Lab data reference
Field and status tables for laboratory data. See Lab reports for what a report is and its lifecycle, and Lab analyses and results for how analyses and results relate.
This page catalogs three records: the Lab Report header, the Lab Analysis, and the Lab Result. All field names, types, and required-ness are drawn from the validated request and response shapes.
This page describes the stored records and their rules. To prepare a laboratory deliverable for import, use the upload column contract instead: the Lab Report (EDD) format for the multi-sheet deliverable, or the Import field reference for the flat Lab Results sheet.
Lab Report status values
A Lab Report carries a Status drawn from exactly five values. A new report defaults to Draft. On the wire, Status is the value's code (for example, Approved).
| Value | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Draft | Default for a new report; results are being entered or reviewed. | — |
| Preliminary | An early or partial issue from the lab, not yet final. | — |
| Approved | Reviewed and accepted; eligible to be validated. | — |
| Rejected | Reviewed and rejected. | Moving out of Rejected warns. |
| Validated | Final sign-off. | Reachable only from Approved (enforced; any other source is refused). Moving out of Validated warns. |
There is no Pending and no Received status. The only enforced transition is that Validated requires the current status to be Approved; the three backward moves below are allowed but raise a non-blocking warning.
Figure: forward status moves for a Lab Report. Reaching Validated requires Approved first.
Lab Report fields
| Field | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Code | text | Yes | Identifier, max 50 characters. Unique within the Project, not globally. |
| Status | enum | Yes | One of the five status values above. Defaults to Draft. |
| Laboratory | reference | No | The lab that ran the work. A report with no laboratory assigned warns on save. |
| Chain of Custody | reference | No | The Chain of Custody that delivered the samples. Resolved within the report's own Project. |
| Report date | date | No | When the lab issued the report. |
| Sample receipt date | date | No | When the lab received the samples. Must be on or before the report date. |
| Reported by | text | No | Free text, max 100 characters. |
| Notes | text | No | Free text, max 2000 characters. |
| Turnaround days | integer | — | Derived: report date minus sample receipt date, in days. Read-only; present only when both dates are set. |
Lab Analysis fields
A Lab Analysis records one analysis run against a Sample. It must be anchored to at least one sample reference — see the rule below the table.
| Field | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sample | reference | At-least-one | The field Sample. Set for field analyses; null for lab QC. |
| Lab report sample | reference | At-least-one | The lab's report-sample code. Set for lab QC; may also accompany a field sample. |
| Lab report | reference | No | The parent Lab Report. |
| Analysis method | reference | Yes | The analytical Method. |
| Leachate method | reference | No | Leaching procedure, when applicable. |
| Preparation method | reference | No | Sample preparation procedure, when applicable. |
| Run type | enum | No | IN (Initial), RA (Reanalysis), RE (Reextraction), or DL (Dilution). Defaults to IN. |
| Fraction | enum | Yes | T (Total), D (Dissolved), TR (Total Recoverable), AS (Acid Soluble), E (Extractable), F (Free), or S (Suspended). |
| Matrix type | enum | Yes | The sample Matrix. |
| Leachate date | date-time | No | Enforced to be on or before the preparation and analysis dates. |
| Preparation date | date-time | No | Enforced to be on or before the analysis date. |
| Analysis date | date-time | No | When the analysis ran. |
| Dilution factor | number | Yes | Positive. A value below 1.0 warns (pre-concentration). |
| Column number | enum | No | 1C (Primary) or 2C (Confirmation) GC column. |
| Instrument identifier | text | No | Max 100 characters. |
| Subsample amount | number | No | Positive. Paired with its unit — each requires the other. |
| Subsample unit | reference | No | Unit for the subsample amount. |
| Final volume | number | No | Positive. Paired with its unit. |
| Final volume unit | reference | No | Unit for the final volume. |
| Count time | number | No | Radiochemistry. Paired with its time unit. |
| Count time unit | enum | No | SEC (Seconds), MIN (Minutes), or HR (Hours). |
| Rad reference date | date | No | Radiochemistry reference date. |
| Analyzed by | text | No | Max 100 characters. |
| Notes | text | No | Max 500 characters. |
Sample anchor (at-least-one). Every Lab Analysis must set the Sample, the Lab report sample, or both. This is at-least-one, not exclusive: a field analysis commonly carries both, while a lab QC analysis carries only the lab report sample because no field sample exists. Supplying neither is rejected.
The lab QC classification (MB (Method Blank), LCS (Laboratory Control Sample), MS (Matrix Spike), and so on) lives on the lab report sample, not on the analysis.
