analysis of a number of sources, they present a set of systematically compiled best practices for research record-keeping for academic research groups. These best practices were developed as an adjunct to a research project on research ethics aimed at examining the actual research record-keeping practices of active academic scientists and their impact on research misconduct inquiries.

The best practices differentiate and provide separate standards for three different levels within the university: the individual researcher, the research group leader, and the department/institution. They were developed using a combination of literature reviews, surveys of university integrity officials, focus groups of active researchers, and inspection of university policies on research record-keeping. The authors believe these best practices constitute a “snapshot” of the current normative standards for research records within the academic research community. They are offered as ethical and practical guidelines subject to continuing evolution and not as absolute rules. They may be especially useful in training the next generation of researchers.

Good record-keeping is central to the scientific process. 1 – 4 Good research records encompass much more that just research data. They include but are not limited to planning and protocol descriptions, data manipulations and analysis procedures, personal and group interpretations of the results, and important communications and group decisions among collaborators. Data management is a subset of the broader concept of research record-keeping. Research records are important for managing and planning research, for replicating results, for documenting collaborations, for publishing and peer review, and for complying with governmental and institutional rules and regulations. In recent decades, legal and regulatory uses of research records have become prominent. Research records have long been used to resolve intellectual property disputes. 2 However, research misconduct scandals in the 1980s and 1990s involving falsification and fabrication of research records provoked the federal government to require universities to implement research misconduct policies. 2 Examination of research records is a central feature of inquiries and investigations under such university policies.

We recently conducted a survey of 96 university officials who are responsible for such inquiries and investigations as part of a research project on the impact of research records in research misconduct cases. 5 We found that over half of the officials who reported experience with misconduct cases at their institutions also reported that they had been hampered in their inquires/investigations by inadequate research records. Also, another recent survey of investigators who had been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on the prevalence of questionable research practices noted that 27% of the 3,247 respondents admitted to “inadequate record-keeping related to research projects.” 6

Given the importance of good research records, it is somewhat surprising that formal standards for such records are the exception rather than the rule in academic research laboratories. Although governments have mandated standards for good research records for certain segments of the research community—most notably in the area of human health and safety research through the stringent regulations of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 7 , 8 —the majority of academic researchers are not constrained by any external set of record-keeping guidelines. In fact, most academic scientists find the mandated FDA record-keeping practices both onerous and unnecessary. Academic researchers prefer informal guidelines rather than formal standards for record-keeping.

During the last half of the 20th century, technological changes in how records are produced, collected, analyzed and stored, coupled with social changes in the nature of research groups, have created new challenges for research record-keeping. 9 Traditional practices for such record-keeping are either no longer sufficient or, at worse, obsolete for the modern researcher. New record-keeping practices have arisen to meet these challenges; however, very little research has been done on defining in a systematic way the best practices * for research record-keeping in the 21st century academy. The literature is replete with descriptions of record-keeping practices, but they are usually personal assessments. In this article, we will discuss the modern challenges to traditional research record-keeping practices. We will then articulate best practices (principles and specific practices) for keeping research records that have emanated from our research and which, we believe, can help researchers respond to these challenges. Because these principles and practices were developed in a systematic way, we believe that they represent current norms within the scientific community (excluding FDA- or EPA-regulated research). We offer these best practices as ethical guidelines for researchers, research group leaders, and research institutions, not as absolute rules or legal requirements.

Modern Challenges to Traditional Record-Keeping Practices

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, a tradition for research record-keeping developed in the academic physical and biological sciences that focused on the research notebook as the primary tool for organizing research projects, planning experiments, recording data, analyzing the results, and storing these records for future reference. Research groups were small, allowing group leaders to personally train young researchers and to regularly examine primary research records; this process ensured the transmission of the record-keeping tradition to the next generation. During the last half of the 20th century, a number of trends in research have complicated the traditional record-keeping process and interfered with the training of new researchers in record-keeping practices. 9 Chief among these trends were (1) the rise of large research groups; (2) the introduction of research instruments and methods that self-recorded data either on paper printouts or photographically (e.g., X-ray films, slides, and photographs); and (3) the rise of computers in the laboratory.

The current environment for research training, where a graduate student or a postdoctoral fellow is usually a part of the large research group, encourages the teaching of record-keeping practices to new researchers by peers rather than by the senior group leader. Oversight of research is often focused only on the results of a young researcher’s project; it appears to be rare for a researcher’s primary research records to be examined by a senior research group leader. If there are no standards imposed by the research group leader, the actual record-keeping practices within the laboratory group may deviate from accepted norms. The practices actually in use will depend on an individual researcher’s own attitude toward record-keeping and on the attitudes and practices of peers. An extreme example of this occurs when foreign students and postdocs keep their research records in their native languages if there is no requirement to keep records in a common language. There are many anecdotal cases of this practice because international students and postdocs are prevalent in academic research groups. Kanare 10 describes a case where a research group leader discovered, after his Japanese postdoc had returned to Japan, that the postdoc had written his notebooks in Japanese.

The introduction of self-recording research instruments and new photography-based techniques were a major technical advance for science, but they have had the unfortunate byproduct of reducing the utility of the traditional bound research notebook, and more important, of beginning the fragmentation of the research record that is so common today. The first self-recording instruments in the 1940s and 1950s produced paper-based output (they now produce digital files). Photographic recording techniques also appeared at about this time, such as imaging radiolabels on paper chromatographs. These types of records were difficult to incorporate into traditional bound laboratory notebooks due to the cumbersome need to glue or tape such output into notebooks and the sheer volume of such records. Many research groups abandoned the traditional bound notebook in favor of loose-leaf binders or manila folders for both the collection of data output (instrument and photographic data) and for the planning of experiments. Soon, the processing and analysis of data was also placed into loose-leaf binders or manila folders, thus contributing to the physical fragmentation of research records.

The rise of computers in the laboratory was another major technical advance. They made possible the collection and processing of monumental amounts of data that were critical for the advancement of many fields (e.g., X-ray crystallography, genomics, and proteomics). However, the computer also promoted the fragmentation of the research records in academic laboratories and made oversight more difficult. Researchers routinely use many different computer applications in the course of their work and produce a variety of research records (e.g., word processing files, spreadsheets, instrument data output files, etc.). For a single research project, relevant computer files can be scattered among several computers within a research group, depending on the number of individuals working on the project. Within each computer, the pertinent files may be scattered among apparently unrelated folders on the hard drive. In addition, the rapid obsolescence of computer software and hardware (often only three to five years per generation) has made the long-term electronic retrieval of research records problematic, if not impossible.

Technological Solutions to Modern Record-Keeping Challenges: Different Responses of Academia and Industry

Computer technology has also been called upon to provide solutions to these modern record-keeping challenges. Laboratory information management systems (LIMS) and electronic laboratory notebooks (ELNs) are the two major types of tools that have been developed. 11 – 13 Industry has embraced these systems due, in part, to intellectual property concerns and stringent FDA regulations. LIMS systems in particular have been extremely helpful in managing laboratories that generate a great deal of data and use standardized procedures, which is often the case in industrial and clinical labs and pharmaceutical quality control facilities. However, in academic (discovery-type) research, protocols and methods can change frequently, and the amount of data collected tends to be relatively limited. Because LIMS systems need to be customized for each process they handle, such systems are therefore viewed as being too inflexible for the typical academic laboratory. 12 The exceptions here are areas like genomics and proteomics, whose procedures have become highly standardized with a need to process high amounts of data. ELNs supposedly mimic the bound paper notebook, but again due to flexibility issues, anecdotal evidence suggests that such tools are not commonly used in academic laboratories. 12

These technological solutions themselves are limited by the basic assumptions used in their design about what constitutes good records and good record-keeping. The best practice principles that we developed and have described below can be used to guide the development of future generations of LIMS and ELNs. We believe that these principles transcend the mechanism for their implementation, whether they be paper-or computer-based.

Genesis of the Best Practices

We developed the best practices described below as an adjunct to our research-on-research-ethics project entitled “Scientific Record Keeping and Responsible Research Conduct” funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). 5 We carried out the research to determine the actual record-keeping practices of active NSF- and NIH-funded scientists and how these influence the adjudication of research misconduct investigations. To help prepare a national survey of active NSF and NIH scientists on their record-keeping practices and to aid in the analysis of the responses, it was necessary to have a set of generally recognized best practices , that is, normative standards for research record-keeping. We derived these best practices from four sources: (1) the research training and ethics literature; (2) institutional policies and guidelines; (3) interviews with university officials responsible for investigating allegations of scientific misconduct; and (4) focus groups composed of faculty members from both medical and nonmedical faculties of Duke University, East Carolina University, North Carolina State University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The research training and ethics literature was our primary source of record-keeping practices. The regular research literature (e.g., journal articles, monographs, conference proceedings, etc.) was not excluded from our review; however, this literature usually does not discuss research record-keeping practices. The ethics and research training literature is large and often included detailed and discipline specific recommendations for record-keeping. Many of the references for record-keeping practices were in textbooks or primers for students learning laboratory techniques for the first time. They usually focused on the proper construction of a research notebook and more, recently, its electronic counterparts. The monograph Writing the Laboratory Notebook by Kanare 10 is the acknowledged classic in this field. The practices described in this book and the other references are the practices that an individual researcher should follow when he or she is planning, collecting, recording, and analyzing research. We named these specific practices individual best practices . Only recently have references appeared that speak to higher-level best practices , such as those that research group leaders, departments and institutions could emulate to promote good record-keeping. Selected primary documents used in our compilation of our best practices are listed in the references at the end of this article. 2 – 4 , 9 , 10 , 14 – 25

Institutional policies and guidelines that deal with research records from many research universities were reviewed. Although our review was far from inclusive, we found that such policies and guidelines usually spoke to issues of retention, ownership, access and transfer of research records. Only rarely did a policy or guideline (e.g., those of the University of California, San Francisco) 18 set specific standards for record-keeping beyond these administrative issues. Sources that contained representative policies and guidelines that were useful are noted in the reference list. 18 – 25

Our research ethics project included interviews with university officials from 96 research universities. 5 These officials provided us with a number of positive practices for good record-keeping based on their experiences. In almost every case, however, these practices reiterate those that appeared in the literature. Thus, the university officials provided anecdotal evidence for the value of these practices.

As the number of specific best practices grew, they became too unwieldy to be a useful guide if compiled into a single list. An organizational structure was needed. We divided the best practices into three hierarchical groups: best practices for individual researchers, best practices for research group leaders, and best practices for departments and institutions. We also developed summaries—essentially statements of principles for the best practices for each group (see Lists 1 , ​ ,2, 2 , and ​ and3)—and 3 )—and compiled the detailed best practices separately. The resulting document, containing both principles and specific practices, was provided to the focus groups for their review and suggested revisions.

Best Practice Principles for Individual Researchers *

Source: This list adopted from Table 11.1 from Scientific Integrity: An Introduction with Case Studies , by Francis L. Macrina, ASM Press (2000), with permission.

Best Practice Principles for Leaders of Research Groups

Departmental and Institutional Best Practices for Research Record-keeping

The focus groups were particularly helpful in refining the best practices. The focus-group members totaled 48 active senior scientists (12 on each campus), who have NSF or NIH funding in a variety of research fields (from basic sciences like physics and chemistry through clinical fields to social and behavioral sciences). Focus-group sessions of four hours in length were held in the spring and summer of 2004. Interestingly, the members of the groups directed most of their comments toward best practices for research group leaders and departments and institutions, the areas that were least discussed in the literature. They stressed the pivotal role of the research group leader in setting standards and procedures for his or her group. The focus-group members identified some new types of research records that had previously not been mentioned in the literature, such as records of e-mails and teleconference transcripts and minutes. These types of records have greatly increased in importance due to the highly collaborative nature of modern research, where the collaborating scientists and their research groups can be physically quite distant from each other. Records of communications about research results, plans for future research, and decisions regarding results or future plans need to be documented to prevent misunderstandings and miscommunications. Another area of extreme importance to all focus groups was the concern that any set of best practices resulting from our work would be adopted as mandated requirements by federal agencies, resulting in inflexible and onerous regulation of their research.

The Best Practices

Description.

