Category: ELN

Digital notes, here I come – status update on the Electronic Lab Notebooks pilot project at TU Delft

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Written by Marta Teperek, Esther Plomp, Yasemin Turkyilmaz-van der Velden

The Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN) project at TU Delft is now well under way. It was officially kicked-off during a meeting which took place on 18 April 2019 and it will last for 1 year. During this time, interested TU Delft researchers will be able to try out two different ELN products: ResearchSpace (RSpace) and eLABjournal. At the moment, 37 researchers from three different TU Delft faculties (Applied Sciences – AS); Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering – 3mE; Civil Engineering and Geosciences – CEG) are participating in the trial.

Why was this project started?

Discussions about ELNs at TU Delft were initiated back in March 2018, when several ELN providers, as well as researchers interested in moving away from paper to digital lab note keeping, came along to the event on the topic. Feedback gathered during and after the event demonstrated the interest among researchers at TU Delft in ELNs.

Subsequently, a dedicated ELN working group was created by colleagues from the library, ICT and Faculties of AS and 3mE (Susan Branchett, Esther Maes, Esther Plomp, Marta Teperek and Yasemin Turkyilmaz-van der Velden). The group gathered some key requirements for ELN products (based on the needs indicated by the research community at TU Delft and consultations with colleagues at other universities) and shortlisted two suppliers (RSpace and eLABjournal) which were able to best meet these key requirements. All functionalities were described in details by the providers on 18 April and both products are now available to interested TU Delft researchers for testing.

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Photo from the ELN kick-off meeting on 18 April 2019

What will happen next?

The ELN working group will gather feedback from researchers testing the two products during and after the trial:

  • Early evaluation (1-3 months into the project) is currently taking place by gathering feedback about the initial user experience via informal meetings with researchers. 
  • Mid-term evaluation (6 months into the project) is scheduled to happen during a dedicated consultation meeting with ELN users at TU Delft on Tuesday 24th of September. 
  • Final evaluation of the two products, which might inform a future tender process, will happen at the end of April 2020, at the end of the trial. 

Subsequently, the ELN working group will develop recommendations for the next steps aiming at providing ELN solutions at TU Delft. Summary of these recommendations will be published on the Open Working blog and shared with interested stakeholders (researchers, ICT, library, faculties).

How can I get involved?

If you are a TU Delft researcher and would like to take part in the trial, please get in touch with Esther Plomp or Yasemin Turkyilmaz-van der Velden, Data Stewards from the Faculty of AS and 3mE, respectively.

Further reading
https://openworking.wordpress.com/category/eln/
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