Library

Notes: In our laboratory, we have developed a database system, which we believe is of immediate interest to the general scientific community. The database represents a computer-based replacement for the laboratory notebooks used in the majority of research laboratories worldwide. In addition, the database provides an effective tool for organizing and managing laboratory information at all levels, spanning from managing and revising standard operating procedures and producing documentation of research activities to keeping track of data and conclusions. Using the commercially available database toolkit software FileMaker Pro, we have developed a relational database solution for management of laboratory information. The system consists of a hierarchy of five interrelated databases, each pertaining to a separate type of information, namely, overall project information, information relating to individual experiment setups, documentation of daily research activity, generated data and descriptions of standard operating procedures. Like other databases, each individual database consists of a number of records, each comprised of a set of fields in which information is entered. In each record, a certain field is reserved to specify the relation of the record to a record in another database at a higher level. Thus, the database is essentially five databases linked by a hierarchy of one-to-many relations, organizing information in a folder-like structure. Importantly, the database system allows multiple users to access and edit records simultaneously, and the data entered in one database immediately becomes accessible through the other databases. The limitations of laboratory notebooks are apparent when looking for information, which is dispersed throughout one or more notebooks, or possibly on loose sheets of paper or printouts ‘somewhere’. The often complicated process of gathering laboratory data or results when writing grant applications or research papers is made considerably easier with the database system. Thus, the database solution presented should be broadly attractive to researchers, irrespective of their scientific discipline.