Lecture 6 Report Structure

Remember Your report should tell a clear story… What did you want to do? (objective) Why was it important? (background) What was already known? (theory) How did you do it? (methods) What did you get? (results) Why did you get that? Logical? (discussion) Summarize what your results add to human knowledge and whether or not you achieved your objective. (conclusion).

Sections Abstract Introduction (background + objective + theory) Methods Results and Discussion Conclusions …Let’s look at the pieces.

Theory Difficult to determine what to leave in and what to leave out! Consider: Part of the purpose of the Theory section in an undergraduate lab course is demonstrating to the instructor that you have a thorough grasp of the theory behind the subject being studied.

Theory Your audience for the theory: “A colleague who knows a lot about the subject just needs to be reminded of the equations that are being used in the study.” In this course you may assume that the reader is technically knowledgeable, but has not studied the particular theory you are presenting in many years. That is, they will need to be re-educated on the theory.

Theory Include: Every equation that will be used to calculate a (theoretical) result should be presented. Equations needed to help the reader understand the equations in a. should be presented. Non-typical equations used as part of the data analysis process should be presented. Note: You should assume that standard deviations, confidence intervals, and t-tests are standard methods – you do not have to present the equations used for those methods. Note: Equations should be numbered

Theory (other reminders) Equations should be typeset (i.e., use the equation editor), not entered by hand, or strung out with lots of parentheses. Equations should be consecutively numbered. Equations that are not common knowledge should have an in-line citation in the text (NOT on the equation) very near the equation.

Methods The Methods section should have five major components: Apparatus, or Equipment Experimental Design (How many runs, etc.) Experimental Protocol (answers questions like…How will you know when to stop? What sequence will you turn on the equipment? …often relegated to an appendix in final report) Methods of Analysis (…appendix in final report) Safety concerns/plans (…appendix in final report) GOAL: reproduce the experiment.

Methods - Equipment The Equipment section contains information on the equipment or apparatus that was used to perform the experiment. It should include both the “engineering” equipment and analytical instruments. You should include a schematic (use a drawing package), but it does not have to be enormously detailed. Indicate flows of materials and energy Indicate controls, instruments, and sampling points (as appropriate)

Methods – Exp. Design A description of the scope of the experiments that were performed. You need to identify the: Factors – the variables that were adjusted Levels – the values of the varied variables Parameters – variables that were treated as constants in the experiment

Methods - Protocol In the Experimental Protocol there should be information on: Starting the equipment Performing the experiments (e.g., technique for taking samples) Shutting down the equipment Include in Experimental plan only! Move to Appendix in final report.

Methods – Data Analysis Describe how the data will be handled after it is collected Experimental plan only! Goal: think about how the data will be analyzed BEFORE it is collect to ensure that you collect the proper/sufficient data. In the final report, you simply need to state the basic type of analysis used (e.g., t-Test, confidence interval, etc.)

Methods – Data Analysis Questions to consider: What results will be calculated using the collected data? How will the results be calculated?  How will you use the replication that you built into the experiment to demonstrate the extent of repeatability? If you plan to compare your results with previously published values, how will the comparison be done?

Methods – Safety Questions to consider: What are the realistic safety concerns – think temperature? Pressure? Reactivity? Others? How will you avoid an accident? What will you do if an accident happens? Concern Prevention Response Hydrogen leak Check all connections every 15 minutes. Ensure combustible gas sensor is active. Evacuate the lab with the doors left open and call campus police (x2121). Hydrogen fire Prevent sparks and hydrogen leaks Pull the fire alarm and evacuate the lab.

Results When you leave the laboratory you should have a completed data sheet containing all of the raw data that you will need to finish the data analysis and the report. These data sheets should be included as an appendix. Empty data sheets should be part of the Experimental plan. The data should be summarized in tables and/or graphs in the results section.

Results Ask yourself – Can the information in this table be communicated with a graph (A picture is worth a thousand words/tables) Remember: Appendices are for additional information that is NOT required to understand the report.

Discussion Discussion is the verbiage that surrounds the data analysis process that leads to results. The purpose of discussion is not to give a step-by-step account of the data analysis process, but to help the reader understand the results (and the significance of the results) as they are presented.

Discussion Some people feel very strongly that results and discussion should be separate sections --- first present the sterile/raw results, then discuss the results. I disagree. I like to discuss each result as it is presented. This avoids the need to constantly refer back to the results section.

Discussion – brilliant advise Discussion brings the reader along so that when the conclusions are stated the reader goes “of course” rather than “where in the world did that come from?” The Results and Discussion section should lay a foundation that clearly supports each stated conclusion.

Conclusion Conclusions are concise statements of what was learned from the experiment. The conclusions should always address the experimental objective, even if you have to conclude that experimental objective was not met. You can conclude things that are beyond the initial scope of the experiment. For example, if you discover the solution to global warming while trying to determine the correct value of π, you are allowed to report it – but don’t forget to provide the value of π as well.

Abstract The abstract for a report is the last piece the author writes, but the first piece the reader looks at. Abstracts need to be written very carefully to provide a good synopsis of the work that was done in as few words as possible. No more than 400 words, roughly. Approach: I try to summarize each section of the report in 1 or 2 sentences.

Abstract – alternate approach Answer questions like these: What makes your experiment unique? What variables (factors) and parameters were involved in your experiment? What theory was involved in your work? What did you learn from the experiment? What were the major results? What were the major conclusions? Ultimately, these two approaches are probably more similar than different.

Summary Experiment Plan Final Report Abstract Introduction Theory Background Objective Theory Methods Apparatus or Equipment Experimental Design Experimental Protocol Methods of Analysis Safety concerns/plans Anticipated Results and sample analysis References Data Sheets Abstract Introduction Background Objective Theory Methods Apparatus or Equipment Experimental Design Results and Discussion Conclusions and References Appendix Experimental Protocol Methods of Analysis Safety concerns/plans