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A project notebook must be maintained by each senior design student.
The project notebook must be a bound 8.5" x 11" engineering note book with built-in graph paper (preferably with numbered pages). Three ring binders may not be used.
No pages are to be torn out. Cross out a page if it contains an error but leave the contents legible.
The contents should read like a diary and should be clear to any technical reader, not just the author. Before you start working, it's often good to write a brief statement indicating what you are trying to accomplish in the project action being documented.
Each page should have a title to be placed in the Table of Contents.
Sign and date EACH page when you are through with that page. Draw a diagonal line through any portion of the page which remains blank.
Phone call summaries, calculations, sketches, theories, short software listings and lists of "Things to Do" belong in the notebook in addition to actual data taken in the lab. Large program printouts (i.e. more than 5 pages) should be in an Accopress or three ring binder.
Information recorded on graph paper or note pads when the notebook was not available should be signed, dated, and stapled into the notebook. This makes for a "bumpy", sloppy notebook so stapling data should be used as a last resort only. Scotch or masking tape should not be used as they have a tendency to dry out and fall off. High quality glue is marginally acceptable but has a tendency to "bleed" through the item being glued.
Component data sheets, application notes, viewgraphs, xerox handouts, reports, e-mails, and petty cash receipts (to name a few) are best kept in an indexed three ring binder. They do not belong in the project notebook.
The project notebook must be signed weekly by your advisor. It will be submitted twice during the semester for review. The book will be returned to your mailbox in the Moore building.
The project notebook should be organized as follows:
- Title page on sheet 1. This sheet should contain the University name, Project name, Class name, Date, Advisor's name (all the information which was on the title page of your Proposal), PLUS your e-mail or phone number or address so the book can be returned in case it is lost.
- Three or four pages left blank to be used as a Table of Contents as you fill in the book. The Table of Contents may contain a range of pages for each title. For example...."Whip Antenna Impedance Measurements (45-55 MHz)........p 37-49"
- Main body of notebook for documenting project actions, e.g., experimental or simulation data.
- Starting from the back you should have a bibliography. List not only books and articles but also Application Notes and pertinent phone calls and the date made. Phone calls should have a one or two sentence description, not just (for example) "Phone call to Dr. XYZ...9-27-01". List the page in the project notebook where the detailed result of the conversation has been recorded.
The notebook will become the property of your advisor at the end of the year.
The quality of the notebook will be considered when the course grade is determined. A good notebook will do little to assist a poor project but a BAD notebook will certainly affect the grade of a good project.
P. D. Farnum
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