Electronic lab notebook (ELN) toolkit

LabArchives has undergone the University Information Security Office's security review and has been approved for research purposes. This includes all research data and associated records, at all classification levels, generated by faculty and staff at IUSM. In some cases, research data and records may include ePHI or data generated in clinical trials, as defined by NIH NOT-OD-15-015. Both ePHI and clinical trial data used for IUSM research are considered in scope of use for the ELN. Patient data generated and used outside of research activities is not allowed.

If you have questions or concerns about what data you include in or link to the ELN, please contact IUSMELN@iu.edu.

Whether required as part of grant proposals/applications or created ad hoc to help manage a project, developing a data management plan (DMP) is considered best practice for conducting research. These plans identify upfront the methods, resources, and tools to be used throughout the various stages of a research project. DMPs can also function to coordinate the activities of all personnel involved in the project by clarifying roles and responsibilities.

All labs that adopt LabArchives are strongly encouraged to create a data management plans for the research they do. These plans can be at the project level or lab level.

When planning your research project, it is important to consider how data are governed at IUSM and how that affects your ability to handle (in particular, store) the data you work with for research.

To assist faculty, staff, and students with navigating this process, Indiana University (IU) has appointed Data Stewards to provide guidance. These stewards are assigned to different data subject areas and can also provide insight into the different types of data that IU recognizes and how those classifications might overlap with a particular data subject area. More information can be found on the IU Data Management website: https://datamanagement.iu.edu/.