What if LIMS helped you publish higher?

Impact factors may or may not be valid measures for everyone, the truth is that's the current metric in a scientist career to be hired, obtain a grant, get a promotion and just for notoriety in the field.

Sep 16, 2021 • 3 minutes

Most important is the quality of the data, their novelty and their impact in the field. There are many lists of tips online to increase the chance to publish in a high-impact journal. What if something as simple as having a Laboratory Inventory Management System (LIMS) could be added to the list?

Good information management to produce good data

This is not a secret, to efficiently generate reliable data, having a tidy lab will help. LIMS is dedicated to this task. All information about lab resources is entered, tracked and easy to retrieve when needed.
Good management of the reagents (as their date of expiry and quantity) can make the difference when results are expected in a short time. No more time is wasted because some reagents need to be ordered in reason of a lack of stock or expiry.
Tracking of the material used also ensure the reliability of experiments: results might be impacted by a different lot of a reagent, the batch of production of cell lines or any other parameter that are recorded into a LIMS. It ensures your back for interpretation of the results and eventual reply to reviewers.

Reply to reviewers: time is counted!

eviewing step is usually inevitable in the publishing process. Scientists are generally excited about the peer-reviewers feedback, but when it arrives the pressure is on and time is counted to reply to them. As precisely and as fast as possible. Publication of the article rests on reviewers' feelings, it will guide the editor's decision.

In this context, no time should be wasted to retrieve the details of a past experiment, the reagents used, the person who performed it... The LIMS definitely covers it and gives the scientists more time to run the crucial experiments requested and write precise justifications about the data shared in the first draft.

Deal with picky material and method requests

The purpose of publishing is also to give the opportunity to other scientists to reproduce the work done. This requires sharing as much information about the materials and methods used. High impact journal rhymes with very detailed information to share with the editor. That also ensures the quality of the data generated and justifies the notoriety of the journal. Very good practice should be implemented from the very beginning of the study. LIMS list crucial information of the materials as the catalog number and lot reference. That will be useful to gather information when preparing the materials and methods section.

Often disregarded by scientists for lack of time or money, management of lab resources with a LIMS is nevertheless crucial when the time comes to publish. Think of it as a good investment that may help to publish even higher.