Lists 1 , ​ ,2, 2 , and ​ and3 3 summarize the best practice principles for research record-keeping at all three levels described above. A complete document with detailed best practices is available at 〈 http://www.research2.ecu.edu/BestPractices_Sep04.doc 〉.

Reflections

The best practices described above and in the three lists are a synthesis of traditional and modern practices from a variety of sources. They emphasize principles over detailed practices, which are subject to obsolescence and disciplinary restrictions. They also emphasize the critical role of the research group leader in setting standards and in the training of new researchers. In addition, they explicitly acknowledge the role of departments and institutions in setting the organizational context within which the research groups operate. Our focus-group members felt that these two higher-level sets of practice principles were applicable to any research discipline or institution. These principles address the effective management of scientific laboratories and work groups, and are aimed at promoting good communication between current research participants and future participants (through stored records).

It is our opinion that a breakdown in the training and supervision of new researchers has contributed to the decline of research record-keeping. The fragmented and still-evolving nature of modern research records has contributed to this breakdown by making many of the old record-keeping practices obsolete, with no generally accepted replacements in sight. Young scientists in training and new research group leaders may find it difficult to understand the linkages between the specific, detailed processes they follow in their research and the general norms of scientific research. By identifying a separate set of responsibilities assigned to the research group leader, they may be able to more clearly understand how to manage their groups and train their students more effectively.

We present this new synthesis of best practices to the research community as a potential aid in thinking about the challenges of record-keeping in the first decades of the 21st century. We hope that it will guide the development of better practices among research group leaders, as well as encourage departments and institutions to adopt practices and policies that will aid research group leaders in their responsibility to keep good records of their research.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr. Robert P. Lowman (Chapel Hill), Dr. Albert Collier (Chapel Hill), Dr. Joseph M. Corless (Duke University), and Mr. Mathew K. Ronning (NCSU) for their assistance with the focus groups and Ms. Angel Griffin (ECU) for her technical assistance. This project was supported by a grant # SES-0322752 from the National Science Foundation and the intramural research program of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), National Institutes of Health (NIH). The ideas and opinions in this project do not represent the views of the NSF, NIEHS, or NIH.

Dr. Schreier is a university administrator charged with coordinating university research compliance activities including the review of allegations of research misconduct. He is primarily responsible for the development of the best practices document described in the present article. Dr. Wilson, the principal investigator of the NSF grant, is an experienced survey sociologist who is primarily responsible for the development and execution of the surveys and focus groups employed in the NSF project. Dr. Resnik, a bioethicist formerly on the faculty of East Carolina University, provided the initial ideas for the NSF project as well as critical review of all steps in the project.

* Best practices and good practices are terms of art common in the literature on ethical and regulatory aspects of clinical trials and laboratory science. For example, the Food and Drug Administration 10 has good clinical practices (GCPs) and good laboratory practices (GLPs) for the conduct of clinical trials, and the Environmental Protection Agency 11 has good laboratory practices (GLPs) for laboratory research. Our best practices are intended to supplement but not supplant GCPs, GLPs, and other best practices for research.

Contributor Information

Dr. Alan A. Schreier, Director of new program development and coordinator of university compliance, Division of Research and Graduate Studies, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina.

Dr. Kenneth Wilson, Associate professor, Department of Sociology, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina.

Dr. David Resnik, Institute bioethicist, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.

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• 06 August 2018

How to pick an electronic laboratory notebook

• Roberta Kwok 0

Roberta Kwok is a freelance science writer based in Kirkland, Washington.

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Illustration by The Project Twins

Since at least the 1990s, articles on technology have predicted the imminent, widespread adoption of electronic laboratory notebooks (ELNs) by researchers. It has yet to happen — but more and more scientists are taking the plunge.

One barrier to uptake is the wide range of products available. ELNs comprise software that helps researchers to document experiments, and that often has features such as protocol templates, collaboration tools, support for electronic signatures and the ability to manage the lab inventory. But the ELN market encompasses considerable variety; a study conducted in 2016 by the University of Southampton, UK, identified 72 active products ( S. Kanza et al. J. Cheminformatics 9 , 31; 2017 ). “It’s just insane,” says Sian Jones, a petroleum engineer at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. “It does become very confusing.” And many researchers simply lack the time or motivation to make the move to ELNs.

But today’s early-career researchers, who have grown up with digital technology, tend to expect — and to embrace — electronic solutions. Recent trends in research have also created a demand for such changes: as scientists deal with increasing volumes of data, gluing printed results into a paper notebook becomes more archaic. Concerns over reproducibility, as well as more stringent requirements on data management from funding agencies, have motivated improvements in the documentation of lab work. And the ELN market has expanded to include more intuitive tools, such as cloud-based products, which are easier to adopt than those requiring information technology (IT) support to install. “I do feel that we’re approaching a tipping point,” says Alastair Downie, head of IT at the Gurdon Institute at the University of Cambridge, UK.

ELN developers say that they have also seen signs of growing interest. Where researchers once questioned the utility of ELNs, now they are quicker to commit, says Simon Bungers, co-founder of labfolder, an ELN company in Berlin. Benchling, an electronic research platform in San Francisco, California, has seen use of its ELN in academia more than double for the past two years, with tens of thousands of researchers now logging in every day, says chief executive Sajith Wickramasekara. And many universities have started to provide such products to their researchers. For instance, LabArchives in Carlsbad, California, has sold campus-wide site licences for its ELN platform to more than 375 research institutions worldwide. (Last month, LabArchives announced a partnership with Macmillan Learning of New York City, which is part of Holtzbrinck Publishing Group in Stuttgart, Germany; Holtzbrinck is the majority shareholder in Nature ’s publisher, Springer Nature.)

Advocates tout the many advantages of ELNs over their paper counterparts. They are easy to search, copy and archive. And thanks to templates, scientists don’t have to rewrite protocols. Researchers can link experiments to specific samples or files, as well as share information easily with other lab members and collaborators, facilitating reproducibility. And supervisors can monitor the activity of their teams remotely.

But there are downsides, too. Although many companies offer free versions of their ELN software, those often come with limits on the number of users, data storage or file size. If the company folds or raises its prices, researchers might find themselves with only a PDF export of their data, which they are then unable to transfer to a competing product. Network interruptions could temporarily restrict access to data. And researchers might still prefer to make some notes or sketches on paper at the bench, which must then be imported into the ELN.

Despite these shortcomings, more and more researchers are going digital. To find a software solution that suits your needs, experienced users suggest taking the following steps.

Get educated.  Online resources can give prospective users a sense of the market. Downie’s guide to ELNs , hosted on the Gurdon Institute’s website, includes information on attributes such as cost tiers, support for computing platforms, and where the data can be stored for 28 products. The Electronic Lab Notebook Matrix , collated by Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, lists the details of more than 50 features for 27 ELNs. And labfolder provides a guide to 16 popular ELNs .

Calculate costs.  Paid versions of most ELN services used in academia cost US$10–20 per user per month, Downie says. The restrictions that are associated with free versions of these tools might be malleable, particularly as storage prices fall; Wickramasekara says that the 10-gigabyte limit on Benchling’s free academic platform, for instance, can often be raised on request. Open-source options such as the Open Science Framework from the Center for Open Science in Charlottesville, Virginia, also are available.

Understand legal issues.  Some funders place restrictions on where data can be stored, so researchers should keep this in mind when evaluating cloud-based ELNs. Scientists who use personal data that fall within the scope of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation should consider whether an ELN’s data storage complies with those rules. Choosing ELN software that enables completed pages to be locked and electronically signed could be crucial if the documents are needed to defend researchers against claims of fraud, or must be submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration as part of regulatory processes. Digitally signed and witnessed documents could also be used as evidence in a patent dispute, says Denise Callihan, who manages library services, including patent searching and ELN system, for paints and coatings company PPG in Monroeville, Pennsylvania. PPG uses an ELN software called PatentSafe from Amphora Research Systems in Andover, Massachusetts.

Evaluate stability.  Researchers might want to assess the ELN company’s chances of survival. Daureen Nesdill, a research-data-management librarian at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, says she considered this question when evaluating options in 2010. She favoured LabArchives, partly because the company’s executives had already launched successful bibliographic-management software. Nesdill advises researchers to choose a company that is at least five years old, has stable funding and states in its terms of service that users will be able to access their data if the firm goes under or is sold.

Think mobile.  Some labs prefer ELNs that can run on mobile devices. That was the case for Richard Gates, a chemical engineer at the US National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Maryland. He and his colleagues wanted to use tablets to record experiments while working in a clean room, because the devices are portable and can be wiped down easily. The researchers, who chose Microsoft’s note-taking software OneNote as an ELN, use the tablet’s camera to take photographs of instruments and results, and a stylus to annotate images.

Consider software integration.  Links to favourite software could tip the scales for some scientists. Organic chemists, for instance, might prefer the PerkinElmer Signals Notebook from PerkinElmer in Waltham, Massachusetts, says Nesdill, because it integrates with the company’s chemical-structure-drawing software ChemDraw, enabling structures to be added to the ELN. ResearchSpace in Edinburgh, UK, integrates its ELN with tools such as software-development platform GitHub and reference manager Mendeley, Jones notes.

Go for a test drive.  Jones suggests test-driving free versions of a few products, ranging from basic to complex. “Don’t look at more than four, otherwise your head explodes,” she says. While evaluating several ELNs last year, Christoph Seiler, who runs a facility for zebrafish experiments at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, asked himself, “Is that an interface I can use every day?” He settled on Benchling, partly because he found its ELN to be attractive and well-organized.

Preferences for minor features come down to personal taste. For instance, Downie likes the way that the ELN from SciNote in Middleton, Wisconsin, provides a flexible, flow-chart-like structure, and Jones enjoyed seeing a feed of other users’ activities in Labguru, an ELN from BioData in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Digital Science in London, which is part of Holtzbrinck, is an investor in BioData.)

Try generic platforms.  Some scientists stick with generic note-taking products. Michael Gotthardt, a cardiovascular-disease researcher at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association in Berlin, chose OneNote because he wanted a low-cost product with “essentially no learning curve” that the IT department could install locally with ease. Every month, his team exports pages to PDF files and signs them electronically; the files are then moved to a directory where they cannot be changed. Evernote, from Evernote Corporation in Redwood City, California, is an alternative note-taking option.

Commit to change.  In 2017, Downie co-led a trial of four ELNs, in which researchers at the University of Cambridge rated features such as user interface, support for collaboration and file-management capabilities. Although many scientists initially expressed enthusiasm about ELNs, only 37 of the 161 participants completed the exercise. “It shows the level of commitment that’s required,” Downie says. “You can’t just stick your toe in the water. You’ve got to dive all the way in.”

That said, some acclimatization might be required. Gotthardt gave his team three months to play with OneNote while continuing to record experiments on paper. Everyone then made the switch — a change that went smoothly, he says. Ulrich Dirnagl, an experimental neurologist at the Berlin Institute of Health, which provides labfolder to employees at one of its institutions, says that he has seen the most uptake when one lab member starts using an ELN and word spreads to colleagues, rather than when the entire group is forced to convert.

“Before, they said, ‘I don’t need this, and I just want to scribble down my little notes’,” Dirnagl says. “Three weeks into the ELN, they want to press a button for a cappuccino.”

Nature 560 , 269-270 (2018)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-05895-3

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9 Organizing Research: Taking and Keeping Effective Notes

Once you’ve located the right primary and secondary sources, it’s time to glean all the information you can from them. In this chapter, you’ll first get some tips on taking and organizing notes. The second part addresses how to approach the sort of intermediary assignments (such as book reviews) that are often part of a history course.

Honing your own strategy for organizing your primary and secondary research is a pathway to less stress and better paper success. Moreover, if you can find the method that helps you best organize your notes, these methods can be applied to research you do for any of your classes.

Before the personal computing revolution, most historians labored through archives and primary documents and wrote down their notes on index cards, and then found innovative ways to organize them for their purposes. When doing secondary research, historians often utilized (and many still do) pen and paper for taking notes on secondary sources. With the advent of digital photography and useful note-taking tools like OneNote, some of these older methods have been phased out – though some persist. And, most importantly, once you start using some of the newer techniques below, you may find that you are a little “old school,” and might opt to integrate some of the older techniques with newer technology.

