Lab+Report

 [|Lab Report Essentials]

Iowa State University **   Scientific research is a group activity. Individual scientists perform experiments and after experiments are completed and duplicated, researchers present their information to share with other scientists to help in their research, share their successes, and to get funding to continue research. The lab report is a way to get the information obtained in a lab out to other scientists. In some cases, a report may not be persuasive in nature but instead is an archival record for future generations. Our lab report is a record of your experiment to view and compare data with your classmates and to determine error. A scientific report usually consists of the following: **Title**- Centered on top of the first page. **Introduction** 1. Purpose 2. Introduction 3. Background 4. Results **Procedure**
 * Writing Lab Reports and Scientific Papers **
 * Originally by Warren D. Dolphin
 * Adapted for Mrs. Scalise’s General Chemistry Class **
 * Format **

**Discussion**  There is general agreement among scientists that each section of the report should contain specific types of information.  = =
 * Observations and Results**
 * 1) Observations
 * 2) <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Data Table
 * 3) <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Sample Calculations
 * 4) Results

**<span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Lucida Console', Monaco, monospace; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman';">Title- Centered on top of the first page. **
<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">The title should be less than ten words and should reflect the factual content of the paper. Scientific titles are not designed to catch the reader's fancy. A good title is straightforward and uses keywords that researchers in a particular field will recognize. <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">The purpose and abstract allows the reader to judge whether it would serve his or her purposes to read the entire report. A good abstract is a concise (short) summary of the lab (why did you do it), the data presented, and the author's major conclusions. <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">The introduction defines the subject of the report. It must explain the scientific purpose(s) or objective(s) for the research performed and give the reader sufficient background to understand the rest of the report. Care should be taken to limit the background to whatever is pertinent to the experiment. A good introduction will answer several questions, including the following: //<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Why was this study performed? //<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> Answers to this question may be derived from observations of nature or from the literature. //<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">What knowledge already exists about this subject? //<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> //What ideas (laws, theories, mathematical relationships) were used in this lab?// The answer to this question must review the literature, showing the historical development of an idea and including the confirmations, conflicts, and gaps in existing knowledge. //<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">What is the specific purpose of the study? //<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> The specific hypotheses and experimental design pertinent to investigating the topic should be described. <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">As the name implies, the materials and methods used in the experiments should be reported in this section. The difficulty in writing this section is to provide enough detail for the reader to understand the experiment without overwhelming them. It is necessary to describe special pieces of equipment and the general theory of the tests performed. This can usually be done in a short paragraph, possibly along with a drawing of the experimental apparatus. Generally, this section attempts to answer the following questions: //<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">What materials were used? How were they used? What information was obtained when performing the experiment? //
 * <span style="font-size: 20px; font-family: 'Lucida Console', Monaco, monospace;">1. Purpose **
 * <span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: 'Lucida Console', Monaco, monospace; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman';">2 and 3. Introduction and Background **
 * <span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: 'Lucida Console', Monaco, monospace; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman';">Procedure (Materials and Methods) **


 * <span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: 'Lucida Console', Monaco, monospace; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman';">Observations and Results **

1. Observations This section should summarize all of the observations that you made before, during, and after the experiment. 2. Data Table

You should construct a data table using a spreadsheet program. You can make it look identical to the one on your lab sheet or you can add more information. It must contain at least what is on your lab sheet. Do not photocopy information. All figures and tables should have descriptive titles and should include a legend explaining any symbols, abbreviations, or special methods used. Figures and tables should be numbered separately and should be referred to in the text by number, for example:
 * 1) <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Figure 1 shows that the activity decreased after five minutes.
 * 2) <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">The activity decreased after five minutes (fig. 1).

3. Sample Calculations This section should include one trial's calculations. They can be handwritten, but must be neat and each calculation labeled.

4. Results <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">The results section should summarize the data from the experiments without discussing their implications. This section of your report should concentrate on general trends and differences and not on trivial details. Many authors organize and write the results section before the rest of the report.

<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">This section should not just be a restatement of the results but should emphasize interpretation of the data, relating them to existing theory and knowledge. __This is where sources of error and answers to the questions in your lab sheet should be answered.__ Suggestions for the improvement of techniques or experimental design may also be included here. <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> After writing a report, read it over, watching especially for lack of precision and for ambiguity. Each sentence should present a clear message. The following examples illustrate lack of precision: <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">The only way to prevent such errors is to read and think about what you write and edit your work.
 * <span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: 'Lucida Console', Monaco, monospace; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman';">Discussion **
 * <span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">General Comments on Style **
 * 1) <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Use the metric system of measurements. Abbreviations of units are used without a following period.
 * 2) <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Everything must be written in paragraph form. Do not use numbered items or bulleted text.
 * 3) <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Numbers should be written as numerals when they are greater than ten or when they are associated with measurements; for example, 6 mm or 2 g but //two// explanations of //six// factors. When one list includes numbers over and under ten, all numbers in the list may be expressed as numerals; for example, 17 sunfish, 13 bass, and 2 trout. Never start a sentence with numerals. Spell all numbers beginning sentences.
 * 4) <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">**You Must Avoid** using the first person, I or we, in writing. Keep your writing impersonal, in the third person. Instead of saying, "We weighed the frogs and put them in a glass jar," write, "The frogs were weighed and put in a glass jar."
 * 5) <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Avoid the use of slang and the overuse of contractions.
 * 6) <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Be consistent in the use of tense throughout a paragraph--do not switch between past and present. It is best to use past tense.
 * 1) <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">"The sample was incubated in mixture A minus B plus C." Does the mixture lack both B and C or lack B and contain C?
 * 2) <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">The title "Protection against Carcinogenesis by Antioxidants" leaves the reader wondering whether antioxidants protect from or cause cancer.