MbShea@PWP@English@UMCP

Audience: Undergraduate Students new to the lab, or lab members in general for reference.

Context: Training to perform some of the tasks or use the machinery in the lab can take a couple months to do comfortably without the assistance of a graduate student. With high turnover of undergraduate students coming in and out of lab, a laboratory manual would not only provide instructions to lab procedures but also clarify these instructions. This would help new lab members get comfortable in the lab faster; faster training would allow members to start conducting research earlier in their time at the lab.

Purpose: To provide lab members instructions for certain techniques and machinery used in lab. Also to provide tips for these techniques, learned from current or former lab members through their past experience in the lab.

Document Type: Laboratory/instructional manual

Citation Style: Mix of APA science style and referral links

Working Title: Fushman Biochemistry Laboratory Instructional Manual

I would recommend including a small amount of background information on the research that the laboratory conducts. This would be very helpful to incoming lab members.

In my experience, having an explanation about why a specific step is done or what the reagents are doing on a biological/molecular scale has been helpful for me to learn the steps of a protocol and for learning other related protocols. I would suggest adding some explanations as notes at the end or interspersed in the document.

I like what both commenters say: they want information to support the WHY a procedure or step is needed.

Also, be sure to include detail on how data is recorded. Spread sheet? Lab book?