Writing a laboratory report: notes to student experimenters last updated adapted by d. 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. 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.

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and materials section of a research paper is often glossed over by many readers, but, in terms of the report as a historical document, this section is crucial.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. In this section you should describe the important qualitative and quantitative observations is your work.

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. 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.

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. 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. Not to do so is, at best, a violation of scientific and literary ethics and, at worst, plagiarism. 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. How do you designate amp 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.

If you list the references at the end of the paper, the order depends on which method you use, as follows: 1. By author amp date: one method is to place the last name s of the author s and the year of publication in parentheses, immediately following the referenced thought. As an example, one might write, a phosphorylated histidine residue has been proposed as an important component in the mechanism of action of succinylcoenzyme a synthetase bridger, millen and boyer, 1968. If this method is used, the list of references at the end of the paper must be in alphabetical order, according to the last name of the first author. By number: in the second method a citation may be designated by a number in parentheses not a superscript superscripts are reserved for footnotes. In this case, one would write: a phosphorylated histidine residue has been proposed as an important component in the mechanism of action of succinylcoenzyme a synthetase 6. If this method is used, references are listed at the end of the report in the order in which they appear in the text, rather than alphabetically.

What is the format of a reference? with either method of citation the format of the reference list should be as follows: 1. For a periodical: a reference to a periodical should include, in the order given: 1. Philosophically, science should be independent of scientists, their times, and places of work. That is the actual discoverer of a principle is less important than the principle itself.

Assistance With Writing a Case Study

If, for example, watson and crick had not developed the structural model of dna, then surely someone else would have done so. It is also traditional to write scientific papers in the passive, rather that the active, voice. For example, it is customary to avoid statements like, i heated the protein solution to 100 ° c and formation of a precipitate was noted. However, it is important to state that some current scientists prefer reports that are written in the first person, in the active voice. When writing a report, you should determine what the instructor or editor prefers. More information that is specifically designed for undergraduate researchers is linked to the surf website, as recommended by the council of science editors cse , biological publications generally follow the national library of medicine nlm method of referencing.

The complete book, citing medicine, 2nd edition: the nlm style guide for authors, editors, and publishers is available online at the ncbi bookshelf. We will give you some basic guidelines here, but there is no way we can summarize a 26 chapter book. It is your responsibility to find out how to properly cite the sources you have used.

The publication being referenced is not mentioned directly in the text and is simply included in parentheses following the information. Single author indicate the author's last name and the year of the publication author year. Two authors indicate both authors' last names and the year author and author year. Three or more authors only indicate the first author's last name, followed by et al. 2001 smith and others 2001 in this case, the author s is mentioned as part of the text and only the publication year is placed in parenthesis.

Including names in the text takes up a lot of space and frequently detracts from the point you are trying to make. It is also acceptable to state: according to author and colleagues year , such and such is true. 2001 according to smith and others 2001 some books are collections of articles where each article has its own author. In this case the book usually will have editors listed on the cover the editors put the book together, but didn't necessarily write any of the articles.

Narrative Essay Synonyms

If you only used a specific part/chapter of the book, the in text citation should include only the author s of this part. If you have more than one article published in the same year by the same author, more than one author with the same last name, or when organizations such as a university as authors, please see the nml guidelines. If the web information has an author and a date just follow the same rules as for print materials where it gets complicated is putting together the end reference information.

Pros And Cons of Homeschooling Essay

Most high quality science sites tell you how to cite them you might have to look around a bit. For all other online citation situations, the nml has detailed specifications that are easy to follow. Only include references that you cited in your research report! all end references must include enough information to uniquely identify the exact source, and o make it easy to find the original source. For all types of sources you will, at minimum, need the author s , source title, and date of publication. Other required information will depend on the source and also on the journal format you are following your instructor may ask you to follow a particular journal's format. Non random patterns of roost emergence in big brown bats, eptesicus fuscus.

Essay About Friendship In Hindi

Things that can vary depending on the exact format you are following frequently only the year of publication is included. The order of some elements can vary depending on what journal style you are following. Authors are always listed in the order they appear on the article and the 1st author's last name is always listed first, but the order of the first and last names of the remaining authors can be reversed. Nml and cse standards both format the authors' names as shown in the example, but individual journals may have different recommendations. To cite journal articles that you have found online, you follow the same format as if you were using the print version, except you must add internet after the journal name to indicate the medium, date cited after the publication date, and at the end of the reference add available from hyperlink. If you used the online version of the journal article, you must indicate this in the citation.