As the proud owner of a carefully organized, highly annotated VMS backup tape (reel-to-reel, of course), my main concern is that paper is the only format that we'll be able to count on reading a decade (or more) from now.
===================================== Phoebe A. Rice Dept. of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology The University of Chicago phone 773 834 1723 http://bmb.bsd.uchicago.edu/Faculty_and_Research/01_Faculty/01_Faculty_Alphabetically.php?faculty_id=123 http://www.rsc.org/shop/books/2008/9780854042722.asp ---- Original message ---- >Date: Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:50:04 +0100 >From: CCP4 bulletin board <CCP4BB@JISCMAIL.AC.UK> (on behalf of Anastassis >Perrakis <a.perra...@nki.nl>) >Subject: Re: [ccp4bb] Introducing an ELN >To: CCP4BB@JISCMAIL.AC.UK > > I think that all these points are interesting and > valid. > On Jan 25, 2012, at 10:37, Chris Morris wrote: > > Tassos reports: > > 1. None of the twenty test-users was satisfied > with any of the two > > solutions - and each was annoyed for a different > reason. > > This suggests that the choice of ELN is not the > most difficult part of the adoption process. Maybe > the test users at the NKI were annoyed by the idea > of using an ELN at all. > > That would surely apply to some users. Some were > actually very keen, and thats why they signed up for > it. > > In my experience, the hardest part is ensuring > that it provides benefits to the people who have > to enter the data, and provides them early. The > fact that it will make information retrieval > easier in three years is not enough. > > I suggest focussing on electronic support for > housekeeping: booking time on an instrument, > finding the files the instrument created, ordering > oligos, recording when you use the last of a > reagent. Scientists work very independently in > most respects, but they do have certain > obligations that flow from sharing the lab space. > You can make use of these to encourage compliance > with the ELN. If you do, then most of the science > will get recorded in passing. > > I think that this was exactly one of the problems. > The ELNs we tested had no option for booking > instruments, no way to find files from instruments > let alone read them (it would support only TIF, > JPEG, Doc, XLS, PDF), and would not do stock > keeping: all these are thought to be out of the ELN > scope. And that makes an ELN inherently less useful. > Lack of instrument support is another issue: a > machine that would allow us to import real > chromatograms to ELN would be cool - alas, the > solution that was suggested to us is to save as PDF > or XLS and reload ...! (it took 3 weeks to come back > with this great plan!) > For the rest I have nothing much to say, I basically > agree. > A. > > I suggest also ensuring that it includes > electronic tools that actually help. Two examples > from PiMS are primer design, and automatically > uploading and interpreting results from the > Caliper GX instrument. > > It must allow round trips with spreadsheets, i.e. > dump ELN data as a spreadsheet, edit it, upload it > again. Despite their substantial disadvantages, > some scientists will not give them up. It should > also allow crossreferencing with paper note books. > Some will continue to use a lab notebook. When > they discover that the ELN serves as a searchable > index to it, they will warm to the ELN. > > I suggest aiming for "no paper" at your lab > progress meetings within say 12 months. When you > reach that point, everything important is in the > ELN. Before then, the ELN is not giving real > value. > > You will need someone who is keen on the > introduction of the ELN, to customise it, provide > first line user support, and act as a single point > of contact with the supplier. This might be a > scientist or an IT person. I have also seen this > done well by a technician, Delphine Chesnel when > she was at the EMBL Hamburg. If you can't find > such a "champion", then introduction will not be > successful. > > Some of the problem here is an "own goal" by the > community: scientists are trained to use paper > during their degrees, so ELNs are a controversial > change of practice. One person who, unusually, > began with an ELN told me how inconvenient it is > now she works in a paper-based lab. > > PepTalk 2012 had a workshop on this topic. The > recording and notes are here: > > http://www.structuralbiology.eu/support/forums/networks/pims/why-dont-scientists-use-limselns > > regards, > Chris > ____________________________________________ > Chris Morris > chris.mor...@stfc.ac.uk > Tel: +44 (0)1925 603689 Fax: +44 (0)1925 603634 > Mobile: 07921-717915 > Skype: chrishgmorris > http://pims.structuralbiology.eu/ > http://www.citeulike.org/blog/chrishmorris > Daresbury Lab, Daresbury, Warrington, UK, WA4 > 4AD > > > P please don't print this e-mail unless you really > need to > Anastassis (Tassos) Perrakis, Principal Investigator > / Staff Member > Department of Biochemistry (B8) > Netherlands Cancer Institute, > Dept. B8, 1066 CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands > Tel: +31 20 512 1951 Fax: +31 20 512 1954 Mobile / > SMS: +31 6 28 597791
