The “ Astronomy ” view on report writing

1. The “Astronomy” view on report writing

2. 2nd Year Laboratory Experimental Report • All scientific reports should be arranged in sections. • It is helpful to number sections and divide each section into subsections with meaningful subheadings where required. • Grammar and spelling are very important • Redrafting extremely important for readability • Start with rough notes i.e. a skeleton outline • Redraft several times – reading afresh each time.

3. The sections in your report Abstract 1. Introduction (including any theory) 2. Experimental details 3. Results 3.1 Overview 3.2 First set of results 3.3 Second set of results 4. Discussion 5. Summary or Conclusions References

4. Grammar and Spelling • In many branches of physics the convention is to write in the third person and the passive tense, i.e. "the voltage was measured at ten second intervals" rather than "I/we measured the voltage...". • Note, however, that in astronomy journals many authors write in the first person. (we). Check with your marker if you are unsure. • It doesn’t matter to us (astro) which one you chose, but be consistent!

5. Grammar and Spelling • In many branches of physics the convention is to write in the third person and the passive tense, i.e. "the voltage was measured at ten second intervals" rather than "I/we measured the voltage...". • Note, however, that in astronomy journals many authors write in the first person (we). Check with your marker if you are unsure. • Use the present tense for statements which are still true rather than actions pursued in the past, i.e. "the work function was calculated from the Fowler-Nordheim equation to be 4.0 eV which is in agreement with the published value". • Theoretical statements are also written in the present tense, e.g. "The condition for maxima in the intensity is given by the equation...".

6. Grammar and Spelling • Spell check your report. • Carefully proof read your work. • Read what is there, not what you thought you wrote (you’ll need a gap between writing and re-reading if this is to work properly) • Is it understandable to someone who doesn’t know the expt? • Do you trip up on any sentences? • Get someone else to read it to be sure that it makes sense.

7. 2nd Year Laboratory Experimental Report • All scientific reports should be arranged in sections. • It is helpful to number sections and divide each section into subsections with meaningful subheadings where required. • Grammar and spelling are very important. • There is no one conventional format that is followed in all cases but a good laboratory report should follow the style of scientific papers (e.g. one of the Physical Review or Institute of Physics journals). • Use the Departmental template for assessed work (see module web pages).

8. Demonstration of Three-Dimensional Electrostatic Trapping of State-Selected Rydberg Atoms S. D. Hogan and F. Merkt Laboratorium für Physikalische Chemie, ETH Zürich, CH-8093, Switzerland (Received 15 September 2007; published 30 January 2008) A three-dimensional trap for Rydberg atoms in selected Stark states has been realized experimentally. H atoms seeded in a supersonic expansion of Ar are excited to the low-field seeking n = 30, k = 25, |m| = 0, 2 Rydberg-Stark states, decelerated from a mean initial velocity of 665 m/s to zero velocity in the laboratory frame and loaded into a three-dimensional electrostatic trap. The motion of the cold Rydberg atom cloud in the trap and the decay of the trapped atoms have been studied by pulsed electric field ionization and imaging techniques. Not clear if they are reporting the trap, or if this has been done before. Equally unclear if the experimental statements refer to their work or others “ionization and imaging techniques” doesn’t tell the reader what was found. No motivation for why they are performing the experiment

9. Abstract • Context • Due to their wide availability, abstracts are an important part of any paper • Aims • Many authors write bad abstracts, and so here we provide some guidelines to help you write a better one. • Method • Here we outline how to structure an abstract by ensuring it contains certain core elements and a strong narrative. • Results • We demonstrate with examples how this style of abstract aids readability and makes your paper or report more interesting, especially if you make sure you include important numerical results here. • Conclusion • On the basis of this we encourage all authors to consider using a similar approach when writing an abstract. We finally recommend that an abstract be written once all other elements are complete. Adapted from Bertout & Schneider 2005 A&A 441 3-6

10. 1. Introduction • The basic physics being investigated. • A brief account of the principles behind the experimental methods adopted and an indication of the scope and significance of the work. • An introduction to the rest of your report. • Start with general background and context; focus down to relevant details; finish by stating your aims • Be understandable to someone who has not done the experiment • Don’t include experimental details or results.

11. 2. Experimental Details • This section should include details of the apparatus and methods used - draw diagrams! • Do not describe how standard equipment works. • Special pieces of equipment merit more space. • Describe any non-standard methods which you used; comment on experimental procedures. • Do not give a "recipe" for the reader. • Use past tense to describe what you did. • Report what you did and why; and any problems encountered.

12. 3. Experimental Results (and Discussion) • You may remind the reader of what it is you are trying to measure and show how this is to be accomplished. • You should always give a concise description of how your results were deduced from your raw data. • You may also choose to include a preliminary discussion of your data. For example, do your results agree with previously published results or theory? But this is also fine in discussion • Use full paragraphs • Comment on the quality of any fits you make and if your error bars have been over or underestimated.

13. You must show your results! • The raw data, or processed data, should be presented in the clearest possible way - tables or graphs – but not both. • Don’t include unnecessary tables • Don’t use tables for just a few numbers that could be in the text • Always quote errors on measured quantities. • Graphs should be drawn using a data plotting package. • The derivation of results from graphs must be shown clearly. • Scales should be carefully chosen to most clearly indicate any features in the data. • Carefully explain how your errors were estimated. Error bars/crosses should be shown on some if not all of the points.

14. Displayed material • Figures should be given self contained figure captions placed below the figure. There is no need to give the figure a title. • Figures and tables should be numbered consecutively i.e. Figure 1, Figure 2a, Figure 2b, Figure 3, etc.; Table 1, Table 2. Always refer to figures by these figure numbers. All figures should be referenced in the text in the order they appear. Graphs are Figures. • All diagrams, photographs, etc. are also Figures. • Carefully consider how to combine data sets in each figure to clearly display your data.

15. Poor Quality Graphs Figure 1. M versus x

16. Graphs Figure 1. Magnetisation versus Mn composition, x, for a series of Y(Al1-xMnx) intermetallic samples. The data (■) were collected at a temperature of 5 K in an applied field, H, of 50 A/m using a SQUID magnetometer. The red line is a least squares fit to the data using the model of Jones et al. [1] and confirms the linear increase in the magnetisation with Mn concentration x.

17. 4. Discussion • Start with a concise summary of your results • Discuss the significance of your results when compared with the published results or accepted theories. • Are your results consistent with accepted values or not • Don’t use “reasonable agreement” – quantify it! • Discuss the sources of error, the problems encountered in your own investigation and their effect on the end result. • When listing possible sources of error, ascertain which are important and which are not, be quantative if possible • Construct arguments and give evidence • Consider the advantages and disadvantages of the experimental method you have used. • You could include a section summarising the contents of your report, reiterating the points you feel are important and giving the conclusions of your experimental investigation.

18. References • List the primary sources you have used to write your report • Cite these references in the text, for example, "...previous studies have shown [1]..." and at the end of the report list these references in order of their reference number: • Bibliographic material can be included, for example, “...a more complete discussion is given in ref. 2.” • If you cite the same source more than once you need only list it once in the references, for example page 10 of ref. 2 could be followed later by [2] chapter 6.

19. Make sure your references are given in an acceptable format (see the library quiz) [1] I. D. Hughes et al., Nature 446, 650 (2007). [2] S. Blundell, Magnetism in Condensed Matter (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2001).

20. 2nd Year Laboratory Experimental Report Any questions?

21. Timetable for the meetings