Whether you choose to use a low-tech method of taking and organizing your notes or an app that will help you organize your research, here are a few pointers for good note-taking.

Principles of note-taking

• If you are going low-tech, choose a method that prevents a loss of any notes. Perhaps use one spiral notebook, or an accordion folder, that will keep everything for your project in one space. If you end up taking notes away from your notebook or folder, replace them—or tape them onto blank pages if you are using a notebook—as soon as possible.
• If you are going high-tech, pick one application and stick with it. Using a cloud-based app, including one that you can download to your smart phone, will allow you to keep adding to your notes even if you find yourself with time to take notes unexpectedly.
• When taking notes, whether you’re using 3X5 note cards or using an app described below, write down the author and a shortened title for the publication, along with the page number on EVERY card. We can’t emphasize this point enough; writing down the bibliographic information the first time and repeatedly will save you loads of time later when you are writing your paper and must cite all key information.
• Include keywords or “tags” that capture why you thought to take down this information in a consistent place on each note card (and when using the apps described below). If you are writing a paper about why Martin Luther King, Jr., became a successful Civil Rights movement leader, for example, you may have a few theories as you read his speeches or how those around him described his leadership. Those theories—religious beliefs, choice of lieutenants, understanding of Gandhi—might become the tags you put on each note card.
• Note-taking applications can help organize tags for you, but if you are going low tech, a good idea is to put tags on the left side of a note card, and bibliographic info on the right side.

Organizing research- applications that can help

Using images in research.

• If you are in an archive: make your first picture one that includes the formal collection name, the box number, the folder name and call numbe r and anything else that would help you relocate this information if you or someone else needed to. Do this BEFORE you start taking photos of what is in the folder.
• If you are photographing a book or something you may need to return to the library: take a picture of all the front matter (the title page, the page behind the title with all the publication information, maybe even the table of contents).

Once you have recorded where you find it, resist the urge to rename these photographs. By renaming them, they may be re-ordered and you might forget where you found them. Instead, use tags for your own purposes, and carefully name and date the folder into which the photographs were automatically sorted. There is one free, open-source program, Tropy , which is designed to help organize photos taken in archives, as well as tag, annotate, and organize them. It was developed and is supported by the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University. It is free to download, and you can find it here: https://tropy.org/ ; it is not, however, cloud-based, so you should back up your photos. In other cases, if an archive doesn’t allow photography (this is highly unlikely if you’ve made the trip to the archive), you might have a laptop on hand so that you can transcribe crucial documents.

Using note or project-organizing apps

When you have the time to sit down and begin taking notes on your primary sources, you can annotate your photos in Tropy. Alternatively, OneNote, which is cloud-based, can serve as a way to organize your research. OneNote allows you to create separate “Notebooks” for various projects, but this doesn’t preclude you from searching for terms or tags across projects if the need ever arises. Within each project you can start new tabs, say, for each different collection that you have documents from, or you can start new tabs for different themes that you are investigating. Just as in Tropy, as you go through taking notes on your documents you can create your own “tags” and place them wherever you want in the notes.

Another powerful, free tool to help organize research, especially secondary research though not exclusively, is Zotero found @ https://www.zotero.org/ . Once downloaded, you can begin to save sources (and their URL) that you find on the internet to Zotero. You can create main folders for each major project that you have and then subfolders for various themes if you would like. Just like the other software mentioned, you can create notes and tags about each source, and Zotero can also be used to create bibliographies in the precise format that you will be using. Obviously, this function is super useful when doing a long-term, expansive project like a thesis or dissertation.

How History is Made: A Student’s Guide to Reading, Writing, and Thinking in the Discipline Copyright © 2022 by Stephanie Cole; Kimberly Breuer; Scott W. Palmer; and Brandon Blakeslee is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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How to Lead a Research Team

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Leadership. Organizational culture. Managing dynamic teams. Providing effective feedback. Did you miss this course in your advanced training? Is this the class that you slept through only to show up for the final exam – or was that really just a dream? You didn’t, and it was only a dream. Being an intentional leader and building the culture you want to maximize workflow and employee satisfaction is not something that is taught in graduate school. Very few institutions provide a didactic to scientists on how you build an effective organizational structure to deliver the best science possible. In academia, you are taught to think critically; to be a careful, well-reasoned scientist and clinician; and to approach problems with an objective eye, determine the root cause, and create impactful solutions. You are not taught how to be an effective leader, how to hire the right staff, how to engage teams in work during stressful periods, how to provide effective feedback to enhance performance, and how to build trust in a diverse team. However, you do have all of the tools that you need to do all of these things. You’ve been doing them for years and have seen them all around you. Now it’s just a matter of recognizing them for what they are and connecting with them in a way that serves your goals and objectives. That is the point of this chapter. In this chapter we will cover building an intentional organizational culture, being a thoughtful leader, and managing a research team so that with some foresight and effort, you can focus on your science while engaging your staff in meaningful, high-impact work as a team.

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These texts are valuable management and leadership tools for scientists. Consider these as key reference materials to set yourself up for success.

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Allen D. Getting things done: the art of stress-free productivity, revised edition. New York: Penguin Books; 2015.

Barker K. At the Helm: leading your laboratory. 2nd ed. Cold Spring Harbor: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; 2010.

Cohen CM, Cohen SL. Lab dynamics: management and leadership skills for scientists. 2nd ed. Cold Spring Harbor: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; 2012.

The Harvard Business Review (HRB). 10 Must Reads book series covers a wide range of topics with terrific resources and references.

Making the right moves: a practical guide to scientific management for postdocs and new faculty. 2nd ed. Burroughs Wellcome Fund and Howard Hughes Medical Institute; 2006. https://www.hhmi.org/developing-scientists/making-right-moves .

Patterson K, Grenny J, McMillan R, Switzler A. Crucial conversations: tools for talking when stakes are high. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Education; 2011.

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How to use Notion Note-taking Application for Research

• posted on June 28, 2020 August 10, 2020
• Comments Off on How to use Notion Note-taking Application for Research

An Introduction to Notion Note-taking Application for Research.

Article Outline

Why Notion?

Creating a new page, creating an inline table.

• Generating a Linked Database Table

Code Embedding

Recently, I have started using a beautiful app called  Notion . Yes, you guessed it, this is a note-taking app and I really like the flexibility this application offers. From the past 3 years, I have been an Evernote user but I did not like the rigid folder structure where one could only able to create a sub-level notebook. I believe Evernote is still good for many users because it is mature and well developed but the Notion application is one step ahead of every other competitor.

I am a Transportation System Engineering Ph.D. student at Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (Department of Civil Engineering). I work in the field of pedestrian safety. Those who are in the academic field definitely knew about the headache of managing literature. If your literature is not well managed it could cause a big headache during article or thesis write-up.

Now, in the era of digital note-taking, there are plenty of candidate apps you could find on the internet. I recently started using  Notion  for managing my  research work . So let me demonstrate how you could also manage your literature/research smoothly.

This is my Notion  Home  Page.

Note:  Notion is free for students and educators. You just need to sign-up using an academic email address.

Let’s start with the Notion. Everything in Notion is a  block  even if it is a text or image. There is no drop-down menu but you could call the menu using a  forward slash  “ /” . For creating a new page just select page from the forward-slash menu and it will create a  blank page .

This is an example of a  blank page , where you could add a meaningful title, an icon or a cover.

Once you create a page, you can create a table by calling  table inline  using the  forward-slash  “ / ”. The table contains a name, tags and files field by default. Here is a gif of how to create an inline table.

You could add more field based on your requirement. It could be  text, number, select/multi-select option, date, person, files  and many more.

Here you can see, I have customized my  master literature table . You could add as many as rows or columns you want as per your requirement.

One thing to note that in the first column “ Article Title ”, each row contains a notion page which you can open to write about the literature review in detail. You could include study objective, location of the study, primary findings and many more.

Here you can see I have opened the  Article 1  as separate page for further editing.

Next, you can edit the page in more detail for detailed record keeping. Here, you can see I have added details about the  study location, Model used  and  Outcomes .

Creating a Linked Database

One of the best features of Notion is that you can create  sub-table  using linked database feature. For example, I have created a master literature table and tagged each journal with meaningful keywords (see the above figure’s  Tags  column). I could call this table from any new page and filter out the table articles based on keywords/tags.

Say, you planned to write an article regarding worldwide road accidents statistics. Earlier, during the literature review, you had tagged all your accident-related articles (read) in the master literature table. So, rather skimming through your 100 of literature you entered in the master literature table. You could create a new page in Notion and call your master literature table there and filter out articles based on your keywords/tags. In this way, one could create separate study tables on different pages using a linked database.

The obvious question would be why not filtering and reading out from our master literature table. This could be one option but very traditional. By using old fashioned tricks you could not  leverage the potential  of linked database.

The main advantage of having a linked database table inside a new page is that once you start reading more papers and start updating your master literature table, your linked database also automatically update itself if you tag it with specific keywords.

For example, say in future I start reading more accident-related literature and added them to my master literature table with  accident  keyword, then it would also reflect inside other pages where I have linked that master literature table with  accident  filter. Isn’t it awesome?

Here, I have added a small video clip to illustrate, how you could create a linked database.

For demonstration purpose, I have created two linked database page. One for  New Reads  and another for  Pedestrian   Accidents Stats .

Let’s open the  accidents stats  linked database table, see below Table (a). You can see, there is an arrow on the top left side, indicating that the table is linked to the original literature table using a linked database feature. Now, if I add another article to my master literature table with “ accident ” tag then this article will appear to  Pedestrian Accident stats  table too and vice-versa.

Note : You can create a linked database based on any column. Here in my case I can create a linked database based on journal priority type, say only five stars journals (most important reads).

The next feature that I like the most is  code embedding . Notion supports code embedding for a significant number of programming languages. As a researcher, I have to develop plots and models using R and Python. So, this feature helps me manage and search embedded codes.

To add code just call the forward-slash “ / ” menu and type  code . This will create an empty code block.

To change it to another language, just click the bottom right side arrow. This will pop up options for different languages.

Here you can see popular languages like R, Python, Ruby and PHP.

In the figure below I have presented an example of R code embedded inside notion’s block.

Here is a video from Notion’s YouTube channel on advanced features. Here you could learn about

• Database views
• Adding content to databases with templates
• Connecting databases with relation & rollup
• Linking Databases to create advance dashboards

There are plenty of features available in the Notion that would make your research work smooth and hassle-free.

Notion offers:

• Ready to use templates
• Table of content
• Numbered and toggled list
• Callout (for highlight or message)
• Link to page (linking one page to another)
• Inline Equation
• Different table view (Board, Gallery, List and Calendar)
• Audio, image and video upload
• Web-bookmark
• Embedding (Pdfs, Google map, Google drive, Tweet, Github Gist and many more)
• Math equation (like latex)
• Mentioning page inside a write-up

Here, I have shown only two major features i.e., the linked database and code embedding that I personally enjoy most. You could explore more watching  Notion for beginners  YouTube videos.

I hope this would help.

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Research Spotlight: Engineering Notebooks Make Learning More Engaging

Posted by Cynthia Berger on Thursday, August 31, 2017

Engineering is Elementary is conducting a major research study to explore the question, “What makes an elementary engineering curriculum effective?” We’ve collected mountains of data from thousands of elementary students in hundreds of classrooms . . . and the information is helping us answer more than just this one question!

For example, we’re looking at how engineering notebooks can make learning more engaging. EiE researcher Jonathan Hertel presented some findings at the annual American Society for Engineering Education conference in New Orleans, and recently co-authored  an article entitled "The Roles of Engineering Notebooks in Shaping Elementary Engineering Student Discourse and Practice" in the International Journal of Science Education.

The Research Question

“Asking students to ‘notebook’ is a common thing in science classes,” Hertel says. “As students systemically record their observations, analyses, and reflections, they experience how scientists really work.” 

But though science notebooks are a well-established teaching tool, the idea of ENGINEERING notebooks is new—especially in the elementary grades. 

Educational researchers have thoroughly explored how notebooking supports SCIENCE learning. They find that notebooks

• personalize learning, so students become more engaged;
• help students stay organized, and that helps them feel confident about learning science;
• develop students’ literacy skills; and
• can be an assessment tool for teachers

 . . .  among many other benefits. “Meanwhile, the value of engineering notebooks has hardly been studied,” Hertel says. “We do know that working engineers, like scientists, keep careful records of their plans, tests, and results. So it seems likely that engineering notebooks are also valuable for supporting learning.”

