WashU ELN
WashU ELN (Electronic Lab Notebook)
WashU ELN, an electronic laboratory notebook powered by LabArchives, is a cloud-based research data collaboration and management tool. It makes organizing, storing and sharing lab data fast, simple, and accessible on all digital platforms. This platform was adopted and licensed for use by the WashU community courtesy of the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research. LabArchives is designed to replace paper lab notebooks and facilitate the management of research data.
Work. Build. Organize. Share
- Add attachments, files, photos and data instantly.
- Content is backed up and protected immediately.
- Store any type of data: rich text files, tables, images, sketches and more.
- Organize in an intuitive folder structure.
- Share, collaborate, or keep content private.
- Go mobile and access content through the app.
Included
- Single-sign on access with your WUSTL Key
- Unlimited secure storage
- 250 MB maximum file size
- Data compliance and security meeting funding agency data management plan requirements
- Individual permissions on content
Access to LabArchives is managed by Research Infrastructure Services (RIS) and is available to members of the Washington University research community via WUSTL Key credentials. See this page for details (you must be connected to the WashU network in order to access some links).
Frequently Asked Questions
LabArchives - an ELN solution for WashU
LabArchives is an electronic lab notebook (ELN) that has been adopted and licensed for use by the WashU community courtesy of the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research. LabArchives is designed to replace paper lab notebooks and facilitate the management of research data.
Summary from Vendor: LabArchives is a secure and intuitive cloud-based electronic lab notebook application enabling researchers to easily create, store, share and manage their research data. Far more than an “ELN”, LabArchives provides a flexible, extensible platform that can be easily customized to match your lab's workflow providing benefits to Principal Investigators, lab managers & staff, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students.
Compare LabArchives to other options in the Electronic Lab Notebook Matrix.
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Specifications |
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Vendor |
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Search functions can search across file formats and beyond typos |
Able to search for documents within the platform, able to search beyond file formats, able to search beyond typographical errors, transparency of file structure |
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Ability to manipulate files and images |
Can manipulate all formats |
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Support for multiple open windows |
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| Ability to link out |
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| Hyperlink support |
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Metadata Creation Prompts |
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| Rights Management (Licensing) |
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| Protocol Integration |
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Accounts/Permissions Levels |
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Internal Data Sharing |
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Adaptable to a Variety of Workflows |
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Compatibility with authoring tools |
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| Windows Compatible |
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Macintosh Compatible |
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| Linux Compatible |
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| Android Compatible |
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| iOS Compatible |
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| Cloud Storage |
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| Local Storage |
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Hybrid (cloud/local) Storage |
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Versioning |
Tracking, backup, and storage versioning. Every action in LabArchives is date and time stamped with the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) globally recognized stamp. All versions are recorded in a complete audit trail, also collecting IP address, user, nature of action, NIST date and timestamp, versioning, and option to revert to an earlier version. |
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File Redundancy |
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Creates stable URLs or persistent identifiers for entries |
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Can unregistered users access the data found at persistent links? |
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Storage Capacity - Users |
25 MB/user (Free Edition), 100 GB/user (Professional Edition), Unlimited (Enterprise Licensing) | |||||||||
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Storage Capacity - Max File Size |
250 MB (Free Edition & Professional Edition), 4 GB (Enterprise License) | |||||||||
| Cloud |
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| Local |
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| Hybrid |
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Training |
Administrator, user, and in-person training available |
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Documentation |
FAQs, support forum, video tutorials, instructions, troubleshooting, "quick-start" instructions |
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Data Migration from Other Systems (incoming migration) |
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Compatibility with data repositories |
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Exit Strategies (outgoing migration) |
Individual notebook backups in multiple formats. Site-wide enterprise backups of all notebooks at once with transfer to an institutional repository or other location. |
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| Recovery Options |
Several recovery options are available. A disaster recovery plan is in place. |
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Single Sign-on (Institutional ID) |
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Number of Installations per institution |
No limit | |||||||||
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Multiple client use |
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Number of registered Harvard/HMS users |
96 user accounts with HMS email addresses 10,408 user accounts with email addresses affiliated with any of the hospitals/institutions in the wider Harvard community |
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Other higher-education users |
LabArchives is used at many big-name academic research labs. | |||||||||
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Security levels |
Bank level security with numerous additional security measures, certifications and compliance standards met. | |||||||||
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Backdoor accessibility |
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Open Science/Open Data Efforts |
LabArchives links to open repositories and has plans for direct published integration with Dataverse. Allows users the ability to create DOIs. Allows users to make research public. Compliant with NIH/NSF grant-funding agency requirements for electronic records and sharing. All contents (single entries, pages, folders, entire notebooks) have their own unique, indexed link that can be shared and published as needed. |
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Academically Oriented |
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| Cost (per seat) |
Free to WashU community via site license. |
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Dictation/voice input |
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Data Entry |
Import and access digital experimental data captured from original lab machines. Upload images and videos directly to the notebook. Import Office documents, CSV files, and attachments directly from your computer. API available to easily work with other platforms and programs from which to migrate data. |
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Tiers of Service |
See Below | |||||||||
| Platform Integrations |
GraphPad Prism, Single sign-on via Shibboleth, and further integrations can be customized using an API. |
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Training and Support
Formal training workshops for the LabArchives platform were held on the Danforth and Medical School campuses in the fall of 2019. Sessions were presented covering the Professional (Research) and Classroom editions of the LabArchives platform and recordings of these session are linked below. The Professional version is used in formal lab settings and the Classroom edition is suited for teaching labs and integration with course management systems like Canvas.
Additional training and documentation can be accessed from these LabArchives support pages:
LabArchives Online Support
WashU Contacts:
Randy Gadell - Senior Project Manager, Program Manager, Capital Projects at Washington University in St. Louis
Jennifer Moore - Head of Data Services, Washington University Libraries (Danforth Medical)
Marcy Vana - Head of Data and Research Computing, Becker Medical Library (Medical Campus)
Account Access:
Research Infrastructure Services