For this lab you will be writing a lab report, including an abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion section, as well as a descriptive title (page) and short concluding paragraph. All external sources of information should be included in a references section at the end of the report. Assignments are to be submitted individually. Collaboration is encouraged when completing the assignment, but work submitted must be unique to each individual (in their own words).
Report must include the following sections to be a complete report:
1. Title Page
2. Abstract
3. Introduction
4. Methods
5. Results
6. Discussion
7. Conclusion
8. References / Literature Cited (CSE Format)
– Minimum 3 primary sources
Report Formatting:
~5pagesinlength(canbelongerifneeded) • 12pt Times New Roman font
1.5 line spacing (paragraph setting) • No modifications to the margins
Be sure to include the following in the results section:
Properly formatted graph depicting means and standard deviations calculated.
Descriptions of Qualitative data and Quantitative Data Collected in the written paragraph.
Written results of the t-test (with values in parentheses) in the written paragraph.
Scientific writing- Overview
Title Page
-Title of your report
-Sufficiently descriptive of what will be discussed
with proper nomenclature
Abstract
Overview of the entire piece of writing.
1-2 sentences that outline the most important information from each sections:
• Introduction (including the objective) • methods• results• discussion
Introduction- Part 1
- Introduce the topic of interest ( set up context and current knowledge)
Background information
- General background (1-2 paragraphs)
– Point 1 (citation)
– Point 2 (citation)
– …
Specific background
– Point 1 (citation)
– Point 2 (citation)
– …
Information presented is based on the objective.
– Ex. examining the effects of A on B.
– What do we know about B.
– What do we know about A + B
Introduction – Part 2
Indicate your objective and hypothesis
Objective: Examine the effects of ___________ on ___________
Hypothesis: _________ will cause ________ to ________
Hypotheses answer/address a question/objective
Hypothesis is supported by background information (presented earlier, or restated here)
Be careful your hypothesis is not actually your predictions!
Methods Section
• Methods: Overall Experimental Setup (not every detail)
Species of Interest (somewhere in the paragraph)
Manipulation(s) (independent variable) – Experimental/Control Groups
Controls and Consistent Features
Measurement(s) (dependent/responding variable(s) – Data Collected
Analyses (how were raw collected data analyzed??)
Analysis 1
Analysis 2
Analysis …
Tool for analyses and Data Depiction – What tool was used to do the analyses?
Where did methods come from? (either first or last sentence)
• Reference and in-text cite the lab manual • What did you do? (Past tense)
Results Section
What are the results of your experiment?
Written paragraph:
• What do your analyses show? (reporting numbers with descriptions)
• Are there any patterns or trends? What are numbers that describe these?• Reference the figure in written text (ex. Figure 1 shows…, or …(Figure 1))
• Figure/Graph (Where these values are presented)
Do figures and tables have a descriptive caption?
Proper formatting (axes, etc.)
Do they have enough detail to stand alone?
Discussion – Part 1
• What are your key results? • Briefly restate them
What do these results mean? (Interpretation)
Should bring into the context of the hypothesis/objective
What do the specific results you collected tell us?
What explains the results (biological explanation)
Use references/sources to give a reason we see results or should see different results.
Are your findings consistent with other experiments (sources)
Example:
Result 1: “We found X…”
“These results indicate y…” (context of the objective)
Explain why you might/not find these results
Repeat for all important results
Summarize with What all your results, interpretation, and explanation tell you about the experimental objective (conclusion statement)
Discussion – Part 2
Evaluate the design of your experiment
What are potential deficiencies in your design?
How would you adjust your design in the future to obtain better results?
Go beyond sample size and human error, these should not be flaws
Sample size is based on resources available and is a sample for a reason
Human error can happen, but we try to minimize it as best we can (don’t throw yourself under the bus)
If these really are issues, you have a poor experiment and should reassess before performing it.
What are possible future directions that your work applies to?
What might be a “next step in this field?
What new questions do you have after performing the experiment?
Conclusions
Can be in the form of a conclusion paragraph.
Briefly restate some key points from your report, including:
Initial objective of the experiment
What were the main results? (trends, no numbers)
What do these results mean/tell us? (interpretation, no numbers)
Importance/relevance of the findings (implications/applications)
References Section
Contains the full citation for each source used in the report using CSE format
Sources cited in the text must appear here.
Here’s the data that should be used in this lab report