The “Methods” Section

The team examined roughly five hours of footage for each of four classrooms in the 2013–14 school year. Each set of videos followed a single student team as they worked on an engineering design challenge, such as designing an alarm circuit or cleaning up an oil spill.

“We transcribed the footage word for word,” Hertel says, “then combed through the transcripts to identify different behaviors—for example, writing in a notebook, looking up information, talking about data.” The next step: generate codes to describe the behaviors. Finally, the codes were applied to the transcript, looking for patterns of interaction.

The “Results” Section

Hertel says that the notebooks clearly helped scaffold students work , in several ways. One is simple—notebooks help you organize information. If students wonder, “What am I supposed to do next?” they can consult their notebooks. In one clip, a student who had been absent reviewed her teammate’s notebook and quickly got up to speed.

Notebooks also help reinforce the structure of the lesson. “We included the five-step EiE Engineering Design Process (EDP) on the last page of each notebook,” Hertel says. “In the video, you see one teacher remind students to check their notebooks and see what EDP step they are working on.”

More striking is how engineering notebooks supported students’ ability to work as a team and come to consensus on key decisions. Hertel cites one student group—Sophie, Emma, and Henry—who are discussing how to present their design, a process for cleaning up an oil spill. They’ve tried to use rubber bands like a boom to contain the spill in their desktop-sized “model river,” but the rubber bands sank and the oil escaped.

“You see them referring back to data they recorded earlier in their notebooks,” Hertel says. “They see their second design didn’t perform as well as the first. With the notebook as a scaffold, they’re able to identify particular materials—what worked well, and what did not.”

Engaging in Authentic Engineering Practices

Beyond providing scaffolding, notebooks prompt students to apply authentic epistemic practices of science and engineering . For example, as Sophie, Emma, and Henry page through their notebooks to explore why their second design didn’t clean up oil as well as the first, they realize they didn’t properly control their testing. On their third try, they standardize their protocols.

By prompting students to record and review, notebooks help students develop a valuable habit, accountability, including the ability to stick with a plan. When the oil spill team tests their third design, the video shows Henry suggesting they add a rubber band at a particular step. “Sophie reminds him that they have a written plan showing the exact order they will deploy different materials,” Hertel says. “She says, ‘We have to do what we said we would do.’”

Notebooks also help students communicate their ideas—a finding that’s so obvious, it’s easy to overlook how important it can be. In one video clip, students review their draft design for an electrical circuit. One boy tries to tell his teammates there’s a problem, and also how to fix it. “When they don’t understand his verbal instructions, he’s able to point to a picture in another student’s notebook and explain with gestures,” Hertel says. 

Building an Engineering Identity

As students engage in authentic engineering practices, they start to build an identity—to say to themselves, “ I am an engineer .”

Keeping an engineering notebook with plans and ideas reinforces this budding identity.

“That’s especially important for children from underserved and underrepresented populations,” says EiE director Christine Cunningham. “Students can only consider engineering as a career choice if they know what engineers do and can picture themselves in that role.”

Engineering is Elementary is a project of the National Center for Technological Literacy at the Museum of Science, Boston .

Written by Cynthia Berger

Topics: EiE Research Results

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Research: More People Use Mental Health Benefits When They Hear That Colleagues Use Them Too

• Laura M. Giurge,
• Lauren C. Howe,
• Zsofia Belovai,
• Guusje Lindemann,
• Sharon O’Connor

A study of 2,400 Novartis employees around the world found that simply hearing about others’ struggles can normalize accessing support at work.

Novartis has trained more than 1,000 employees as Mental Health First Aiders to offer peer-to-peer support for their colleagues. While employees were eager for the training, uptake of the program remains low. To understand why, a team of researchers conducted a randomized controlled trial with 2,400 Novartis employees who worked in the UK, Ireland, India, and Malaysia. Employees were shown one of six framings that were designed to overcome two key barriers: privacy concerns and usage concerns. They found that employees who read a story about their colleague using the service were more likely to sign up to learn more about the program, and that emphasizing the anonymity of the program did not seem to have an impact. Their findings suggest that one way to encourage employees to make use of existing mental health resources is by creating a supportive culture that embraces sharing about mental health challenges at work.

“I almost scheduled an appointment about a dozen times. But no, in the end I never went. I just wasn’t sure if my problems were big enough to warrant help and I didn’t want to take up someone else’s time unnecessarily.”

• Laura M. Giurge is an assistant professor at the London School of Economics, and a faculty affiliate at London Business School. Her research focuses on time and boundaries in organizations, workplace well-being, and the future of work. She is also passionate about translating research to the broader public through interactive and creative keynote talks, workshops, and coaching. Follow her on LinkedIn  here .
• Lauren C. Howe is an assistant professor in management at the University of Zurich. As head of research at the Center for Leadership in the Future of Work , she focuses on how human aspects, such as mindsets, socioemotional skills, and leadership, play a role in the changing world of work.
• Zsofia Belovai is a behavioral science lead for the organizational performance research practice at MoreThanNow, focusing on exploring how employee welfare can drive KPIs.
• Guusje Lindemann is a senior behavioral scientist at MoreThanNow, in the social impact and organizational performance practices, working on making the workplace better for all.
• Sharon O’Connor is the global employee wellbeing lead at Novartis. She is a founding member of the Wellbeing Executives Council of The Conference Board, and a guest lecturer on the Workplace Wellness postgraduate certificate at Trinity College Dublin.

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Sasquatch Research Team: 100 Page Lined Notebook | 5x8" Designer Cover | A Great Gift Bigfoot Believers, Enthusiasts, Researchers & Fans Paperback – July 9, 2019

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Driving Innovations in Biostatistics with Denise Scholtens, PhD

“I'm continually surprised by new data types. I think that we will see the emergence of a whole new kind of technology that we probably can't even envision five years from now…When I think about where the field has come over the past 20 years, it's just phenomenal.”  —  Denise Scholtens, PhD  

• Director, Northwestern University Data Analysis and Coordinating Center (NUDACC)  
• Chief of Biostatistics in the Department of Preventive Medicine  
• Professor of Preventive Medicine in the Division of Biostatistics and of Neurological Surgery  
• Member of Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (NUCATS)  
• Member of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center  

Episode Notes 

Since arriving at Feinberg in 2004, Scholtens has played a central role in the dramatic expansion of biostatistics at the medical school. Now the Director of NUDACC, Scholtens brings her expertise and leadership to large-scale, multicenter studies that can lead to clinical and public health practice decision-making.    

• After discovering her love of statistics as a high school math teacher, Scholtens studied bioinformatics in a PhD program before arriving at Feinberg in 2004.  
• Feinberg’s commitment to biostatistics has grown substantially in recent decades. Scholtens was only one of five biostatisticians when she arrived. Now she is part of a division with almost 50 people.  
• She says being a good biostatistician requires curiosity about other people’s work, knowing what questions to ask and tenacity to understand subtitles of so much data.   
• At NUDACC, Scholtens and her colleagues specialize in large-scale, multicenter prospective studies and clinical trials that lead to clinical or public health practice decision-making. They operate at the executive level and oversee all aspects of the study design.  
• Currently, Scholtens is involved with the launch of a large study, along with The Ohio State University, that received a $14 million grant to look at the effectiveness of aspirin in the prevention of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy.  
• Scholtens first started her work in data coordinating through the Hyperglycemia Adverse Pregnancy Outcome (HAPO) study, which looked at 25,000 pregnant individuals. This led to a continued interest in fetal and maternal health.   
• When it comes to supportive working environments, Scholtens celebrates the culture at Feinberg, and especially her division in biostatistics, for being collaborative as well as genuinely supportive of each other’s projects. She attributes this to strong leadership which established a culture with these guiding principles.   

Additional Reading  

• Read more about the ASPIRIN trial and other projects taking place at NUDACC   
• Discover a study linking mothers’ obesity-related genes to babies’ birth weight, which Scholtens worked in through the HAPO study   
• Browse all of Scholtens recent publications 

Recorded on February 21, 2024.

Continuing Medical Education Credit

Physicians who listen to this podcast may claim continuing medical education credit after listening to an episode of this program..

Target Audience

Academic/Research, Multiple specialties

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this activity, participants will be able to:

• Identify the research interests and initiatives of Feinberg faculty.
• Discuss new updates in clinical and translational research.

Accreditation Statement

The Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Credit Designation Statement

The Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine designates this Enduring Material for a maximum of 0.50  AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™.  Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

American Board of Surgery Continuous Certification Program

Successful completion of this CME activity enables the learner to earn credit toward the CME requirement(s) of the American Board of Surgery’s Continuous Certification program. It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit learner completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABS credit.

All the relevant financial relationships for these individuals have been mitigated.

Disclosure Statement

Denise Scholtens, PhD, has nothing to disclose.  Course director, Robert Rosa, MD, has nothing to disclose. Planning committee member, Erin Spain, has nothing to disclose.  FSM’s CME Leadership, Review Committee, and Staff have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose.

Read the Full Transcript

[00:00:00] Erin Spain, MS: This is Breakthroughs, a podcast from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. I'm Erin Spain, host of the show. Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine is home to a team of premier faculty and staff biostatisticians, who are the driving force of data analytic innovation and excellence here. Today, we are talking with Dr. Denise Scholtens, a leader in biostatistics at Northwestern, about the growing importance of the field, and how she leverages her skills to collaborate on several projects in Maternal and Fetal Health. She is the Director of the Northwestern University Data Analysis and Coordinating Center, NUDACC, and Chief of Biostatistics in the Department of Preventive Medicine, as well as Professor of Preventive Medicine and Neurological Surgery. Welcome to the show.  

[00:01:02] Denise Scholtens, PhD: Thank you so much.  

[00:01:02] Erin Spain, MS: So you have said in the past that you were drawn to this field of biostatistics because you're interested in both math and medicine, but not interested in becoming a clinician. Tell me about your path into the field and to Northwestern.  

[00:01:17] Denise Scholtens, PhD: You're right. I have always been interested in both math and medicine. I knew I did not want to be involved in clinical care. Originally, fresh out of college, I was a math major and I taught high school math for a couple of years. I really enjoyed that, loved the kids, loved the teaching parts of things. Interestingly enough, my department chair at the time assigned me to teach probability and statistics to high school seniors. I had never taken a statistics course before, so I was about a week ahead of them in our classes and found that I just really enjoyed the discipline. So as much as I loved teaching, I did decide to go ahead and invest in this particular new area that I had found and I really enjoyed. So I wanted to figure out how I could engage in the field of statistics. Decided to see, you know, exactly how studying statistics could be applied to medicine. At the time, Google was brand new. So I literally typed in the two words math and medicine to see what would come up. And the discipline of biostatistics is what Google generated. And so here I am, I applied to grad school and it's been a great fit for me.  

[00:02:23] Erin Spain, MS: Oh, that's fantastic. So you went on to get a PhD, and then you came to Northwestern in 2004. And so tell me a little bit about the field then and how it's changed so dramatically since.  

[00:02:36] Denise Scholtens, PhD: So yes, I started here at Northwestern in 2004, just a few months after I had defended my thesis. At the time there was really an emerging field of study called bioinformatics. So I wrote my thesis in the space of genomics data analysis with what at the time was a brand new technology, microarrays. This was the first way we could measure gene transcription at a high throughput level. So I did my thesis work in that space. I studied at an institution with a lot of strengths and very classical statistics. So things that we think of in biostatistics like clinical trial design, observational study analysis, things like that. So I had really classic biostatistics training and then complimented that with sort of these emerging methods with these high dimensional data types. So I came to Northwestern here and I sort of felt like I lived in two worlds. I had sort of classic biostat clinical trials, which were certainly, you know, happening here. And, that work was thriving here at Northwestern, but I had this kind of new skillset, and I just didn't quite know how to bring the two together. That was obviously a long time ago, 20 years ago. Now we think of personalized medicine and genomic indicators for treatment and, you know, there's a whole variety of omics data variations on the theme that are closely integrated with clinical and population level health research. So there's no longer any confusion for me about how those two things come together. You know, they're two disciplines that very nicely complement each other. But yeah, I think that does speak to how the field has changed, you know, these sort of classic biostatistics methods are really nicely blended with a lot of high dimensional data types. And it's been fun to be a part of that.  