Lab Result fields
A Lab Result records one analyte outcome within a Lab Analysis. Numeric values are stored without sign constraints (raw radiochemistry can be negative); detection limits and several other magnitudes are non-negative, as noted.
| Field | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Analyte | reference | Conditional | The Analyte. Required for all result types except Tentatively Identified (TIC), where it is optional — a TIC compound may stay unmapped or be linked to a system analyte. |
| Lab analyte name | text | Yes | The lab's literal name for the analyte or TIC compound, max 200 characters. |
| Result type | enum | Yes | TAR (Target), SUR (Surrogate), IS (Internal Standard), or TIC (Tentatively Identified). |
| Detected result | enum | Yes | Y (Yes) or N (No). |
| Reportable result | enum | Yes | Y (Yes) or N (No). |
| Basis | enum | Yes | AR (As Received), D (Dry Weight), W (Wet Weight), or L (Lipid Weight, tissue chemistry). The reporting basis is result identity: one analysis can report the same analyte wet, dry, and lipid-normalized. Uniqueness counts basis as dry vs lipid vs non-dry, so AR and W — the same uncorrected measurement worded two ways — cannot coexist for one analyte on one analysis. Saving warns (without blocking) when the basis does not suit the sample's matrix: dry or wet basis on an aqueous or gaseous matrix, or L on anything but a biota matrix. |
| Result value | number | Conditional | The numeric result. Sign-unconstrained. Cannot be set together with Result text. |
| Result text | text | Conditional | A text result, max 200 characters. Cannot be set together with Result value. |
| EMPC value | number | No | Estimated Maximum Possible Concentration — a lab-reported estimate for a detected-but-tentative signal. Non-negative; stored independent of value and text. In analysis it feeds effective-value substitution: a detected result with an EMPC but no value uses the EMPC, and a non-detect's EMPC can stand in as the limit. See EMPC. |
| Lab qualifier | text | No | The lab's qualifier flag, max 50 characters. |
| Unit | reference | Yes | The measurement unit. |
| MDL | number | No | Method Detection Limit. Non-negative. |
| MRL | number | No | Method Reporting Limit. Non-negative; must be greater than or equal to the MDL. |
| ODL | number | No | Other Detection Limit. Non-negative; paired with its type (both or neither). |
| Detection limit type | reference | No | The classification for the ODL. Paired with the ODL. |
| Retention time | number | No | Non-negative. Also used to discriminate TIC results. |
| Significant figures | integer | No | A positive integer, maximum 20. Travels on the wire; used by the result detail panel. |
| Notes | text | No | Max 500 characters. |
Detected/non-detect. A detected result (other than a surrogate) must carry a result value, result text, or EMPC value. A non-detect result with no MDL, MRL, or other detection limit warns but is allowed.
Detection limits. Of the recorded limits, only the MDL and MRL drive non-detect substitution in screening — and a non-detect's own result value, when present, takes precedence over both. When a non-detect has no MDL or MRL at all but carries an EMPC value, the EMPC stands in as the limit; a DMP can also be configured to let a non-detect's EMPC elevate its chosen limit when the EMPC is higher (it never lowers it). The ODL and its type are captured and displayed reference values (for example, a lab practical quantitation limit); they do not participate in screening in V1.
Management and validation grids show raw result values. Significant-figure formatting applies only on reporting and analysis surfaces such as the Crosstab, Data Explorer, the map, and the result detail panel.
QC and radiochemistry detail
A Lab Result may carry one quality-control (QC) record and one radiochemistry record. The fields below are each optional numbers, with the noted non-negative constraints.
| Record | Fields | Non-negative (hard error) |
|---|---|---|
| QC | Original concentration, spike amount, percent recovery, relative percent difference (RPD), lower control limit, upper control limit, RPD control limit | Spike amount, RPD, and RPD control limit. Recovery and recovery control limits may be negative. |
| Radiochemistry | MDC, MDA, critical level, counting error, total propagated uncertainty, uncertainty basis, combined standard uncertainty, tracer recovery, plus a decay-corrected flag | All magnitudes. Tracer recovery is intentionally unbounded. |
RPD is non-negative by definition (it is the absolute difference over the mean), so a negative RPD or RPD control limit is rejected. At least one numeric field is required on a QC record, and the lower control limit must be less than or equal to the upper.
The uncertainty basis (1S, 2S, 3S, CL95, or CL99) states the statistical coverage the lab reported its counting error and total propagated uncertainty at. It is optional and never defaulted — when a deliverable does not state it, the field stays empty. Combined standard uncertainty is by definition 1-sigma and is not qualified by this field.
Permissions
| Action | Role or policy |
|---|---|
| Create lab data | Add project data |
| Edit / delete lab data | Edit project data (with grace) |
| Validate lab results | Requires the Data Steward role (Administrator or Data Manager) and project edit access |
Lab result validation runs only while the parent Lab Report is Approved, and only field-sample results are validated — lab QC results are never validated.