More and more frequently, the Service Center Research Data receives inquiries as to whether the purchase of an Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN) or a Laboratory Information and Management System (LIMS) is worthwhile for research groups working with experiments.

While an ELN or a LIMS undoubtedly offers enormous data management potential, the acquisition and implementation is usually associated with costs and effort. Therefore, infrastructural, financial or personnel reasons may stand in the way of such a project. If the use of an ELN or LIMS is not possible, the basic functionalities of such a tool can often be provided by other means - based on the IT equipment that is already available to you at your workplace.  

What does an ELN actually do? An ELN maps work processes while using standardized forms and user guidance to ensure that the data is stored in the right place, that it has uniform nomenclature and that it is provided with the necessary additional information (i.e. metadata).

A large part of these basic functions are not specific to ELN, but are the classic tools of data management. Under certain circumstances, these can also be implemented without additional software:  

• The group drive offers you a central storage option to store the data in the right place with a uniform nomenclature and using a suitable folder structure.
• SharePoint provides functions for standardized entry and processing of metadata

Does this sound familiar? Perhaps you too can manage your data efficiently with existing IT services. 

You are very welcome to get in touch with us. Feel free to contact us by e-mail via Service Center Research Data or book an appointment appointment.