[00:04:17] Erin Spain, MS: There were only a handful of folks like you at Northwestern at the time. Tell me about now and the demand for folks with your skill set.  

[00:04:26] Denise Scholtens, PhD: When I came to Northwestern, I was one of a very small handful of biostatistics faculty. There were five of us. We were not even called a division of biostatistics. We were just here as the Department of Preventive Medicine. And a lot of the work we did was really very tightly integrated with the epidemiologists here in our department and we still do a lot of that for sure. There was also some work going on with the Cancer Center here at Northwestern. But yeah, a pretty small group of us, who has sort of a selected set of collaborations. You know, I contrast that now to our current division of biostatistics where we are over 20s, pushing 25, depending on exactly how you want to count. Hoping to bring a couple of new faculty on board this calendar year. We have a staff of about 25 statistical analysts. And database managers and programmers. So you know, when I came there were five faculty members and I think two master's level staff. We are now pushing, you know, pushing 50 people in our division here so it's a really thriving group.  

[00:05:26] Erin Spain, MS: in your opinion, what makes a good biostatistician? Do you have to have a little bit of a tough skin to be in this field?  

Denise Scholtens, PhD: I do think it's a unique person who wants to be a biostatistician. There are a variety of traits that can lead to success in this space. First of all, I think it's helpful to be wildly curious about somebody else's work. To be an excellent collaborative biostatistician, you have to be able to learn the language of another discipline. So some other clinical specialty or public health application. Another trait that makes a biostatistician successful is to be able to ask the right questions about data that will be collected or already have been collected. So understanding the subtleties there, the study design components that lead to why we have the data that we have. You know, a lot of our data, you could think of it in a simple flat file, right? Like a Microsoft Excel file with rows and columns. That certainly happens a lot, but there are a lot of incredibly innovative data types out there: wearables technology, imaging data, all kinds of high dimensional data. So I think a tenacity to understand all of the subtleties of those data and to be able to ask the right questions. And then I think for a biostatistician at a medical school like ours, being able to blend those two things, so understanding what the data are and what you have to work with and what you're heading toward, but then also facilitating the translation of those analytic findings for the audience that really wants to understand them. So for the clinicians, for the patients, for participants and the population that the findings would apply to.   

Erin Spain, MS: It must feel good, though, in those situations where you are able to help uncover something to improve a study or a trial.  

[00:07:07] Denise Scholtens, PhD: It really does. This is a job that's easy to get out of bed for in the morning. There's a lot of really good things that happen here. It's exciting to know that the work we do could impact clinical practice, could impact public health practice. I think in any job, you know, you can sometimes get bogged down by the amount of work or the difficulty of the work or the back and forth with team members. There's just sort of all of the day to day grind, but to be able to take a step back and remember the actual people who are affected by our own little niche in this world. It's an incredibly helpful and motivating practice that I often keep to remember exactly why I'm doing what I'm doing and who I'm doing it for.  

[00:07:50] Erin Spain, MS: Well, and another important part of your work is that you are a leader. You are leading the center, NUDACC, that you mentioned, Northwestern University Data Analysis and Coordinating Center. Now, this has been open for about five years. Tell me about the center and why it's so crucial to the future of the field.  

[00:08:08] Denise Scholtens, PhD: We specialize at NUDACC in large scale, multicenter prospective studies. So these are the clinical trials or the observational studies that often, most conclusively, lead to clinical or public health practice decision making. We focus specifically on multicenter work. Because it requires a lot of central coordination and we've specifically built up our NUDACC capacity to handle these multi center investigations where we have a centralized database, we have centralized and streamlined data quality assurance pipelines. We can help with central team leadership and organization for large scale networks. So we have specifically focused on those areas. There's a whole lot of project management and regulatory expertise that we have to complement our data analytics strengths as well. I think my favorite part of participating in these studies is we get involved at the very beginning. We are involved in executive level planning of these studies. We oversee all components of study design. We are intimately involved in the development of the data capture systems. And in the QA of it. We do all of this work on the front end so that we get all of the fun at the end with the statistics and can analyze data that we know are scientifically sound, are well collected, and can lead to, you know, really helpful scientific conclusions.  

[00:09:33] Erin Spain, MS: Tell me about that synergy between the clinicians and the other investigators that you're working with on these projects.  

[00:09:41] Denise Scholtens, PhD: It is always exciting, often entertaining. Huge range of scientific opinion and expertise and points of view, all of which are very valid and very well informed. All of the discussion that could go into designing and launching a study, it's just phenomenally interesting and trying to navigate all of that and help bring teams to consensus in terms of what is scientifically most relevant, what's going to be most impactful, what is possible given the logistical strengths. Taking all of these well informed, valid, scientific points of view and being a part of the team that helps integrate them all toward a cohesive study design and a well executed study. That's a unique part of the challenge that we face here at NUDACC, but an incredibly rewarding one. It's also such an honor and a gift to be able to work with such a uniformly gifted set of individuals. Just the clinical researchers who devote themselves to these kinds of studies are incredibly generous, incredibly thoughtful and have such care for their patients and the individuals that they serve, that to be able to sit with them and think about the next steps for a great study is a really unique privilege.  

[00:10:51] Erin Spain, MS: How unique is a center like this at a medical school?  

[00:10:55] Denise Scholtens, PhD: It's fairly unique to have a center like this at a medical school. Most of the premier medical research institutions do have some level of data coordinating center capacity. We're certainly working toward trying to be one of the nation's best, absolutely, and build up our capacity for doing so. I'm actually currently a part of a group of data coordinating centers where it's sort of a grassroots effort right now to organize ourselves and come up with, you know, some unified statements around the gaps that we see in our work, the challenges that we face strategizing together to improve our own work and to potentially contribute to each other's work. I think maybe the early beginnings of a new professional organization for data coordinating centers. We have a meeting coming up of about, I think it's 12 to 15 different institutions, academic research institutions, specifically medical schools that have centers like ours to try to talk through our common pain points and also celebrate our common victories.  

[00:11:51] Erin Spain, MS: I want to shift gears a little bit to talk about some of your research collaborations, many of which focus on maternal and fetal health and pregnancy. You're now involved with a study with folks at the Ohio State University that received a 14 million grant looking at the effectiveness of aspirin in the prevention of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy. Tell me about this work.  

[00:12:14] Denise Scholtens, PhD: Yes, this is called the aspirin study. I suppose not a very creative name, but a very appropriate one. What we'll be doing in this study is looking at two different doses of aspirin for trying to prevent maternal hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in women who are considered at high risk for these disorders. This is a huge study. Our goal is to enroll 10,742 participants. This will take place at 11 different centers across the nation. And yes, we at NUDACC will serve as the data coordinating center here, and we are partnering with the Ohio State University who will house the clinical coordinating center. So this study is designed to look at two different doses to see which is more effective at preventing hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. So that would include gestational hypertension and preeclampsia. What's really unique about this study and the reason that it is so large is that it is specifically funded to look at what's called a heterogeneity of treatment effect. What that is is a difference in the effectiveness of aspirin in preventing maternal hypertensive disorders, according to different subgroups of women. We'll specifically have sufficient statistical power to test for differences in treatment effectiveness. And we have some high priority subgroups that we'll be looking at. One is a self-identified race. There's been a noted disparity in maternal hypertensive disorders, for individuals who self identify according to different races. And so we will be powered to see if aspirin has comparable effectiveness and hopefully even better effectiveness for the groups who really need it, to bring those rates closer to equity which is, you know, certainly something we would very strongly desire to see. We'll also be able to look at subgroups of women according to obesity, according to maternal age at pregnancy, according to the start time of aspirin when aspirin use is initiated during pregnancy. So that's why the trial is so huge. For a statistician, the statisticians out there who might be listening, this is powered on a statistical interaction term, which doesn't happen very often. So it's exciting that the trial is funded in that way.  

[00:14:27] Erin Spain, MS: Tell me a little bit more about this and how your specific skills are going to be utilized in this study.  

[00:14:32] Denise Scholtens, PhD: Well, there are three biostatistics faculty here at Northwestern involved in this. So we're definitely dividing and conquering. Right now, we're planning this study and starting to stand it up. So we're developing our statistical analysis plans. We're developing the database. We are developing our randomization modules. So this is the piece of the study where participants are randomized to which dose of aspirin they're going to receive. Because of all of the subgroups that we're planning to study, we need to make especially sure that the assignments of which dose of aspirin are balanced within and across all of those subgroups. So we're going to be using some adaptive randomization techniques to ensure that that balance is there. So there's some fun statistical and computer programming innovation that will be applied to accomplish those things. So right now, there are usually two phases of a study that are really busy for us. That's starting to study up and that's where we are. And so yes, it is very busy for us right now. And then at the end, you know, in five years or so, once recruitment is over, then we analyze all the data,  

[00:15:36] Erin Spain, MS: Are there any guidelines out there right now about the use of aspirin in pregnancy. What do you hope that this could accomplish?  

 Prescribing aspirin use for the prevention of hypertension during pregnancy is not uncommon at all. That is actually fairly routinely done, but that it's not outcomes based in terms of which dosage is most effective. So 81 milligrams versus 162 milligrams. That's what we will be evaluating. And my understanding is that clinicians prescribe whatever they think is better, and I'm sure those opinions are very well informed but there is very little outcome based evidence for this in this particular population that we'll be studying. So that would be the goal here, would be to hopefully very conclusively say, depending on the rates of the hypertensive disorders that we see in our study, which of the two doses of aspirin is more effective. Importantly, we will also be tracking any side effects of taking aspirin. And so that's also very much often a part of the evaluation of You know, taking a, taking a drug, right, is how safe is it? So we'll be tracking that very closely as well. Another unique part of this study is that we will be looking at factors that help explain aspirin adherence. So we are going to recommend that participants take their dose of aspirin daily. We don't necessarily expect that's always going to happen, so we are going to measure how much of their prescribed dose they are actually taking and then look at, you know, factors that contribute to that. So be they, you know, social determinants of health or a variety of other things that we'll investigate to try to understand aspirin adherence, and then also model the way in which that adherence could have affected outcomes.  

Erin Spain, MS: This is not the first study that you've worked on involving maternal and fetal health. Tell me about your interest in this particular area, this particular field, and some of the other work that you've done.  

[00:17:31] Denise Scholtens, PhD: So I actually first got my start in data coordinating work through the HAPO study. HAPO stands for Hyperglycemia Adverse Pregnancy Outcome. That study was started here at Northwestern before I arrived. Actually recruitment to the study occurred between 2000 and 2006. Northwestern served as the central coordinating center for that study. It was an international study of 25,000 pregnant individuals who were recruited and then outcomes were evaluated both in moms and newborns. When I was about mid career here, all the babies that were born as a part of HAPO were early teenagers. And so we conducted a follow up study on the HAPO cohort. So that's really when I got involved. It was my first introduction to being a part of a coordinating center. As I got into it, though, I saw the beauty of digging into all of these details for a huge study like this and then saw these incredible resources that were accumulated through the conduct of such a large study. So the data from the study itself is, was of course, a huge resource. But then also we have all of these different samples that sit in a biorepository, right? So like usually blood sample collection is a big part of a study like this. So all these really fun ancillary studies could spin off of the HAPO study. So we did some genomics work. We did some metabolomics work. We've integrated the two and what's called integrated omics. So, you know, my work in this space really started in the HAPO study. And I have tremendously enjoyed integrating these high dimensional data types that have come from these really rich data resources that have all, you know, resulted because of this huge multicenter longitudinal study. So I kind of accidentally fell into the space of maternal and fetal health, to be honest. But I just became phenomenally interested in it and it's been a great place.  

[00:19:24] Erin Spain, MS: Would you say that this is also a population that hasn't always been studied very much in biomedical science?  

