A GUIDE TO PHYSICS LABORATORY REPORT WRITING

The sections required to complete your Physics lab reports should be written in the order listed

below:

1. Title Page

2. Statement of Objective

3. Theory

4. Description of Experimental Setup/List of Equipment Used

5. Procedure

6. Data

7. Analysis of Data

8. Discussion of Results

9. Conclusions

10. References

The content of each of the sections in a laboratory report is described in the following pages.

Most of the descriptions are general enough to be valid for all reports.

1. Title page

The following information should appear on the title page:

• A brief but informative title that describes the report

• Your name
 • Date(s) the experiment was performed

• Date the report was due

• Names of other group members who were present for the experiments

• Laboratory section number (group number)

• Name of the lecturer and lab demonstrator

2. Statement of Objective

State the objective(s) of the experiment concisely in paragraph form. The laboratory manual or

instruction sheet will help here. The fact that experiments in laboratory courses are being used to

educate students is a secondary objective and should not be stated in the report. In other words,

the objective written in your report should never be to “familiarize students with the use of

equipment.” Rather, the objective should state the problem that your procedure and data attempts

to answer. Some key verbs that you will use in the objective might include “to investigate,” “to

plot,” “to measure,” or “to compare.” The section should inform the reader precisely why the

project was undertaken.

3. Theory

A concise description of the relevant theory should be provided when the theory is needed to

understand other parts of the report such as the data analysis or discussion sections. This section

is sometimes combined with the introduction and background section, if this results in a more

readable report. The relevant equations should be introduced and all the terms to be used in the

report should be defined. Equations must be presented as parts of complete sentences. You will

find examples of this later in this guide.

Provide a neat, correct and clear schematic drawing of the experimental set-up, showing all the

interconnections and interrelationships. Include a short textual description that refers to all parts

of the schematic drawing. This section should have all the information needed for a reader to

duplicate the setup independently. List all the equipment and materials used in the experiment.

Include identifying marks (usually serial numbers) of all equipment. This is a safeguard that

allows you to trace faulty equipment at a later date, if necessary. The reader must be able to

connect each item in this section to the item in the Description of Experimental Setup section.

5. Procedure

Detail the procedure used to carry out the experiment step-by-step. Sufficient information should

be provided to allow the reader to repeat the experiment in an identical manner. Special

procedures used to ensure specific experimental conditions, or to maintain a desired accuracy in

the information obtained should be described. As with all sections of the report, the procedure

describes what was done in the lab and should, therefore, be written in the past tense. Copying

the procedure from a lab manual would be an inaccurate reflection of the work completed in the

lab and is not acceptable.

6. Data

All the pertinent raw data obtained during the experiment are presented in this section. This

section should contain only raw information not results from manipulation of data.
If the latter need to be included in the same table as the raw data in the interests of space or

presentation style, the raw data should be identified clearly as such.

The type of data will vary according to the individual experiment and can include numbers,

sketches, images, photographs, etc. All numerical data should be tabulated carefully. Each table,

figure and graph in the report must have a caption or label and a number that is referenced in the

written text. Variables tabulated or plotted should be clearly identified by a symbol or name.

Units, if any, should always be clearly noted.

7. Analysis of Data

This section describes in textual form how the formulaic manipulation of the data was carried out

and gives the equations and procedures used. If more than one equation is used, all equations

must carry sequential identifying numbers that can be referenced elsewhere in the text. The final

results of the data analysis are reported in this section, using figures, graphs, tables or other

convenient forms. The end result of the data analysis should be information, usually in the form

of tables, charts, graphs or other figures that can be used to discuss the outcome of the

experiment or project. This section must include statements about the accuracy of the data,

supported where necessary by an error analysis. Sample calculations, details of calculations,

and error analyses should also be included.

8. Discussion of Results

This section is devoted to your interpretation of the outcome of the experiment or project.

The information from the data analysis is examined and explained. You should describe, analyze

and explain (not just restate) all your results. This section should answer the question “What do

the data tell me?” Describe any logical projections from the outcome, for instance, the need to
repeat the experiments or to measure certain variables differently. Assess the quality and

accuracy of your procedure. Compare your results with expected behavior, if such a comparison

is useful or necessary, and explain any unexpected behavior.

9. Conclusions

Base all conclusions on your actual results. Explain the meaning of the experiment and the

implications of your results. Examine the outcome in the light of the stated objectives.

This section should answer the question “So what?” Seek to make conclusions in a broader

context in the light of the results.

10. References

Using standard bibliographic format, cite all the published sources you consulted during the

conduct of the experiment and the preparation of your laboratory report. List the author(s), title

of paper or book, name of journal, or publisher as appropriate, page number(s) if appropriate and

the date. If a source is included in the list of references, it must also be referred to at the

appropriate place(s) in the report.

Professionalism: Formatting and Language

As with all other modes of communication, laboratory reports are most effective if the language

and style are selected to suit the background of the principal readers. Reports are judged not only

on technical content, but on clarity, ease of understanding, word usage, and grammatical

correctness. Following are several trouble spots for report writers.

All tables, graphs and equations should be introduced by a sentence of explanation. They should

also have an explanatory label. The labels should be executed using the same formatting and

numbered sequentially throughout the report. Units and variables must always be identified.

Don't expect figures or equations to serve where sentences and paragraphs are needed.

Visual and verbal descriptions must always go together. There are two reasons for this coupling:

first, it assures that the information contained in the report is clear; second, it allows the author of

the report to take credit for interpreting the significance of the data.

Good reports will demonstrate to readers that the author is more than just a person

plugging numbers.

2. Verb Tense

Reports should be written in the past tense in an impersonal style.

NO: The demonstrator set up the equipment before we began the experiment.

YES: The equipment was set up before the experiment was begun.

NO: We calculated distance using the data from table 2.

YES: Distance was calculated using the data from table 2.

3. Objective

The “objective” of the lab is RARELY, IF EVER, to learn how to use a piece of equipment (the

exception is the oscilloscope experiment for Physics). Use action verbs such as “investigate”,

“determine”, “measure”, or “plot” in stating your objective.

Equations should be embedded in the text of report and formatted using the “Equation Editor”

tool on your word processor

It is extremely important to define all variables used, although it is necessary to define a variable

only one time in the report. The equations should be numbered sequentially throughout the

report.

5. Section Headings

Use separate headings for each section. The headings should be in bold type. The format used for

the headings should be consistent throughout the report. Allow space between sections.

6. Language

As you edit your report, delete unnecessary words, rewrite unclear phrases and clean up

grammatical errors.

7. Note on Plagiarism

Experiments are usually carried out by groups of students. It is therefore expected that each

member of a group has followed an identical procedure in the laboratory and has the same set of

data. Members of a group are also encouraged to discuss the analysis of data with one another.

However, preparation of the report and the discussion and interpretation of the results

contained therein must be the sole effort of the individual student submitting the report.

Department policy on plagiarism will be strictly enforced in all laboratory courses.