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How to Write a Lab Report

How to Write a Lab Report. Parts of a Lab Report. Title Introduction Materials Procedures Results Discussion/Conclusion References. Title. The title should be less than ten words and should reflect the factual content of the paper .

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How to Write a Lab Report

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  1. How to Write a Lab Report

  2. Parts of a Lab Report • Title • Introduction • Materials • Procedures • Results • Discussion/Conclusion • References

  3. Title • The title should be less than ten words and should reflect the factual content of the paper. • Includes the Independent and Dependent variable • Scientific titles are not designed to catch the reader's fancy. • A good title is straightforward and uses keywords that researchers in a particular field will recognize.

  4. Title • Examples: • Too little detail: Fast food purchases • Too much detail: Differences in the fast food purchasing habits of men and women in the last month in Brighton • Just right: Differences in the fast food purchasing habits of men and women • Other examples • How Water Acidity Affects Leaf Growth on Cabbage Plants. • The Effect of Temperature on Alka Seltzer Reaction Rates

  5. Introduction • Quick explanation of research area • Summary of relevant past research (and perhaps its flaws) • Purpose of study • Brief description of methods • Hypotheses is stated

  6. Materials • List what materials were used. • Draw experimental apparatuses used if special. • Usually listed on the lab handout.

  7. Procedures • What did you do? • You can find procedures on the lab handouts. • Provide enough detail for the reader to understand the experiment and to repeat the experiment. • Not in list format, paragraph format

  8. Results- Show Data • What are the main findings? • For example: • Female participants ate fewer hamburgers on average than males (Table 1). • Note: If you give numbers in tables, there is no need to repeat them in text. If you present information in a figure, give exact numbers in text as well • Show your data in the form of charts, tables, or graphs

  9. Tables: Quantitative Table 1: The mean number of fast food purchases made by males and females in last month.

  10. Tables: Qualitative Table 2: Frequency of internet usage among men and women.

  11. Figures: Quantitative Figure 1: The mean number of fast food purchases made by males and females in last month. Error bars show ± 1 S.E.M.

  12. Figures: Qualitative Figure 2: Frequency of internet usage among men and women.

  13. Discussion/Conclusion • Summary of purpose and results • Comparison to previous research • Possible faults- What could have you done wrong? • Future directions-What can I do next time?

  14. Conclusion • This lab (experiment) investigated __________. In order to study the problem we ___________. My results showed ____________, thus proving my hypothesis was ____________. I believe the results are (accurate/inaccurate) because ____________. In order to further investigate this problem, next time I would _____________.

  15. References • We use CSE or the Name-Year Style in Science • You can find guides online or use a cite generator website • https://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/researchguides/citationstyles/CSE_citation.html#online-examples

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