Keeping Track: The "Logbook"

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It is important to keep a logbook (otherwise known as a journal). It might not seem too important at the science fair at your school or even at the regional level, but at both the CWSF and ISEF it is extremely important. Logbooks are meant to be a record of your thoughts and observations over the course of your project. It's not meant to be pretty - rather, it's meant to be a place where you can go to jog your memory. That being said, the most important aspects of a useful logbook is for it to be organized and complete. No one expects you to be perfect in your logbook, because, well, no one is perfect. Logbooks, journals, and other related forms of documenting ideas are very important to the area of patents and intellectual property rights.

Contents 1 What Goes Into It? 2 Choosing Your Logbook 3 Keeping Your Notes Organized 4 The Ultimate Benefit

What Goes Into It?

Your logbook should have everything you've done over the course of your project. This includes notes from meetings with your mentor to thoughts you had about doing your project, to observations of your experiment to even the math you've done to work out some expression. Think of your logbook as your own personal working notes, and treat them as such. Don't write notes on a random piece of paper and then copy them into your logbook - that defeats the whole purpose. You should be writing in your logbook as you write your notes.

You want your mistakes in your logbook so that you have a record. The worst thing that can happen is that you repeat a mistake you made earlier in your project just because you didn't keep a record of it. Don't erase your mistakes, be it a simple math mistake or a bad observation - just cross it out. In fact, to make sure you don't get tempted, do your logbook in pen! (This also helps because pencil fades over time, but pen will stay readable over many years.)

When you're at the lab or doing your experiment, don't just use your logbook to put down your thoughts - use it to record your actual data. Make a table on a page, and write the numbers down! This way, right in your notes you have your data. If you're recording your data on computer, make a printout and tape that right into the book. (If you have 50 pages of data at once, this may not be such a great idea - but use your discretion.)

Choosing Your Logbook

Chances are, over the course of your project, your logbook will see alot of use, so it's important to have one that can stand up to the abuse. In general, getting something that's hard covered and easy to carry around is best to keep your notes in. Soft cover books can get ripped or be destroyed easily. Having a logbook that's too big can be a hassle to carry around. You also want a notebook where the pages are not removable - so binders are a no-no - you can add and remove pages from them, so it's not an honest record of your work. Having ruled lines is also good because it makes writing in tables easier.

Your local office supply store and college/university bookstore should have something that works well and is rather inexpensive. Most college and university bookstores have specific notebooks usually labeled "Physics Notes" or "Chemistry Notes" - and come in either black or blue - these notebooks are perfect for your use.

Keeping Your Notes Organized

This is critical - Having notes are great, but only if you can find the notes you need! Always date your pages - This makes it easier to find a particular thought or set of data. Also, number your pages right at the top so that you can "refer to data on page 2" for instance.

Title your notes - If these notes you're writing are from a meeting with your mentor on January 29th, write at the top of them "Meeting With Mentor: Jan 29". This way, you can flip through and find what you're looking for.

The Ultimate Benefit

When you're ready to write up your project report or work on your board, your logbook is an invaluable guide! It has, in order from start of your project to finish, everything you did! All you have to do is flip from page to page and you get all the details, thoughts, observations and other such stuff from your project, without straining to remember what you did. In many ways, your report will be a refined, and clearer version of what's in your logbook!