[00:19:32] Denise Scholtens, PhD: I think that that is true, for sure. There are some unique vulnerabilities, right, for a pregnant individual and for the fetus, right, and in that situation. You know, the vast majority of what we do is really only pertaining to the pregnant participant but, you know, there are certainly fetal outcomes, newborn outcomes. And so, I think conducting research in this particular population is a unique opportunity and there are components of it that need to be treated with special care given sort of this unique phase of human development and this unique phase of life.  

[00:20:03] Erin Spain, MS: So, as data generation just really continues to explode, and technology is advancing so fast, faster than ever, where do you see this field evolving, the field of biostatistics, where do you see it going in the next five to ten years?  

[00:20:19] Denise Scholtens, PhD: That's a great question. I think all I can really tell you is that I'm continually surprised by new data types. I think that we will see an emergence of a whole new kind of technology that we probably can't even envision five years from now. And I think that the fun part about being a biostatistician is seeing what's happening and then trying to wrap your mind around the possibilities and the actual nature of the data that are collected. You know, I think back to 2004 and this whole high throughput space just felt so big. You know, we could look at gene transcription across the genome using one technology. And we could only look at one dimension of it. Right now it just seems so basic. When I think about where the field has come over the past 20 years, it's just phenomenal. I think we're seeing a similar emergence of the scale and the type of data in the imaging space and in the wearable space, with EHR data, just. You know, all these different technologies for capturing, capturing things that we just never even conceived of before. I do hope that we continue to emphasize making meaningful and translatable conclusions from these data. So actionable conclusions that can impact the way that we care for others around us. I do hope that remains a guiding principle in all that we do.  

[00:21:39] Erin Spain, MS: Why is Northwestern Medicine and Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine such a supportive environment to pursue this type of work?  

[00:21:47] Denise Scholtens, PhD: That's a wonderful question and one, honestly, that faculty candidates often ask me. When we bring faculty candidates in to visit here at Northwestern, they immediately pick up on the fact that we are a collaborative group of individuals who are for each other. Who want to see each other succeed, who are happy to share the things that we know and support each other's work, and support each other's research, and help strategize around the things that we want to accomplish. There is a strong culture here, at least in my department and in my division that I've really loved that continues to persist around really genuinely collaborating and genuinely sharing lessons learned and genuinely supporting each other as we move toward common goals. We've had some really strong, generous leadership who has helped us to get there and has helped create a culture where those are the guiding principles. In my leadership role is certainly something that I strive to maintain. Really hope that's true. I'm sure I don't do it perfectly but that's absolutely something I want to see accomplished here in the division and in NUDACC for sure.  

[00:22:50] Erin Spain, MS: Well, thank you so much for coming on the show and telling us about your path here to Northwestern and all of the exciting work that we can look forward to in the coming years.  

[00:22:59] Denise Scholtens, PhD: Thank you so much for having me. I've really enjoyed this.  

[00:23:01] Erin Spain, MS: You can listen to shows from the Northwestern Medicine Podcast Network to hear more about the latest developments in medical research, health care, and medical education. Leaders from across specialties speak to topics ranging from basic science to global health to simulation education. Learn more at feinberg. northwestern.edu/podcasts.  

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April 23, 2024

Q&A: UW research shows neural connection between learning a second language and learning to code

Statistics show that up to 50% of students who enroll in introductory programming courses in the United States eventually drop out, suggesting a mismatch between how coding is learned and the way it’s taught. Pixabay

As computer programming becomes an increasingly valued skill in the workforce, there is a greater need to understand how people learn to code most effectively.

Statistics show that up to 50% of students who enroll in introductory programming courses in the United States eventually drop out, suggesting a mismatch between how coding is learned and the way it’s taught. A new study from the University of Washington, published March 5 in Scientific Reports , examines that issue.

The researchers recorded electrophysiological brain responses of varyingly skilled programmers as they read lines of code written in Python , a programming language. The brain’s response to viewing errors in both the syntax (form) and semantics (meaning) of code appeared identical to those that occur when fluent readers process sentences on a word-by-word basis, supporting a resemblance between how people learn computer and natural languages.

UW News spoke with co-authors Chantel Prat , a UW professor of psychology, and Chu-Hsuan (Iris) Kuo , a recent UW doctoral graduate of psychology, about their research, the future of teaching computer programming and more.

Why is it important to understand how learning computer programming works in the brain?

Iris Kuo : The idea of programming as literacy is something we wanted to focus on. We wanted to approach learning to program from a language learning perspective, specifically from a second language learning perspective. We’ve learned a lot about what makes a second language easy or difficult to learn and why some people are good at it and some people struggle. Now we’re applying that lens to programming. If we can approach this topic from a different perspective, maybe we can address some myths or bring up new questions.

Chantel Prat : The idea of programming as the literacy of the future is important. There’s an increasing need and desire for programming in the workforce — as of 2016 over 20% of listed jobs required coding skills. It used to be this kind of niche skill that software engineers held, but now it’s central to all STEM fields. Coding is a potential bottleneck to employment, but Intro to Programming continues to be one of these notoriously hard classes with high dropout rates. This is also a field where gender gaps are closing more slowly than other fields.

Everyone wants to tell you what it takes to be a good programmer, but many of their ideas aren’t substantiated with science. Many of them are tied to culturally-linked ideas about who is already a good programmer. We know a lot about why and for whom learning a natural language is hard or why learning to read is hard. The question now was, can we leverage that expertise to start understanding how people with different levels of expertise understand code?

How did you conduct this research, and what were the main takeaways?

IK : There’s a lot of literature in the second-language learning community that uses the event-related potential, or ERP, where we place sensors on people’s heads and record their electrical activity to different stimulus. In this case, they were reading code. There are two distinct markers that indicate someone is processing meaning and when someone is processing form, like grammar. We wanted to use these two indicators to see if someone might react the same way while reading code.

If you’re a native speaker of a language, or if you’re really proficient, you tend to react to errors in meaning with a brain response marker called N400. You also tend to react to errors in grammar with a marker called P600. The more proficient you are in a language, the more distinct these markers are. When you’re first learning a language, you may be able to recognize something wrong with a sentence, but you may not be able to automatically process something as an error in meaning or grammar. Your brain takes time to learn these rules of grammar. Newer second-language learners tend to respond to most errors with the N400 marker, even when the error is grammatical. Over time, they learn to distinguish between something wrong with meaning and something wrong with grammar.

We wanted to see if something like that would happen with coding in people with a wide range of expertise. While all participants responded to errors in meaning and form in code, the higher their level of expertise, the stronger and more distinct their responses to the errors. This matches with what we have traditionally seen in second-language learners, where the more expertise you have in a natural language, the more sensitive you are to errors. This was the first study that realized we could have these neurological markers in coding and that people do process code incrementally.

CP : It was originally thought that N400 and P600 markers were language specific. For a very long time, they were the gold standard for understanding brain processes associated with language comprehension. When research showed you can find them in certain cases for music and math, that was a huge deal. So, these markers aren’t language-specific; they’re about making meaning and how we understand what we take in incrementally.

Our study showed that when somebody reads a line of code with a bracket instead of a parenthesis, for example, their brain reacts in the same way as when they read a sentence with the wrong verb ending. And the fact that progression of sensitivity to form and meaning follows the same pattern as second language learning with increasing expertise is what we hoped to find, but it’s still pretty exciting!

What does the future of this area of research look like, and what is the potential impact on coding education?

IK : We started with the coding language Python because it’s one of the fastest-growing programming languages and one of the simpler languages for people to learn. It was designed to be really reader friendly. But the reality is, there are hundreds of other programming languages that serve different purposes. Some programming languages are more difficult or easier to learn, just like natural languages. We’re working toward looking more extensively at the brain and seeing if our results can be replicated with other languages. I think this could impact the way we teach it.

Let’s say a language is more reliant on structure, can you teach it the same way you teach something like Python? If we want to approach it from a language learning lens, how would we adapt that to accommodate something like Java, which is maybe more difficult for some people to learn?

CP : People have been talking about the gap between the way coding is taught and the way it’s best learned since at least the 1980s. Coding education originated in an engineering culture — specifically a software engineering culture. Moving forward, there’s good reason to support the idea of coding as learning a language, like learning to speak with computers. It should be taught like a language where you have elements of learning syntax, but you also have a lot of practice and “conversation” classes where you produce code in small groups. This also creates the option of using coding courses to fulfill second language requirements. There may not be a one-size-fits-all best practice for computer programming education, but I think it’s useful to understand the way different people learn through a second-language-learning model.

This research was funded by the Office of Naval Research, Cognitive Science of Learning Program.

For more information, contact Kuo at [email protected] and Prat at [email protected] .

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How do birds flock? Researchers do the math to reveal previously unknown aerodynamic phenomenon

Findings have potential applications for transportation and energy.

In looking up at the sky during these early weeks of spring, you may very well see a flock of birds moving in unison as they migrate north. But how do these creatures fly in such a coordinated and seemingly effortless fashion?

Part of the answer lies in precise, and previously unknown, aerodynamic interactions, reports a team of mathematicians in a newly published study. Its breakthrough broadens our understanding of wildlife, including fish, who move in schools, and could have applications in transportation and energy.

"This area of research is important since animals are known to take advantage of the flows, such as of air or water, left by other members of a group to save on the energy needed to move or to reduce drag or resistance," explains Leif Ristroph, an associate professor at New York University's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences and the senior author of the paper, which appears in the journal Nature Communications . "Our work may also have applications in transportation -- like efficient propulsion through air or water -- and energy, such as more effectively harvesting power from wind, water currents, or waves."

The team's results show that the impact of aerodynamics depends on the size of the flying group -- benefiting small groups and disrupting large ones.

"The aerodynamic interactions in small bird flocks help each member to hold a certain special position relative to their leading neighbor, but larger groups are disrupted by an effect that dislodges members from these positions and may cause collisions," notes Sophie Ramananarivo, an assistant professor at École Polytechnique Paris and one of the paper's authors.

Previously, Ristroph and his colleagues uncovered how birds move in groups -- but these findings were drawn from experiments mimicking the interactions of two birds. The new Nature Communications research expanded the inquiry to account for many flyers.

To replicate the columnar formations of birds, in which they line up one directly behind the other, the researchers created mechanized flappers that act like birds' wings. The wings were 3D-printed from plastic and driven by motors to flap in water, which replicated how air flows around bird wings during flight. This "mock flock" propelled through water and could freely arrange itself within a line or queue, as seen in a video of the experiment.

The flows affected group organization in different ways -- depending on the size of the group.

For small groups of up to about four flyers, the researchers discovered an effect by which each member gets help from the aerodynamic interactions in holding its position relative to its neighbors.

"If a flyer is displaced from its position, the vortices or swirls of flow left by the leading neighbor help to push the follower back into place and hold it there," explains Ristroph, director of NYU's Applied Mathematics Laboratory, where the experiments were conducted. "This means the flyers can assemble into an orderly queue of regular spacing automatically and with no extra effort, since the physics does all the work.

"For larger groups, however, these flow interactions cause later members to be jostled around and thrown out of position, typically causing a breakdown of the flock due to collisions among members. This means that the very long groups seen in some types of birds are not at all easy to form, and the later members likely have to constantly work to hold their positions and avoid crashing into their neighbors."

The authors then deployed mathematical modeling to better understand the underlying forces driving the experimental results.

Here, they concluded that flow-mediated interactions between neighbors are, in effect, spring-like forces that hold each member in place -- just as if the cars of a train were connected by springs.

However, these "springs" act in only one direction -- a lead bird can exert force on its follower, but not vice versa -- and this non-reciprocal interaction means that later members tend to resonate or oscillate wildly.

"The oscillations look like waves that jiggle the members forwards and backwards and which travel down the group and increase in intensity, causing later members to crash together," explains Joel Newbolt, who was an NYU graduate student in physics at the time of research.

The team named these new types of waves "flonons," which is based on the similar concept of phonons that refer to vibrational waves in systems of masses linked by springs and which are used to model the motions of atoms or molecules in crystals or other materials.

"Our findings therefore raise some interesting connections to material physics in which birds in an orderly flock are analogous to atoms in a regular crystal," Newbolt adds.

The study's other authors included the Courant Institute's Nickolas Lewis, Mathilde Bleu, Jiajie Wu, and Christiana Mavroyiakoumou.

The work was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (DMS-1847955, DMS-1646339).

