Introduction

Laboratory Information Management

LIMSport is a Laboratory Information Management System for the General Chemistry Laboratory which allows direct importation of data from a variety of analytical instruments. The instruments are "interfaced" to the computer, so that "computer data acquisition" allows results to be recorded directly into a spreadsheet, Microsoft Excel^Ò for Windows^Ò. Once data are recorded in the spreadsheet, techniques of "computer data reduction" will be used to convert the data to more useful forms by creating tables, plotting the data, applying statistics, and doing necessary calculations.

The advantages of laboratory information management systems (LIMS) are that

∙They eliminate the mistakes that can be made in reading instruments, recording the readings, and transcribing them into a finished report.

∙They make data gathering much faster and more efficient

∙They make repetitive calculations accurately with almost no effort

∙They allow creation of professional appearing graphs and tables

∙They allow Complex statistical procedures to be done automatically so that the user can concentrate on the meaning of the results rather than repetitive details of the calculations.

∙They allow the compilation of final reports from the experimental data without rewriting or re-entering any of the data.

∙They allow fast, accurate, neat printing of reports, graphs, and tables.

The Laboratory Manual

The LIMSport Laboratory Manual is different in some ways from other laboratory manuals. Each experiment is described in an article that has several parts. The most unusual is the "Template," which is a copy of the Excel spreadsheet which will be used in the laboratory:

Abstract: The abstract in the LIMSport manual succinctly describes the experiment. In general, an abstract is a brief summary of the main results of an experiment that almost always precedes research papers in scientific journals.

Introduction: The introduction provides background material that is useful in understanding the experiment, and may provide interesting information on how (or to what) the experiment might be applied.

Notes on the Procedure: This section provides reasons why particular steps are done as they are done in the experiment, and explains how to do new techniques.

Template: The template is a copy of the Excel spreadsheet that will be used in the laboratory. It contains an outline of the procedural steps on one of the worksheets. The template itself, when actually run under Excel, may do calculations or provide information that you might otherwise have to look up, so you may want to use a copy of the software to do the prelaboratory assignment (see below).

Prelaboratory Assignment: This is an assignment that you should complete in order to prepare for the laboratory experiment, and which you should submit when you enter the laboratory. It will often help you write the “Introduction” section of your laboratory report. Some instructors may give you a prelaboratory quiz. After completing the "prelab" assignment, you will be able to do the laboratory work much more efficiently, safely, and accurately, so you will make up the time that you spend on it.

Equipment & Supplies: In this section you will find a listing of all the equipment and supplies necessary for one person or group to carry out the experiment. Sources of specialized equipment or supplies will be listed here.

Projects: Related experiments which may be done for extra credit, or occasionally assigned as laboratory work requiring somewhat more planning on your part than the standard laboratory experiments.