The SIPS DEI Council is open to anyone in the SIPS community who would like to participate in building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community in our school through monthly online meetings and working groups on various topics.  New voices, viewpoints and energy are always welcome.  Our next meeting is March 8, 10 to 11 a.m. For more information and Zoom link, email: sips-dicouncil@cornell.edu. Visit the SIPS Diversity, inclusion, & accessibility webpage.

Lab manuals as accessibility tools

What follows is from the Cornell AgriTech DEI Bulletin.  Many thanks to our colleagues Anna Katharine Mansfield and Amara Dunn-Silver, Cornell AgriTech DEI Council co-chairs, who are taking such a strong lead with their DEI efforts. They write, like any group, DEI practitioners use jargon as a shortcut to convey specific meanings that may be unclear or confusing to anyone unfamiliar with the terms. As part of our DEI Bulletin series, we are exploring some key terms used to describe important DEI concepts. If there’s a term you’d like us to explore, contact Anna Katharine or Amara, or you can submit a suggestion anonymously. Special hanks to guest author Monique Rivera,  Assistant Professor, Department of Entomology Cornell AgriTech, for contributing this month’s DEI bulletin!

A laboratory manual or a laboratory handbook is a document, usually written by the Principal Investigator (PI) of a laboratory, that outlines the overall expectation for the inner workings of the lab and its culture. With the recent emphasis on mental health improvement in academia, lab manuals have assumed a newfound significance as valuable documents for enhancing satisfaction and outcomes in academic training experiences. Lab manuals also help to uncover the hidden curriculum of a lab, which may not be obvious to all lab members. Hidden curricula can be especially challenging to students who are the first in their family to pursue a research-based graduate degree, but can also hinder students, post docs, and visiting scientists from other cultures. A current and detailed manual helps make the lab environment more equitable and inclusive for all lab members.

What should a lab manual include?

• A mission statement declaring the overarching themes and ideas that guide the lab’s work. What does the lab study? What are key areas of research? Why is the lab’s research important in the broader world?
• Clearly outlined expectations for communication, time keeping, overall work expectations such as the PI’s stance on lab habits like keeping a lab notebook and authorship guidelines for manuscripts. This should also include expectations for the PI such as turnaround time for Letters of Recommendation and lead times for requests as well as detailing more about their overall role in the lab.
• A clear understanding of the roles and responsibilities of each person in the lab.
• Safety guidelines for the lab including information about safety for field work.
• What to do in an emergency – outlining who to contact and the method of contact that should be used.
• Information on how to order supplies.
• Information on administrator roles and how to contact them.

Lab manuals are living documents and should be reviewed and updated regularly.

The benefits of a lab manual hinge on laying out clear expectations. Understanding what is expected reduces employee stress by clearly outlining where the work boundaries are. This is complex in academia because each PI is an individual with different expectations. It’s not easy to understand what expectations are unless they are laid out in a lab manual, or the PI takes the time to explain expectations at length and repeats them often.

Lab manuals also ensure fairness in the lab. Set guidelines are easy to follow and refer to and create a framework for fairness. In turn, the manual creates a clear set of expectations that can guide performance conversations should issues arise. Overall, a lab manual promotes transparency, accountability, and effectiveness which contributes to the overall success of the laboratory program.

At AgriTech we grow things, including inclusive workspaces that help everyone succeed.

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