Communication of Scientific Results in Advanced Labs at San Francisco State University ALTC – July 2009 James Lockhart Physics & Astronomy Dept. San Francisco State University

SFSU Advanced Lab Format Traditional: 1-2 courses in advanced experimental physics, taken in senior year –Includes lecture/discussion component on experimental methods and data analysis –Mix of group tutorial and individually-selected experiments Multi-Format Results Communication –Short “Measurement Reports” –“Journal-style” report –Oral (Powerpoint/Beamer) presentation

Goals of Instruction in Scientific Communication Principal goal is to prepare students to be capable scientific communicators in careers in – –Industry – –National Labs & Observatories – –University Research Staff – –MS and Ph.D. Programs – –High School Teaching – –Management of Technology Companies – –Science Museums, Planetaria – –Other scientific, medical, and engineering fields

Types of Scientific Writing Academic/Industrial Research –Journal Articles; Conference Proceedings –Research Reports (to sponsor or management) –Funding Proposals Industrial Development/Engineering/QA –Measurement Reports / Engineering Memos –Equipment/software Manuals –Funding Proposals Teaching –Books, Tutorials –Lab Manuals –Exams, Homework, Solutions Student –Lab Reports; Course Papers; Portfolio; Resume –Theses

Physics Word Processing Alternatives Microsoft Word (or Open Office) with Equation Editor ($65) –Prior to Word 2007, “old” equation editor; can purchase MathType enhanced Equation Editor ($50). (Barely) adequate in most cases; saves equations as graphic images. –For Microsoft Word 2007, “old” equation editor and “new” equation editor w/ support for TeX-like "Office Math Markup Language“. Microsoft Word 2007TeXMicrosoft Word 2007TeX Scientific Word - Specialized scientific word processor; can save output in TeX form. ($500/$160 student)

Physics Word Processing Alternatives - 2 TeX (popular versions: LaTeX; MikTex) - Page formatting language; allows precise text & equation formatting (free) LyX - WYSIWYG “front end” for LaTex; no need to learn TeX commands; produces TeX and PDF output (free)

Components of Physics Writing Text (including references/bibliography) EquationsTablesPlots Diagrams and other figures Photos

Measurement Report Students write up results of 3 experiments (1 tutorial, 2 individual) as Measurement Reports Report follows format common in industry - focus on measurement, little theory – –What was measured – –How (equipment details, procedure) – –Major results (plots, uncertainties) – –Goodness-of-Fit specifier when appropriate Reports are prepared with typeset equations and plots to professional standards Reports receive careful grading with respect to both content and writing style Reports with significant deficiencies must be revised and re-submitted

Journal-Style Report Students write up results of one “individual” experiment as Journal Paper Report follows AIP journal standards Background and theory presented, as well as – –What was measured – –How (equipment details, procedure) – –Major results (plots, uncertainties) – –Goodness-of-Fit specifier when appropriate Prepared with typeset equations and diagrams and plots to professional standards Reports receive careful grading with respect to both content and writing style Reports with significant deficiencies must be revised and re-submitted

Plotting Software MATLAB (site licenses; student version $100) IDL (site licenses) Gnuplot (free) Origin (student version $50 for one year) Kaliedagraph; Igor Pro Excel (cannot produce publication-quality plots) Save plots as.eps files for placing in LaTeX or LyX document; as.wmf or.jpg files to import into MS Word (use MATLAB export function)

Diagram Software (Vector Graphics) Adobe Illustrator/Freehand (CS3 student $200) Inkscape (free) – Inkscape and Illustrator can export.eps files for easy import into LaTeX or LyX, as well as several other graphics file formats For photos: –Photoshop –Paintshop Pro –Gimp (free)

Oral Presentation Students do a stand-up 10-minute “APS Talk” presentation on one experiment Presentation includes – –What was measured – –Quick summary of background / theory – –Setup (equipment, procedure) – –Major results (plots, uncertainties) – –Goodness-of-Fit specifier when appropriate Slides prepared with Powerpoint, Beamer Presentation made to class + instructor Presentation graded with respect to content and presentation style

Presentation Software Slide Presentation –MS Powerpoint + Equation Editor –TeX or LyX with Beamer document class Poster Presentation –Large Powerpoint print or TeX/Beamer print Beamer example (next slide); from Beamer example (next slide); from Th. Jolicoeur, LPTMS Orsay University

Summary Multi-format approach to communication of measurement results –Industry-style reports –Journal-style report –Oral (Powerpoint) presentation Preparation for writing in various careers –Industry –National Labs –Graduate Programs –Secondary Teaching