See answers to commonly asked questions about the Electronic Research Notebook Service (ERNS) below:

What are the advantages of ERNS relative to OneNote and Evernote? 

OneNote/Evernote both have features that work well for a Lab Notebook and overlap with systems built for research. 

• Both have hierarchical structures (notebook, sections/folders, pages, etc) 
• Ability to share with Northwestern researchers and researchers at other institutions 
• Compatibility with MS Office file types 

However, there are other factors to consider when deciding what to use.  

For instance, Evernote is not an approved platform for storing electronic research notes or data for Northwestern researchers. OneNote notebooks can be stored on approved platforms like OneDrive or SharePoint. 

However, Purpose built ELNs like LabArchives have the following features that OneNote doesn’t have 

• Full unlimited version history of every change to promote reproducibility and prevent data loss. 
• Specialty scientific widgets, like freezer boxes 
• Links to data stored in LabArchives have unbreakable hyperlinks – whereas, if you move a file linked in OneNote, the link may break. 
• Text searching within many types of file attachments 
• Our site license means all notebooks stay with Northwestern even after students/staff leave, and we can help retrieve them for you if they forget to transfer ownership before they leave. (OneNote notebooks stored in onedrive will be deleted along with their netid) 
• Sharing settings tend to be more straightforward to use 

If you're interested in learning more about the platform, the vendor is providing a series of LabArchives trainings. You can also contact support@labarchives.com to talk about specifics for your research project if you’d like. 

Is there an efficient way to share everyone’s notebooks with everyone in a research group?  

Yes! LabArchive provides tools that facilitate easy sharing within a research group 

1. First, transfer ownership of all notebooks housing Northwestern research outputs be transferred to the Principle Investigator (PI) or other permanent faculty or staff member involved in the research. 
2. If the notebook owner wants all notebooks they own to have the same user access permissions, they can use the Account Manager Tool to add users and grant access to select notebooks. This tool is also useful for revoking access to all notebooks when the user leaves the university. However, changing what specific notebooks an existing user has access to must be done at the notebook level. (See Managing Users in a Notebook for more information.)   
3. If the PI would like to delegate this duty to another research group member, such as a lab manager, they can grant this user the Account Administrator role to allow them to manages users across all their notebooks.  

I have an existing Electronic Research Notebook account using Northwestern email address. How do I link it to the Northwestern license?  

Contact LabArchives Support at: https://help.labarchives.com/hc/en-us/requests/new 

For how long will the University provide this free service? What happens to the data if the University decides to switch vendors or no longer offer the service?  

 LabArchives will remain in use for the foreseeable future, with no plans for replacement. As with any technology, the University regularly assess its fit within our environment. All technology offerings are subject to changes in licensing models and costs from their vendors, which may necessitate reevaluation or decisions based on these factors. For instance, Box experienced a dramatic licensing change resulting in significant cost increases (3x-4x). While we don't anticipate such a shift from LabArchives based on our discussions and negotiations, our control over these changes is ultimately limited. 

That said, LabArchives allows customers to export data up to three years after the contract ends. We are putting together a strategy to address such a need. 

I am leaving the Northwestern, how do I transfer my notebook(s) to my new institution? 

Forward approval from your Department, School, College, or Center along with your name, the name of the new institution, the names of the notebooks to be transferred, and the name of the person who will retain an original copy of your notebook to ern-help@northwestern.edu. Include some days and time that will work for you to have a short zoom call to coordinate the transfer.  

See the following KB article for step-by-step instructions about what to expect:  https://services.northwestern.edu/TDClient/30/Portal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=2591 

I am graduating from Northwestern, what are my options to retain data in my notebook?  

To retain the data in your notebook, you have a couple of options: 

1. Self service: download the notebook to PDF or  create an offline notebook.
2. Staff assistance required: Transfer your notebook to a personal account or an account at your new university affiliation. This option requires approval from your PI along with your name, the email address associated with your new account (if needed), the names of the notebooks to be transferred, and the name of the person who will retain an original copy of your notebook. For detailed instructions, see Transferring ownership of LabArchives Electronic Research Notebooks. 

I am joining Northwestern, how do I transfer my notebook(s) from my current institution?  

Contact your current institution to initiate the transfer. Be prepared to provide them with your Northwestern email address.