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Writing lab reports follows a straightforward and structured procedure. It is important to recognize that each part of a lab report is important, so take the time to complete each carefully. A lab report is broken down into eight sections: title, abstract, introduction, methods and materials, results, discussion, conclusion, and references.
Title
The title of the lab report should be descriptive of the experiment and reflect what the experiment analyzed.
Ex: "Determining the Free Chlorine Content of Pool Water"
Abstract
Abstracts are a summary of the experiment as a whole and should familiarize the reader with the purpose of the research.
Abstracts will always be written last, even though they are the first paragraph of a lab report.
Not all lab reports will require an abstract. However, they are often included in upper-level lab reports and should be studied carefully.
When writing an abstract, try to answer these questions:
Why was the research done or experiment conducted?
What problem is being addressed?
What results were found?
What are the meaning of the results?
How is the problem better understood now than before, if at all?
Introduction
The introduction of a lab report discusses the problem being studied and other theory that is relevant to understanding the findings.
The hypothesis of the experiment and the motivation for the research are stated in this section.
Write the introduction in your own words. Try not to copy from a lab manual or other guidelines. Instead, show comprehension of the experiment by briefly explaining the problem.
Methods and Materials
The methods and materials section provides an overview of any equipment, apparatus, or other substances used in the experiment, as well as the steps taken during the experiment. If using any specific amounts of materials, make sure the amount is listed.
Ex: pipette, graduated cylinder, 1.13mg of Na, 0.67mg Ag
List the steps taken as they actually happened during the experiment, not as they were supposed to happen.
If written correctly, another researcher should be able to duplicate the experiment and get the same or very similar results.
Results
The results show the data that was collected or found during the experiment.
Explain in words the data that was collected.
If using graphs, charts, or other figures, present them in the results section of the lab report.
Tables should be labeled numerically, as "Table 1", "Table 2", etc. Other figures should be labeled numerically as "Figure 1", "Figure 2", etc.
Calculations to understand the data can also be presented in the results.
Discussion
The discussion section is one of the most important parts of the lab report. It analyzes the results of the experiment and is a discussion of the data.
If any results are unexpected, explain why they are unexpected and how they did or did not effect the data obtained.
Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the design of the experiment and compare your results to other similar experiments.
If there are any experimental errors, analyze them.
Explain your results and discuss them using relevant terms and theories.
When writing a discussion, try to answer these questions:
What do the results indicate?
What is the significance of the results?
Are there any gaps in knowledge?
Are there any new questions that have been raised?
Conclusion
The conclusion is a summation of the experiment. It should clearly and concisely state what was learned and its importance.
If there is future work that needs to be done, it can be explained in the conclusion.
References
If using any outside sources to support a claim or explain background information, those sources must be cited in the references section of the lab report.
In the event that no outside sources are used, the references section may be left out.
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Source #2 Below:
It is extremely important that you understand the need for, and format of, a good report. Scientific work of any sort is useless unless its results can be communicated to others. Over the years a particular format, or general outline, has evolved for the preparation of scientific reports. It is this format which you should get accustomed to using. First of all, a report should have a title. If it is in the style of a scientific article, it should have an abstract. In addition, a scientific paper generally has five sections:
1) Introduction: Include a statement of the problem to be investigated, why the work was carried out, history and theoretical background of the problem, a brief statement of the general method of approach to the problem, and expected results.
2) Methods and materials: This section tells the reader how and with what the work was done. The methods and materials section of a research paper is often glossed over by many readers, but, in terms of the report as a historical document, this section is crucial. You should try to strike a balance between an over-detailed description of even the most trivial items and a very sketchy statement that provides insufficient information. The important guideline is that another worker of similar training and ability, following your description, should get the same results. Note that this section should be written as a description of what you did, not as a set of instructions.
3) Results: Here is the real meat of a report. In this section you should describe the important qualitative and quantitative observations is your work. Data should be tabulated and/or graphed and described. One of the common errors in report-writing is to say, "The data are plotted in Fig. 1" without saying something like, "As can be seen from the graph, absorbance at 260nm is relatively constant up to about 80°C, after which a sharp rise is noted." Be aware that tables and graphs are not self-explanatory, and must be summarized for the reader.
All graphs and tables should be numbered and provided with a title. Additional information which makes the data more comprehensible should be provided as needed. It is a good idea to narrate the results, that is, to put each experiment in context (why? what's the point?) as you go along, so the reader can follow your logic.
4) Discussion and conclusions: This section serves two functions. First, it provides a place where the data may be fully discussed and interpreted, and second, it allows the author to delve into the realms of speculation. Here one may address questions like "why did something unexpected happen?" ; "what would happen if the reaction were carried out at higher pH?"; "why did the expected results not materialize?" In this section the author may (discretely) pat him- or her-self on the back, criticize other workers results, suggest improvements in methodology, etc.
5) References: Some papers have no references, others have 200 or more. There is no correct number of references, but there is a correct philosophy and format: any time you refer to a previously reported idea, result, method, etc., you must insert a citation. Every quotation must be referenced. Not to do so is, at best, a violation of scientific and literary ethics and, at worst, plagiarism.
A. Where do the references go? References may appear at the bottom of the page on which they are first cited, or listed at the end of the paper. The latter seems to be more convenient; the bottoms of pages in the report may thus be reserved for other footnotes.
B. How do you designate & list references? In the body of a report, a reference may be designated in one of two ways -- by name of author or by number. These will refer you to the end of the paper for a full reference.