Engineering and Construction, Fluid Mechanical Forces Your laboratory report is one of the most important components of your laboratory experience. Long after the laboratory exercise has been dismantled, a good laboratory report will remain a useful tool. In the real-world it is necessary to document your work so that others will understand what you did and how you did it. If you cannot communicate your work effectively to others, your career will slowly come to a halt. The following contains information intended to assist you in writing a high quality laboratory report. Lab reports for the BME, ChE, CE, EE, and ME Engr 111 labs must each be a minimum of 4 pages and a maximum of 8 pages (double-spaced with 12 point font), NOT including the Title Page, References, or Appendix. As a general rule, Introduction and Background together should be at least one page, Procedure (could also be called Materials & Methods) should be at least one page, and Experimental Results with Discussion should be at least two pages. (Note that the sample report is shorter, because it is single-spaced). Report Structure A typical lab report is structured as follows: Title Page Abstract Introduction Procedure (could also be called Materials & Methods) Experimental Results Discussion References Appendix In general, the report should read like a (good) book. Start with basic concepts and good organization. Then add more and more detail. In addition, every report must be neatly typed using a word processor. All drawings, tables, and graphs must be done using appropriate software tools. Report Sections Each main section could have several subsections. Indeed, each subsection may have several levels of sub subsections. Based on the outline provided above, lets look at what might be in each section. Title Page The title page of your report is the readers quick way of determining what the basic content of the report is. It should contain the following elements: The Course and Laboratory Number (remember we have many sections of this course so its important that you correctly identify your lab section) Report Title Author Date Lab Partners By including all of this information, a reader can tell at a glance what they are looking at. A year from now, when you need to know something from an Engr 111 laboratory, youll just have to thumb through the laboratory reports until you find an appropriate title. Abstract Also sometimes called ?Summar or ?Executive Summary the abstract is a brief one to two-paragraph summary of the objectives, work conducted during the experiment, and significant results or findings. The abstract allows the reader to determine the nature and scope of the report without having to read from beginning to end. The optimal length is one paragraph, but it could be as short as two sentences. The length of the abstract depends on the subject matter and the length of the paper. Between 80 and 200 words is usually adequate. Introduction The introduction is one of the most difficult parts of a document to write. Its also one of the most important. Why? Because the introduction is where your readers first impressions are formed. If the introduction is not logical, then your reader will assume that the rest of the document is garbage. A good introduction is a clear statement of the problem or project and the reasons that you are studying it. This information should be contained in the first few sentences. Give a concise and appropriate discussion of the problem and the significance, scope, and limits of your work. The Introduction can be structured something like this: o Context: Connect the lab you are doing to real world applications to show that you understand the problem and its relevance from an engineering perspective o Problem Description: Give a brief description of what you were required to do in the lab an overview, or scope, of the work. o Goals: Discuss the objectives of the lab. What were you trying to accomplish and why? Provide any information necessary for the reader to understand subsequent sections of the report. Procedure (Materials & Methods) This section can also be called ?Experimental Method or ?Materials and Method. For experimental work, give sufficient detail about your materials and methods (both experimental procedures and methods of data analysis) so that other experienced workers can repeat your work and obtain comparable results. When using a standard method, cite the appropriate literature and give only the details needed. You will learn that there are many standard methods for testing, many of them developed by ASTM the American Society for Testing and Materials which is located in Philadelphia. Identify the materials and equipment/apparatus used for the laboratory work. Describe equipment/apparatus only if it is not standard or not commercially available. Giving a company name and model number in parentheses is nondistracting and adequate to identify standard equipment. Describe the experimental procedures used, unless they are established and standard. If the laboratory work will also involve calculations using theoretical equations, then the ?Method portion of the Procedure should be broken into two subsections one to cover ?Experimental Detail and one to describe the ?Theoretical Basi or ?Theoretical Calculations The ?Theoretical Basi subsection should include sufficient mathematical detail to enable other researchers to reproduce derivations and verify numerical results. Include all background data, equations, and formulas necessary, but lengthy derivations are best presented in the Appendix. (Dont worry you wont be doing any lengthy derivation of equations in Engr 111 labs!) Many students fail to recognize that the equations and statistical methods applied to obtain the results are as important as the raw data. The reader expects to see these methods discussed in the Procedures section BEFORE the results are presented, in order to understand how the objectives of the work were achieved. After reading these details in the Procedures section, the reader will know what to look for and expect in the Results and Discussion section. Subheadings, such as ?Experimental Procedure and ?Theoretical Calculation or ?Methods of Data Analysi, can help you to write and organize this section. Results This is where you detail the results you obtained in the laboratory. Summarize the data collected and their statistical treatment. Tables and graphs should be used where necessary to present your data, calculations, and results. Remember that all figures and charts must be accompanied by supporting text. Discussion Discussion must be provided to describe and explain the data and significance of the information in the tables and graphs. The purpose of the discussion is to interpret and compare the results. Be objective; point out the features and limitations of the work. Relate your results to current knowledge in the field and to your original purpose in undertaking the project. Comparison of results with theory or accepted formulas should be discussed. Sources of error should be discussed with respect to your findings and the significance of these errors with respect to the objectives of the lab. Include only relevant data, but give sufficient detail to justify your conclusions. This is where you should document the ?lessons learne during the course of the laboratory exercise. What were your expected results? Were those results achieved? If not, why not? Have you resolved the problem? What exactly have you contributed? Briefly state the logical implications of your results. Suggest further study or applications if warranted. If you were allowed different constraints in the laboratory could you have designed a better, faster, or cheaper system? If so, how? The above is literally a two minute barrage of the types of questions you should address in your conclusions. Its perfectly acceptable to have subsections in your conclusions. References Document the reference sources you used. That way, if you ever need to find the information again, youll have a head start on finding it. Use a standard method of citation. A commonly accepted method is the one give in: MLA handbook for writers of research papers. (6th ed.). (2003). New York: The Modern Language Association of America. You can find it in Wolfram Library: Call Number: M Desk Reference Z253 .C534 Appendix Material that may be essential to the specialized reader but not require elaboration in the main body of the report is published as supporting information in an appendix. Examples are large tables, extensive figures, lengthy experimental procedures, mathematical derivations, analytical and spectral characterization data, and computer programs. Additional Tips and Advice for Authors There are many styles for laboratory reports. A good reference source for help with your technical writing is the American Chemical Society Style Guide. The ACS Style Guide: A Manual for Authors and Editors by Janet S. Dodd (Editor) from the American Chemical Society. Can be purchased in most bookstores or on-line. To see the chapter on writing a scientific paper, follow the link below: ACS Style Guide http://www.oup.com/us/samplechapters/0841234620/?view=usa
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