Field and lab notebooks are a permanent record of experiments and research performed. Your notebook will encompass all of your field and laboratory experiences during this semester. It will be your written record of your observations, procedures, and the conditions.

Field notes are often the only record one has of a field experience. Since this record may be of use to other investigators, the general form has become standardized. A few of the widely used rules are listed below:

1. Use a bound notebook (composition type) – no looseleaf pages. (I find it particularly helpful to use a notebook with graph paper. Graph paper makes designing data tables and sketching preliminary results easier).
2. Design a table of contents in the beginning. Number and initial all following pages.
3. Enter all data and observations directly into the book in pencil or with an indelible ink pen. These types of writing instruments protect against loss of data in case of the inevitable (the book becomes damp or wet).
4. Delete incorrect data by drawing a single line through it. Do not erase or remove data from the notebook.
5. Be certain that your name, the course title, and the semester are indicated on the cover and somewhere inside the notebook (I suggest over the table of contents).

HOW TO TAKE NOTES IN THE FIELD

1. Take all field notes on location. Do not trust your memory, it will fail you with alarming frequency. Since there is a high probability of your notebook getting wet during field research, I suggest that you cover it with a plastic bag while in "treacherous" field situations.
2. Put together complete notes including outside temperatures, and weather conditions. You may believe that some of your data is unimportant, but it is far better to have data that you find that you don’t need than to need data that you do not have. Cultivate the practice of observation. Learn to see things not ordinarily noticed. Write down not only what you see, but also what you sense (hear, feel, smell).
3. Identify all species accurately.
4. Make sketches of the study site, experimental apparatus, or experimental design. Label areas of collection or pertinent parts of an apparatus. A field sketch, regardless of your artistic capabilities, can help you recall things that you would otherwise forget. It can also be a timesaving tool in many cases for a picture can be used instead of a long description.
5. After you have completed the day’s work, stop to ask yourself if there is anything else that you needed/wanted to record. Imagine writing up the results and looking for items that are missing.

Typically, a field notebook entry will include a number of standard items:

1. Location (county, road, distance from a particular landmark or marker (metric!).
2. Date and Time(s)
3. Weather conditions
4. Other observers/experimenters
5. Field/site description
6. Methodological description (Methods, Procedures, and Equipment)
7. Data (remember to record your units of measurement!)
8. Statistical plan and results.
9. Discussion
10. Summary

Notebooks will be collected twice during the semester. It is important to maintain your lab notebook completely throughout the semester!