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NFL Draft 2024: Team Needs, Top Targets, Possible Picks and More

Here’s how teams see their opponents’ drafts, which should give you all the clearest view on how your team could approach this weekend’s three-day extravaganza in Detroit.

• Author: Albert Breer

In this story:

Last year, in the days leading up to the draft, an AFC general manager told me that the 2024 NFL draft had maybe six or seven prospects that, had they been eligible, would’ve been the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft. Then, he rattled off the names: Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Marvin Harrison Jr., Olu Fashanu, Brock Bowers and Dallas Turner.

All, he said, were better than anyone in last year’s class at their position.

Since then, others have entered the fray such as Jayden Daniels, Joe Alt and Malik Nabers. Some in the group have leveled off, and teams have had time to dig in. And with that reset complete just a few days away from Thursday’s first round, the conclusion I’ve gotten from teams is that while this year’s group is really good at the top, it may not be quite as complete as a lot of personnel people were hoping it would be last May.

“I’d say it’s probably not as strong as the perception of it is out there,” says one NFC GM. “It took some body blows with the number of guys who went back to school. I think it’s kind of like any other draft now. But, yeah, there’s a misconception out there that it’s this out-of-this-world draft year. There’s a point where it’s really going to fall off.”

And when we get to that point next weekend, you’ll probably have stopped watching anyway.

So with that said, welcome to our annual draft needs column. Every year, in this space, we work with a few pro scouting departments to best ascertain how teams see their rivals’ needs. As such, some needs listed here are obvious, while others are a year or two ahead of losing a free agent, or a veteran aging out.

In other words, the needs here are based on how teams see their opponents’ draft, which I hope gives all of you the clearest view on how each will approach the weekend.

And that’s where the above NFC GM’s evaluation comes into play. He did agree that the top of the draft is strong. Some premium positions such as receiver and corner should bring great depth in the top 100 picks or so. And we already know the talent at the quarterback position.

But early on Day 3, the quality of players available falls off, and there will be guys selected that teams see on the same level as undrafted free agents. It’s going to impact the value of late-round picks, and could also weigh down trades earlier in the draft as a result.

We’ll have more on this in the takeaways, but it’s mostly, as the GM said, because of the lower number of underclassmen in the draft. Only 58 declared this year, down from a record 130 three years ago. That’s largely due to NIL and the transfer portal making it easier (and more attractive) for guys to stay in school.

So if you’re looking for your favorite team to come away with a half-dozen contributors, this might not be the year. But that shouldn’t make Thursday’s opening round any less fun.

Caleb Williams may as well start packing his bags for the Windy City.

Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

I love draft week, and hope you’re all as excited as I am. Here’s what’s over in the takeaways …

• A last look at Harrison’s process, and how it might impact things in the future.

• More on the impact of NIL and the portal on the draft.

• A little more on the Commanders’ trip to Topgolf.

But we’re starting with a big-picture view of the big week ahead.

So over the past couple of weeks, I spent time talking with coaches, GMs and scouts trying to learn as much as I can about the 2024 draft class, and how things might fall Thursday and into Friday and Saturday. In the process, I compiled needs, and here’s what I know as of now.

Chicago Bears

• First round: Nos. 1 and 9
• Total picks: Four
• Needs: QB, Edge, WR, DT, OL

What you need to know: The Bears traded Justin Fields before St. Patrick’s Day, and they invited only one quarterback to Lake Forest for a top-30 visit (in-house visits with prospects before the draft). During that visit, Caleb Williams dined with vets at a separate restaurant from the other five prospects in town. They sent the calvary to USC for its pro day. Williams is, for all intents and purposes, a Bear already. Which takes you, then, to the second of their first-round picks. Other teams have gotten the sense that Chicago will try to move down given their dearth of picks on Day 2 (1) and Day 3 (2). If the Bears stick, a couple of friends of GM Ryan Poles said they think he’ll be looking to add talent around Williams. So if one of the top three receivers slide to Chicago, DJ Moore and Keenan Allen could get a running mate. If not? Maybe an offensive lineman or Texas 3-technique Byron Murphy II.

Washington Commanders

• First round: No. 2
• Total picks: Nine
• Needs: QB, OT, Edge TE

What you need to know: GM Adam Peters and coach Dan Quinn have done a good job covering their intentions at two—though it’s fair to say it’ll be a quarterback. The team had the much-ballyhooed group 30 visit with Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, J.J. McCarthy and Michael Penix Jr. in town, and part of the Topgolf crew. Two things I can dispel here. One, the coaches got plenty of one-on-one time with the quarterbacks, both through the process, and on the 30 visit, so there wasn’t a lot lost in how they arranged the whole thing (a practice Peters took from how the San Francisco 49ers did it). Two, Daniels’s agent was not offended by how the whole thing went down. So, again, while Peters and Quinn have kept their cards close to the vest, I wouldn’t be totally stunned if their pick was Maye or McCarthy. But most NFL folks are banking on Daniels being the selection.

  New England Patriots

• First round: No. 3
• Total picks: Eight
• Needs: QB, WR, OT, CB

What you need to know: A lot of people have been involved in the process. Eliot Wolf, Jerod Mayo, Alex Van Pelt, Ben McAdoo, T.C. McCartney, Alonzo Highsmith, Pat Stewart, Matt Groh and Cam Williams were part of the team’s traveling crew to quarterback pro days, with a few others sprinkled in. And they’ve all had a voice as Wolf tries to pull together all of the information the team has compiled on Daniels, Maye, McCarthy and Penix. It’s worth noting that Penix was a late addition to the team’s slate of 30 visits—I’ve heard on good authority that was in case the team decides to trade down. If Daniels is there, I’d bet they take him. Both Maye and McCarthy have their fans in the Patriots’ building. And if it’s down to those two, my guess at this point is the team sticks at three and takes Maye. In any case, my money is that Maye goes third (with the Giants and Vikings possible trade partners for New England if the Patriots decide to move).

Arizona Cardinals

Draft experts expect Harrison to be pick by the Cardinals with the fourth selection.

Columbus Dispatch-USA TODAY Sports

• First round: Nos. 4 and 27
• Total picks: 11
• Needs: WR, Edge, DT, CB, RB

What you need to know: It won’t be easy to get GM Monti Ossenfort to move off four—but he’s going to listen to offers. The Cardinals have already talked to three teams in earnest on moving the pick, and a fourth was expected to call. Those teams have been told that Arizona won’t move the pick until it’s on the clock, with the hope parameters for potential deals are in place before then (as was the case with Houston last year). And with the uncertainty of which quarterbacks will be available at that point, teams interested in trading for the pick probably would benefit from waiting anyway. If Arizona stays at four, a lot of folks expect Marvin Harrison Jr. to be the pick. His combination of clean character and freakish traits make him a wheelhouse type of prospect for Ossenfort. And from there, Arizona will have a chance to really build the roster, with the fourth pick being just one of their three in the top 35 and six in the top 90.

Los Angeles Chargers

• First round: No. 5
• Needs: WR, OT, CB DL, OG

What you need to know: Harrison would make a lot of sense if Arizona trades out and quarterbacks go 1-2-3-4. Jim Harbaugh played with Marvin Harrison in Indianapolis, was in the Big Ten with his son, and the Chargers just offloaded Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. But pretty consistently I’ve been told to keep an eye on an offensive lineman in this spot. The chalk pick would be Notre Dame LT Joe Alt, who’s continually improved and has off-the-charts potential (one exec said his pro day was the best he’s ever seen from an offensive lineman). But I’ve heard a little buzz, and maybe this would be in a trade-down scenario, that Alabama’s JC Latham could be a Chargers’ consideration as well, as a road-grading right tackle to bookend with incumbent left tackle Rashawn Slater (though the way he finished the Rose Bowl against Harbaugh’s Michigan team might be a strike against him). And, yes, the Chargers are open to moving down. Chances of that, as I see them, would increase if Arizona sticks at four.

New York Giants

• First round: No. 6
• Total picks: Six
• Needs: WR, QB, OT, CB, DT

What you need to know: They’ve done all the work on the quarterbacks. They traveled to Chapel Hill to work out Maye, went to Ann Arbor to work out McCarthy and traveled to Seattle to work out Penix. They also had groups at the pro days, and did 30 visits with each. The quarterback I’ve heard them connected to most (by far) is Maye. If they can’t get in position to get Maye, I could see the Giants standing pat and taking a receiver. I’d say this spot is the floor for Harrison. If he’s not there, would the Giants take Washington’s Rome Odunze over LSU’s Malik Nabers? Given that Nabers has a bit of a reputation for being difficult to deal with/coach, and the Giants’ own experience with another LSU receiver that had been like that, I could see it, with Odunze being about as clean character-wise as any prospect in the draft.

Tennessee Titans

• First round: No. 7
• Total picks: Seven
• Needs: OT, DT, Edge, WR, LB

What you need to know: Just about everyone expects the Titans to go offensive line in Brian Callahan’s first draft working with GM Ran Carthon and president of football operations Chad Brinker. Even after taking Peter Skoronski in the first round last year and signing Lloyd Cushenberry in free agency, Tennessee has plenty of work to do in that area. Alt would make sense in a lot of different ways—the mere idea of putting him with Bill Callahan is tantalizing—so I think this would be the floor for the offensive tackle. This is also another team I’ve heard connected to Latham, perhaps if the Titans wind up in a trade-down scenario. Those two and Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga made it to Nashville for 30 visits. If there’s a curveball here? It could be Nabers, with the younger Callahan having been there when the Bengals took Ja’Marr Chase over Penei Sewell three years ago.

Turner could be the first defensive player off the board.

John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Atlanta Falcons

• First round: No. 8
• Needs: Edge, CB, DT, OT

What you need to know: One of the easiest connections to make in this year’s draft has been Alabama pass rusher Dallas Turner to the Falcons. Raheem Morris arrives with the team carrying a huge need for a top edge player, and Turner, who just turned 21, is bursting with athletic potential. Murphy is another that’s been mentioned to me here, as a potential Grady Jarrett successor. But a few teams have their radar up for the team to pivot if Nabers happens to fall to them—which would mean Atlanta taking an offensive skill player in the top 10 four years in a row. Then, there’s a wild-card possibility that the Falcons take a quarterback. I don’t expect it. But the team did send a big contingent, with Morris and GM Terry Fontenot in the group, to work out Penix in Seattle, and had one scheduled (it was canceled) with McCarthy as well.

New York Jets

• First round: No. 10
• Needs: OT, WR, TE, S, RB

What you need to know: I’m aware that a lot of people have Bowers penciled in here, and I’d agree he’s a consideration. But those who know Jets GM Joe Douglas insist that it’d be foolish to rule out New York taking a tackle. The team’s new bookends at the position, Tyron Smith and Morgan Moses, are both 33 years old. Smith’s had trouble staying on the field, and it’s pretty easy to argue that Aaron Rodgers needs better protection in 2024 than he does targets in the passing game. Which tackle is another question. Alt and Penn State’s Olu Fashanu are the most natural left tackles, but Latham and Fuaga have flexibility to kick inside to guard (which could create temporary homes for those guys as Jets).

Minnesota Vikings

• First round: Nos. 11 and 23
• Total picks: Nineeven
• Needs: QB, DT, OG, CB

What you need to know: My sense is the Vikings, with the infrastructure they have on offense (Kevin O’Connell as head coach; Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson as pass catchers; Christian Darrisaw anchoring the line) are comfortable with a larger swath of the quarterbacks than other teams. So, sure, they could trade up for Maye. They could also move up for McCarthy. Or they could, theoretically, wait on the position, either until 11 or 23 (and take someone such as Texas DT Byron Murphy II at 11). My guess if I had to mock it right now? A trade to move up for the Michigan quarterback.

Denver Broncos

• First round: No. 12
• Needs: QB, CB, TE, WR, C, OT, DT

What you need to know: The Broncos have quietly done their homework on the quarterbacks. They traveled to Michigan (with Sean Payton in tow) to work out McCarthy, and had Penix to Denver for a 30 visit. Denver could be a sneaky trade-up possibility for McCarthy, or at least that’s how some rival teams see it. There’s also a wide-spread assumption among NFL folks that if Bo Nix is going in the first round, it’d be to Denver, just because of his stylistic fit with Payton—and the fact that the Broncos don’t have a second-round pick, something that makes a trade down possible (and they’ve called around on trading down), and could complicate a trade up for a quarterback. If it’s not a quarterback? Offensive line is always a possibility for Payton, and one thing that was raised to me was how the Broncos coach has often had matchup guys, such as Bowers, at tight end.

