Some notes on writing lab reports.

Writing lab reports

(Usually people start with section 3 and then do the introduction and abstract last. Actually, starting with the figures and figure captions and then writing sections 3), 4) and 5), in that order, often works well.)

Special note: Figure and table captions are very important and should be cogent and readable on their own.

1) Title and abstract

 An abstract is typically 1 paragraph. Summarize what was done in the lab in a cogent manner, including major results, salient points and conclusions. It should stand alone from the rest of the report.

2) Introduction

 The introduction can provide background, context and motivation. Include an explicit statement (a paragraph or perhaps even just a sentence) of what will be done. It's usually the right place to introduce the theoretical background and concepts.

3) Apparatus and procedure

In this section, describe how you did the experiment. List the major components and describe of their functionality. Describe procedures, and their motivation. Usually, you do not include specific results in the procedures section, but you do discuss how the measurements are done and how the results obtained (for instance, in the impedance lab, you would discuss how the impedance Z is derived from your measured voltages for a given frequency).

4) Results

Present data/results clearly in written paragraphs, tables and figures. This may include both raw and derived data (e.g. for the circuits lab, the amplitudes and frequencies from the scope as well as the calculated values of impedance and/or admittance. You should not just include a series of tables and plots: there should be a narrative introducing each set of data and results, and referring to the corresponding tables and plots. Figure and table captions are very important and should be cogent and readable on their own.

5) Discussion and analysis

Discuss your results, interpret data and present your findings. This section is very important. Sometimes the boundary between results and discussion and analysis can be a bit porous.

6) Summary and conclusions

Think of the "big picture" of what your experiment and analysis is all about. Summarize what you your experiments and analysis have shown and emphasize key points of your report. Any new ideas of how to go about things?  The summary/conclusions should tie back in to the introduction. If one of your goals was to make a quantitative measurement, you can quote the (quantitative) result in the conclusion.