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Lab Report Structure

The document provides guidelines for writing a lab report, outlining the key sections including title, introduction, methods, results, conclusion, and bibliography. It describes what should be included in each section such as the independent and dependent variables, materials, procedures, data presentation, errors, evaluation, and citations.

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twatcher423
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6 views

Lab Report Structure

The document provides guidelines for writing a lab report, outlining the key sections including title, introduction, methods, results, conclusion, and bibliography. It describes what should be included in each section such as the independent and dependent variables, materials, procedures, data presentation, errors, evaluation, and citations.

Uploaded by

twatcher423
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Student’s name:

Level:
Teacher’s name:
Date:

● Title
The title captures the laboratory's content in a few words. Indicative titles are
preferred to informative titles. Indicative titles highlight the main point or
conclusion. Informative titles simply state the subject of the article.

Recall that the independent variable (IV) is the part of the experiment that you
are changing and the dependent variable (DV) is what is being measured as a
result of that change.

● Scientific background (Introduction)


The introduction to the laboratory report includes a background discussion of
the major concepts addressed in the laboratory. This section also provides a
brief, focused historical overview of the problem, definitions of terms related
to the experiment and a statement of the purpose.

● Research question and hypothesis (if applicable)


The research question is also known as the operational question. Clearly
identify the independent variable (IV) and dependent variable (DV).
A research hypothesis is a statement of expectation or prediction that will be
tested by research. Before formulating your research hypothesis, read about
the
topic of interest to you. In your hypothesis, you are predicting the relationship
between variables.

● Methodology (Design)
Variables
A variable is anything that can change or be changed. In other words, it is any
factor that can be manipulated, controlled for, or measured in an experiment.

● Independent variables (IV): These are the factors or conditions that you
manipulate in an experiment. Your hypothesis is that this variable
causes a direct effect on the dependent variable.
● Dependent variables (DV): These are the factors that you observe or
measure. As you vary your independent variable you watch what
happens to your dependent variable.
● Controlled (or constant) variables: Are variables that you manage to
keep constant or controlled for during the course of the experiment, as
they may have an effect on your dependent variables as well.

Materials
Everything essential for conducting the experiment is listed in this section. This
includes naming the chemicals, specimens, equipment, glassware, software,
etc. School supplies such as paper and pencils do not need to be listed. Like a
recipe, your list of materials should include what materials and how much of
each are needed.

Safety measures
List safety warnings.

Procedure
The Procedure section details the methods used in the laboratory experiment.
The procedure is detailed so that any other investigator can reproduce the
process exactly. Procedure includes a list of the steps to conduct the
experiment, descriptions of apparatus, and specification of
each condition under which the experiment was done. Also, included are
diagrams of the experimental setup.

Waste management and material cleaning


Effectively dispose and remove waste in your workplace. Consider the
environment and the health impacts in all work practices.

● Results (Raw data, elaborated data, errors)


The Results section describes, in words, your observations (qualitative data)
and the experimental data (quantitative data). It also includes the data
displayed in tables and/or in graphs. Results describe only what was found or
observed, just the facts.
There are five ways in which your data can be described depending on the
experiment.
1. Tables. Organise the data from your experiment into charts or tables.

2. Observations. Any observations made during the laboratory are


reported in this section. Observations are descriptions or scientific
drawings of findings that are not based on numbers. They describe what
the object or event looks like, not the reason you think a change
happened.

3. Sample Calculations. Displaying your calculations is an important way


to show how you derived your data. When writing sample calculations,
first show the formula or steps for the calculation, then show an
example using the numbers. Box or underline your final answer. It is
not necessary to show all calculations; one example of each type is
sufficient.

4. Graphs. Graph data whenever possible. Relationships are more easily


identified in a graphic presentation as compared to a table. Some data
that cannot be graphed on coordinates can be expressed in pictorial
form using other graphics such as a histogram.

5. Analysis. Running programs with basic statistics are often helpful for
summarising your data and drawing conclusions from the data.

6. Errors. No measurements are perfect. This can be due to:


● The precision and accuracy of the instrument.
- The absolute error of a measurement.
- The relative error of a measurement.
● The person taking the measurement. To reduce human error, we
should take several measurements and work out the average. It
is important to disregard any values that are very different from
the others.

● Conclusion and evaluation


The Conclusion section is a summary and discussion of your experiment. This
section is a challenge to write because it requires thinking critically about the
findings and examining the relationship of the results to other experiments.
Parts of the conclusion repeat other elements of your report. This is OK. A
reader should be able to understand the entire experiment by reading only the
conclusion.
● In the conclusion you should discuss the results you obtained in relation
to your hypothesis.
● Write a conclusion based on an interpretation of the gathered results.
● Compare your results with literature values if possible.

The Evaluation section should include the following:


● In the evaluation you should evaluate the method used. Write about
the main weakness of the method used and the weakness in the
method of manipulation of data.
● Write about the source of error, but don’t include personal mistakes.
● Suggest real improvements (that can be carried out in the school lab) to
the investigation.
● Discuss further investigations that are of interest and can be carried out
and new questions that could be posed.
● Bibliography
The Literature Cited section is a compilation of all references cited in the body
of your laboratory report.Create your bibliography using APA citation style
format.

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