Lab Reports:
Students are required to submit one lab report on a laboratory exercise performed in class selected by Dr. Falkenberg. The lab reports must be word processed. Experiments are performed in groups, but reports are written up individually (see cheating and plagiarism section). A laboratory report requires that you record, interpret and communicate information about an experiment that you performed in the lab. It does not require extensive library research. You will be reporting about an experiment that you will be doing, and the information in the report should be given in enough detail that another person could go into the lab and perform the same experiment. The scientific method will be used in planning and executing the experiment and the write-up will reflect this in the format that is used in the report. The report must demonstrate the correct use of English including grammar and spelling. Laboratory reports are designed so that you have to analyze data, critically think about what the data means and explain it, and understand how it is important in a clinical situation/the real world. Outlined below are the sections that MUST be included in your report, write the titles for each section in capital letters and bold at the start of that section as a heading (only for the sections in capitals and bold below; do not include the grammar and spelling section). The page formatting is single line spacing (1.0), font = arial, text size = 12, and margins = 1 inch on all sides using standard letter size paper. The bold blue percentages shown after the section title represent how much that section is worth of the grade for the lab report.
- Your NAME (with your lab partner’s names in parentheses).
- TITLE: The name of the experiment in bold.
- INTRODUCTION (15%): This section should include background (theoretical) information specifically related to the topic. This information should provide a basis for understanding the experiment. The source for this information can be your laboratory manual and/or textbook. This information has to be relevant, concise, and easy to read. This section MUST be of half to one side/page long of single line spaced text.
- OBJECTIVE (5%): Write a statement that gives a reason for doing the experiment. In other words state the problem that is to be solved. Write in complete sentences and be concise.
- HYPOTHESIS (10%): This is an educated guess or possible answer to the problem based on the available information. A hypothesis’ must be testable. A hypothesis MUST be stated as an “If—————then ————statement. There will be one hypothesis per question you are asking, and again be concise. Hypotheses do NOT include any explanation for the prediction. The prediction must be a physical, testable prediction (meaning what you expect to observe).
- MATERIALS AND PROCEDURE (5%): List the materials used as the first paragraph. The second paragraph is the start of the procedure. Give a 4-5 line summary of the exercise, unless the procedure was changed. If the procedure was changed, then give a detailed account of how the experiment was performed. Be sure to include every step. Always write the procedure in the past tense and not in the direction format. Do not use personal pronouns (such as I, we, he, she, it, or they), or refer to names of people. The procedure is not a recipe, so no numbered or bullet point lists.
- RESULTS (15%): Record all observations that you made in the lab as you conduct the experiment. Observations are called data and could be qualitative or quantitative. Record the data in tables, charts, or as labeled illustrations. All tables and charts must have an appropriate title. Any measurements that you report must have the appropriate units. You can also analyze data in this section by graphing or applying statistics. For results that are drawings and/or graphs done in class, then these must be submitted to Dr. Falkenberg at the end of the class (and a copy entered into your laboratory notebook). For results that are tables and calculations, then these must be entered into the electronically word processed file (not done by hand). There is no text description here, so do not discuss or interpret results in this section. Labeled drawings by themselves are also fine, where appropriate (after the results heading enter “see drawings”).
- DISCUSSION (20%): This is the final section of your report where you will interpret the results obtained. For each hypothesis you must include: If the hypothesis was supported (without re-quoting the hypothesis), describe what you observed, and then explain in detail what you observed. What conclusions can be made based on the results. Discuss any problems experienced with the procedure, experimental design or data collection that could be the source of experimental errors. Give ideas for improving the experimental design or modifying the procedure, and suggest further experimentation. This section requires DETAILED EXPLANATIONS of your results. This section has to be relevant, concise, and easy to read. This section MUST be of half to one side/page long of single line spaced text.
- REAL WORLD IMPORTANCE/CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE (10%): Discuss any “real world” importance/clinical significance of the experiment. Only a single example can be used (if more than one example is used then you will not have the sufficient depth of explanation that is required). This section must be related to the course (cell biology students must relate this to cell biology or genetics and organisms; anatomy & physiology students must relate to a clinical situation and pathophysiology/disease; microbiology students must relate this to micro-organisms and pathophysiology/disease). This section requires DETAILED EXPLANATIONS of the real world importance. This section has to be relevant, concise, and easy to read. This section MUST be of half to one side/page long of single line spaced text. In this section YOU have to critically think and apply YOUR knowledge, not copy from someone else’s knowledge.
- REFERENCES (5%): Must have correctly used and cited references. Use APA reference style to give citations and report source material in the reference section. (You will list your references with numbers that are placed next to the place you used that source material in the text). You can just copy the way Wikipedia does it and be mostly correct. For full credit you should google APA reference style and put references in APA format.
Grammar and spelling (10%): The paper must be written in correct grammar, with correct spelling, including scientific words.
Page formatting (5%): single line spacing (1.0), font = Arial, text size = 12, and margins = 1 inch on all sides using standard letter size paper.