ERN Community Event
On the 12th of March the Electronic Research Notebook (ERN) community met online to share tales of successes when it comes to the successful implementation and adoption of ERN’s across the community, followed up with a selection of interactive discussions focusing on 5 key areas that are near and dear to community.
Our success stories came from across the UK academic field*. We heard how OneNote has been successfully used (in different ways) from the Keele Universities’ Chloe Harold and Chris Hawes in addition to the University of Southampton’s Philip Leadbitter. Both talks looked at different challenges that arose during the implementation and rollout of this tool and how the different groups overcame them.
Danny Garside of the Digital Research Academy explained how they successfully implemented the open-source notebook Logseq and Git in the National Institute of Health (USA) and explained the benefits of using open-source software in the ERN space.
Samantha Pearman-Kanza in contrast, provided an in-depth look at the how the University of Southampton successfully piloted a commercial level ERN in an academic environment, this talk detailed the different considerations for implementing digital tools, and explained how this tool is now being rolled out to the rest of the department.
Jonathan Hirst of the University of Nottingham discussed AI4Green, an open-source ERN that was developed in-house. Jonathans talk explained the key aim of AI4Green, which is to make science more sustainable by providing inbuilt tools to aide researchers in picking the most sustainable paths to the outcomes they desire.
The talks were drawn to a close by James A J Wilson from University College London, who discussed the universities implementation of RSpace. This talk focused on the process of selecting an appropriate ERN for their University and what factors led to the choice of RSpace to be UCLs institutionally supported ERN.
After a Q&A session with all the speakers, and a chance for some refreshments we broke into 5 different groups to discuss:
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- Hardware considerations for ERNs
- How to choose the appropriate ERN
- What at the differences in requirements for Teaching vs Research ERNS
- Making the business case for your ERN
- What adoption strategies are there for ERNs
These breakout room sessions ran twice for 30 minutes each, enabling participants to take part in two different topics of discussion. These were followed by a group feedback session with all the attendees to ensure that everyone involved could benefit from the knowledge shared across the different groups. The discussions differed each time, with a variety of individuals either providing input or looking for answers to questions that they had. More detailed information about these discussions will be made available in due course, but to provide a sneak peak, at the bottom of this article are the top 3 tips that were gleaned from each session.
This was a great meeting and chance to bring individuals from across the UK to celebrate our colleagues’ successes in their institutions, and how we can best capitalise on these successes and take them back into our own institutions to continue the progress the bringing ERNs into our communities. We are a looking forward to welcoming everyone back for our next event in the not-too-distant future, so please do keep your eyes out for more information on that.
*All of the talks have been recorded and are available via this playlist on the PSDI YouTube channel
Discussion Outputs
Hardware Considerations for ERNS
- Provide secure dedicated in-lab hardware for your ERNS
This avoids duplication of data entry, ensures continuity between users, reduces contamination risks of devices being moved in and out of the lab, and improves data security by eliminating the use of personal devices in the lab. - Don’t underestimate infrastructure costs and requirements
Static hardware devices (e.g. PCs) should be placed near fumehoods/relevant equipment to enable convenient usage, and space should be created around the lab where portable devices need to be used, stored and charged. Good quality internet connections/WIFI and available power sockets are a must. - Leverage legacy / existing hardware where possible
ManyERNs can be run on relatively low spec machines if they can run a browser, refurbished devices or hardware that is considered “end of life” for more computationally intensive activities can often run ERNs perfectly well.
Choosing the Appropriate ERN
- Use a rigorous requirements gathering process to prioritise the features and characteristics that matter most to your institution
Engage with the potential users, use data gathering techniques (e.g. surveys and interviews) and run trials to identify critical features and disciplinary requirements. - Multi-tool eco systems aren’t necessarily the enemy
Many institutions have concluded that there is no single ERN that meets all their needs. Consider whether a small suite of tools could be a better option to address different disciplinary needs. - Evaluate Cost models against realistic usage
Consider adoption patterns and tiers of licenses (or open-source options) and avoid over-licensing. Remember, new terms can be negotiated if more licenses are required, and staff/student turnover will free up licenses for new starters.
Requirements for ERNS for Teaching vs Research
- Recognise the different requirements for teaching and research
Teaching and research have different requirements, sometimes institutions choose to use different systems to meet these needs. Even if those needs can be made by the same system, it is important to take the time to configure templates, policies, required documentation to match these different requirements (e.g. simplified health and safety forms for students vs staff). - Support smooth transitions from Undergraduate to Postgraduate
Whether you are usingdifferent systems or the same system, it is important that the processes and practices support a smooth transition from Undergraduate to Postgraduate (e.g. providing a simplified template for first years and slowly building up their requirements and note taking capabilities over the years to prepare them for the level of work required at postgraduate level). - Consider different hardware needs and approaches
Hardware should be consistent across teaching laboratories, and there should be enough devices per laboratory to support the number of students. Hardware setups for research labs can differ substantially, it depends on the nature of the research, setup of the lab, amount of researchers etc, some setups may work best with static devices near relevant pieces of equipment and some may call for portable hardware that can be moved around the laboratory
Making the Business Case for your ERN
- Demonstrate the value added for research integrity, compliance and embedding the ELN within existing mandatory workflows.
Highlight FAIR principles, auditability and safety benefits and the need to meet funder and institutional requirements.Demonstrate how theERN can be integrated with existing workflows or mandatory processes e.g. Health and Safety to enhance the current processes. - Present a balanced cost narrative demonstrating savings and investments
Note where direct financial savings will be made (e.g. paper lab books) and make sure to include the other ways that time/money will be saved e.g. researchers being able to find their own work (or others) and not needlessly repeating experiments because they couldn’t access (or didn’t know about) previous attempts. - Anticipate and mitigate against risk with data exit strategies and interoperability considerations
Create a solid data exit strategy for the chosen ERN to avoid vendor lock in and future proof your records. Use this to demonstrate how data can be retrieved, backed up and migrated.
Adoption Strategies for ERNs
- Prioritise Group Leaders, new starters, and enthusiastic parties for early adoption
New starters who don’t already have entrenched ways of working make for fantastic early adopters, as do enthusiastic parties who actively want to use the ELN. Additionally, getting group leaders, and department heads etc on board drives adoption via a top-down approach. - Provide hands-on training and continued support
Ensure that all relevant parties are trained (e.g. not just the main researchers, group leads, health and safety staff, teaching staff, anyone involved in administering or developing the ELN) and continue to provide support and points of contact to ensure continued engagement - Remove financial barriers
Avoid charging individual researchers or groups, provide licenses via the institution to increase and enable uptake.
The slides are available on zenodo: Zenodo PSDI Community
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