A descriptive study investigating current practices and preferences of paper and electronic engineering logbooks

Logbooks are used by engineers and students to record a wide range of information relating to a specific task or project. With the development of digital technologies, engineers and students now use both paper and electronic logbooks to document relevant project details. However, there is a general lack of research outlining the preferred project documentation methods used by professional engineers and students. To gain insights around the current usage of engineering logbooks, an anonymous survey was completed by 57 professional engineers and 41 fourth year engineering students. The results revealed that preferences around logbook type were generally mixed among both engineers and students, with 51% of engineers using both paper and electronic logbooks in their work. Both engineers and students noted broadly similar advantages for using each logbook type. In the responses collected, OneNote was the most popular software used by engineers to record information electronically, with Notability being the most popular software among students. Cost was the main barrier to using an electronic logbook for students, while accessibility and familiarity were common barriers for engineers. This study provides new insights into engineering logbook use by engineers and students in New Zealand.