The subject of raw data has crept into the vocabulary of the media recently with alleged wrong doings amongst scientists in connection with data related to climate change.  The matter has unsurprisingly been dubbed ‘climategate’ and is currently chalking up over 28,000,000 hits on Google.  The underlying issues, if they are real, are political, and [...]

It’s hardly the most exciting subject, but long term retention is one of those topics that seem to lurk in the background whenever the subject of electronic records comes up.  With several centuries experience behind us, we’ve learned quite a bit about preserving paper records; Leonardo Da Vinci wrote his notes over 500 years ago, [...]

I don’t think there is any doubt that the uptake of Electronic Lab Notebooks was slowed down by concerns about the admissibility of electronic evidence in patent interferences and litigation cases.  Those concerns are more or less history now, and there’s enough information and good advice around for anybody about to embark on an ELN [...]

Simon Coles’ presentation from the VIB Conference on Laboratory Data Management entitled Walking the tightrope between scientists and lawyers is available on Slideshare.

Are you responsible for managing a collection of records that are currently stored in filing cabinets, boxes, computers and servers? Is the collection growing rapidly? Do you feel that no one really cares, except when there’s a legal or regulatory action?
You are not alone. Even with all of the publicity about companies getting into trouble [...]