Las Vegas Raiders

• First round: No. 13
• Needs: QB, OT, CB, IOL, WR

What you need to know: The Raiders have sniffed around on a trade up, and a lot of NFL people have assumed, as we’ve written in this space, such a move would be to get Daniels given the three years he spent with Antonio Pierce at Arizona State. If Vegas sticks at 13, which would be the likelihood, they’ve been marked by a few other teams as one to watch on Penix, with a coaching staff loaded with guys who have a quarterbacking background. And if it’s not a quarterback, this one could legitimately go in just about any best-player-available direction, with the team carrying needs just about everywhere except on the defensive line and at safety.

New Orleans Saints

• First round: No. 14
• Needs: OT, WR, Edge, OL, CB

What you need to know: A team that’s been pegged by many as one to watch at offensive tackle, and one name that’s come up a few times is Fuaga, whose tape is as good as any lineman in the draft, but gets dinged by some who think he’s strictly a right tackle. With Ryan Ramczyk entrenched in that spot, taking Fuaga here would be a sign that the Saints think he can flip, similar to how the Browns projected Jedrick Wills Jr. to the left side after drafting the Alabama right tackle back in 2020.

Bowers has been compared by some NFL personnel to Colts legend Dallas Clark.

Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK

Indianapolis Colts

• First round: No. 15
• Needs: CB, WR, Edge, DB, OT

What you need to know: The Colts are widely seen as a team that could go up for an offensive-skill player—maybe if one of the top three receivers slides a bit, or maybe for Bowers—to try and put another piece in place for Anthony Richardson. Bowers is interesting in particular because he’s been compared by NFL folks to Colts legend Dallas Clark, and also because Shane Steichen was very creative in his use of tight ends with the Philadelphia Eagles. Alabama’s Terrion Arnold and Toledo’s Quinyon Mitchell could be fits, too, after Indy explored a trade for L’Jarius Sneed earlier in the offseason.

Seattle Seahawks

• First round: No. 16
• Needs: DL, OG, LB, TE

What you need to know: Seattle has connections to two of the draft’s top quarterbacks—coach Mike Macdonald was with McCarthy at Michigan in 2021, and OC Ryan Grubb coached Penix the past two years at Washington. Out of range to get McCarthy, there’s some belief in league circles that this is another potential Penix landing spot. If Seattle doesn’t go with a quarterback, there are two stylistic fits for the Macdonald defense. One is Florida State’s Jared Verse, a physical, tough, Ravens-style edge in the mold of Terrell Suggs. Another would could be Iowa’s Cooper DeJean, the sort of movable piece for a secondary that’s been vital in the types of defenses Wink Martindale and Macdonald ran in Baltimore the past five years.

Jacksonville Jaguars

• First round: No. 17
• Needs: WR, CB, DT, OL

What you need to know: The Jaguars have explored moving up—and they’ve done a lot of work on the top receivers in the draft. Losing Calvin Ridley, even with Christian Kirk and Gabe Davis paid, makes that spot a priority. Failing that, corner, if either Arnold or Mitchell are available here, shapes up as a possibility, too. Another would be a disruptive defensive tackle for new DC Ryan Nielsen’s scheme—maybe Murphy, if he slides a bit, or Illinois defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton (who’s coming off a foot fracture).

Cincinnati Bengals

• First round: No. 18
• Total picks: 10
• Needs: OT, WR, DT, CB, RB

What you need to know: Cincinnati’s gone into the past few drafts with an offensive line need and this year’s no different, with the departure of Jonah Williams opening a spot opposite Orlando Brown Jr. at tackle. In a class where seven or eight might go in the first round, it’s hard to get a handle on which ones will be there at 18, but this might be Tyler Guyton or Amarius Mims territory. I also wouldn’t rule out Bowers, if he somehow slips (I can’t imagine he’ll be there at 18) or a receiver (such as LSU’s Brian Thomas) to get ahead of the potential departure (sooner or later) of Tee Higgins.

Los Angeles Rams

• First round: No. 19
• Needs: DT, Edge, OT, DB, TE, RB

What you need to know: Sean McVay’s going into his eighth season in Los Angeles and this is the first time he’s had a first-round pick. That alone would put receiver in play, even with Puka Nacua, Cooper Kupp and Tutu Atwell on the roster. That said, it’s also fair to say the Rams could add to either line of scrimmage. On offense, tackle would make sense. On defense, a disruptive interior force, such as Newton, would be logical, too, given the void left by Aaron Donald, and even with the team having hit on Kobie Turner last year.

Pittsburgh Steelers

• First round: No. 20
• Needs: WR, OT, CB, C, DT

What you need to know: The Steelers have poured into their offensive line,  adding vets such as James Daniels and Issac Seumalo the past couple of offseasons and drafting Broderick Jones in the first round. It’d be no surprise to see another tackle thrown into that mix here. Another thing worth mentioning: the Steelers got a great return taking a center in a spot such as this 14 years ago in Maurkice Pouncey, so Duke’s Graham Barton could be a nice fit, too. And, yes, I know a lot of folks have the team taking a receiver. I just know the Steelers have always found receivers later in the draft (their last first-round receiver was Santonio Holmes in 2006), and this draft class is deep with Day 2 and even Day 3 prospects at the position.

Worthy’s blazing speed could make him an eventual replacement for Tyreek Hill in Miami.

Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman /

Miami Dolphins

• First round: No. 21
• Needs: OG, DT, Edge, WR, CB

What you need to know: Miami has more holes than most folks realize. The off-loading of Jerome Baker and Xavien Howard—combined with the departures of Christian Wilkins and Andrew Van Ginkel—have left the Dolphins with a lot of work to do under new defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver. And while they’ve made it work on the offensive line, left tackle Terron Armstead is aging and has been hurt, and they could use help elsewhere up front, too. So with all of that established, one name I’ve heard circled for Miami from other teams is Texas WR Xavier Worthy, who would add even more speed to the offense, and perhaps give the team an off-ramp with Tyreek Hill over the next year or two.

Philadelphia Eagles

• First round: No. 22
• Needs: CB, OG, S, RB, LB, OT

What you need to know: The position I’ve heard most consistently assigned to the Eagles is offensive tackle. It might seem a little strange, given the team’s needs on defense (and in the secondary in particular), but GM Howie Roseman’s always prioritized the lines and worked to get ahead of potential holes, so finding the eventual replacement for Lane Johnson—who’s entering his 12th year—is in play. With the group of tackles in this year’s class so highly regarded, though, it’s unclear whether the right one for Philly makes it to 22.

Dallas Cowboys

• First round: No. 24
• Needs: OT, C, RB, CB, DL

What you need to know: Another team that’s expected to be on the lookout for offensive line help. The flexibility that Tyler Smith brings to the table allows Dallas to keep its options open at these positions. And the versatile Barton is one player I’ve heard connected to the team, which makes sense given Dallas’s track record of success (Zack Martin, Travis Frederick) taking interior linemen high. I think they’ll go running back early—maybe Texas’s Jonathan Brooks on Day 2—but there isn’t one worth taking in the first round.

Green Bay Packers

• First round: No. 25
• Needs: OT, LB, CB, S, OG

What you need to know: Another team looking for offensive line help. Long-time left tackle David Bakhtiari is gone, and for right now Green Bay’s bookends at the position are Rasheed Walker and Zach Tom. Whether a long-term answer is found here at that spot will likely be dictated by which tackles are there in this range. Corner is another possibility, with Clemson’s Nate Wiggins and Alabama’s Kool-Aid McKinstry possibilities near the end of the round.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

• First round: No. 26
• Needs: OG, LB, CB, DT, Edge, RB

What you need to know: The Buccaneers don’t have a ton of huge needs. Perhaps the biggest one is for an off-ball linebacker and, as is the case at running back, there really isn’t a guy at that position expected to go in the first round. So it stands to reason Tampa gets a corner to replace Carlton Davis, or perhaps a pressure player for their defensive front such as Penn State’s Chop Robinson.

Wiggins could provide secondary help for a team like the Bills.

Ken Ruinard-USA TODAY Sports

Buffalo Bills

• First round: No. 28
• Needs: WR, CB, S, Edge, C, RB

What you need to know: There’s the idea that the Bills could go up for a receiver, but with the roster turnover this offseason that broke up much of the core that got Buffalo back to prominence, a massive, Julio Jones-type of swing might not be as logical as people are making it out to be. That said, guys such as Texas’s A.D. Mitchell and Georgia’s Ladd McConkey (who has some medical questions after injuries in college) would be reasonable options, as would a corner (Wiggins, McKinstry) or even a center such as West Virginia’s Zach Frazier.

Detroit Lions

• First round: No. 29
• Needs: S, WR, OG, Edge, OT

What you need to know: There aren’t many holes left on the roster, as the team tries to take the next step after making the NFC title game last year. They could, like everyone else, use some offensive line depth, or an edge rusher to throw in the group with Aidan Hutchinson (Missouri’s Darius Robinson would be a nice fit).

Baltimore Ravens

• First round: No. 30
• Needs: OT, LB, WR, Edge, DB

What you need to know: Another team with an offensive line need, the Ravens said goodbye to John Simpson, Kevin Zeitler and Morgan Moses this offseason, which leaves Eric DeCosta and John Harbaugh with the option to take a tackle or an interior lineman here. This is where someone such as Arizona’s Jordan Morgan or, if you project him to guard, Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson could come into play.

San Francisco 49ers

• First round: No. 31
• Total picks: 10.
• Needs: CB, OT, DL, LB, WR, TE

What you need to know: The 49ers could use—yup—another offensive tackle. This is another one that’ll be dictated by who happens to fall in the round. If the tackle supply has dried up (a distinct possibility), then one of the second-tier corners, or a receiver to have in place to eventually take Brandon Aiyuk’s spot would make sense.

Kansas City Chiefs

• First round: No. 32
• Needs: OT, Edge, WR, CB

What you need to know: Yes, another team that could use another tackle, with Donovan Smith still unsigned and Jawaan Taylor the only one on the roster with starting experience. But Kansas City is bracing for Rashee Rice to, eventually, incur sanctions from the league for his recent hit-and-run, and so receiver is higher on the list than it might’ve been a couple of months ago. I have heard Worthy’s name connected to Kansas City.

Carolina Panthers

• First pick: No. 33
• Total picks: Seven 
• Needs: WR, Edge, CB, LB, DT

What you need to know: Supporting Bryce Young will certainly be a priority, and given the strength of the receiver class, it’s not out of line to think that new GM Dan Morgan will tap into wideouts at Nos. 33, 39 or 65. That said, having the first pick in the second round can put a team in a position of power on the Friday of draft weekend, so it’d hardly be shocking to see Morgan hold an auction for the pick after the first round to grow the team’s draft warchest.

Houston Texans

• First pick: No. 42
• Needs: DT, CB, OT

What you need to know: Nick Caserio essentially moved the Texans’ first pick down 19 slots in the trade with Minnesota, and Houston still has its slotted second- and third-rounders at Nos. 59 and 86 (they have the Vikings’ second-rounder next year in the wash), setting the team up as a Day 2 powerbroker. As for what the Texans will be looking for, DeMeco Ryans’s history in San Francisco would indicate they’ll keep stocking the defensive line, and Florida State’s Braden Fiske and Ohio State’s Michael Hall could be fits as disruptors on the interior.

Cleveland Browns

• First pick: No. 54
• Needs:DT, IOL, WR, RB

What you need to know: The Browns are another team in the enviable position of being able to plan a year or two out, with a pretty complete roster devoid of major holes. They’d like to add a defensive tackle or two, putting guys such as Hall and Michigan’s Kris Jenkins on the Day 2 radar, and landing a running back in the middle rounds, with Nick Chubb coming back from injury.

So as you can tell, we’re ready for a big week ahead at Sports Illustrated . This column is just the start—we’ll have my usual Tuesday notes, plus notes columns on Wednesday and Thursday, my one and only mock draft somewhere in there, and the podcast, too.

Happy draft week!

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