Supporting Research and Researchers through the deployment of Digital Notebooks: A framework for implementation and impact.

Impactful research and development requires robust data management. While centralised repositories and large-scale international collaborations are tackling high-level data management problems, approaches for capturing the underlying, everyday research processes are often left to individual researchers or groups. Across UK HEIs there is little standardisation, even within disciplines, around record keeping. An array of digital technologies exist alongside handwritten notes, leaving research records fragmented, and limiting interoperability, sharing and collaboration. The growing complexity of research and data, a greater focus from funders on FAIR data sharing and reuse, and the increasing need to verify and authenticate research mean HEIs are looking to implement new processes to support research record keeping. This includes Digital Notebooks, commonly referred to as Electronic Lab Notebooks (ELNs). (We use the term Digital Notebooks to reflect their utility beyond traditional laboratory research). Industries such as the biotech sector have embraced the benefits these tools bring in supporting intellectual property (IP) and data integrity. While there are discreet examples of HEIs implementing Digital Notebooks in the UK and beyond(1), uptake remains low. Therefore, there is a need for research to understand the best ways to implement Digital Notebooks to meet the diverse needs of researchers. To address this question, we propose conducting a research programme based around the ongoing implementation of Digital Notebooks at the University of Manchester. Roll out is being driven by the Research Lifecycle Programme and the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute whose ongoing activities provide an ideal opportunity to identify specific, actionable barriers to implementation and to test the efficacy of interventions at an individual, technical and institutional level. We will share these evidence-based findings in an Implementation Report allowing other HEIs to learn from this process when implementing and deploying their own Digital Notebooks. Some general barriers to implementation1 include: cost; technical questions around data integrity and storage; challenges of accessibility in different research settings (such as field work); concerns over applicability to different disciplines (as the tools are often marketed in STEM-focused terms); time required to adopt new approaches; and an overall lack of training and awareness in Digital Notebook use. Our research will provide quantitative (costs, timings, user interactions) and qualitative (surveys, interviews, co-creation workshops and community events) evidence, shared in an open and transparent way, to understand and overcome these barriers. We will place these findings in the wider UK R&D context, aligning with the Research and development (R&D) people and culture strategy, to create guidance which is mindful of the burdens of system change on individuals, but also informed by the opportunities these changes bring. We will work with partner organisations in the USA and Europe to ensure the resulting guidance reflects international best practice. Higgins (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41596-021-00645-8