School of Pharmacy & Biomolecular Sciences
Student Safety & Study Skills
Handbook 11/12

Lab Reports

Guidelines for the preparation of laboratory reports

Before embarking on any coursework you must read carefully the guideline given in the module and take account of any advice/guidance given by staff.  If you are unsure, discuss what is required with the module leader or member of staff responsible for the assignment.

Laboratory reports

Laboratory reports can be in one of two forms:

• the long report - a fully detailed report
• the short report - a brief report which focuses on the results.

Although different types of laboratory reports differ in length and degree of detail, they share the same general principles which should be adhered to.

 

Report Formats

When writing a laboratory report, use published scientific papers as your model to base the format of yours on. The following is a rough guide for the formatting of your lab reports.

Remember: It is important to be concise; the inclusion of marginally relevant information and a report which is longer than required can lose marks.

Guidelines for long reports

Guidelines for short reports

 

The Long Report

(~4-8 pages) A fully detailed report including a discussion of the results. It should contain the following:

Details

• Make sure you put student name, course, module, and date on the piece of work.

Title

• Keep it brief and informative.

Introduction

• Include the aims of the experiment and a brief overview of the general subject area (1-2 paragraphs).

Methods

• Provide a full account of the experimental procedures; it’s usually adequate to direct the reader to the module handbook schedule, but note any changes to those details. Some lecturers will ask you to write the method in full (see general principles above).

Results

Include all the experimental results, with appropriate graphs or tables (remember to label and number them). Results should not be presented more than once. When plotting graphs, remember to:

• Include a title
• Plot the dependent variable (i.e. the one that changes as a result of alterations to the other) on the vertical axis, and the independent variable on the horizontal axis
• Label the axes and include units e.g. 'Volume of Blood (ml)'
• Plot using appropriate scale to spread results out
• Use different symbols to discriminate between different sets of data
• Include error bars when each point represents the mean of number of readings
• Join points on graph with a smooth curve
• Using a computer based graph-plotting software is a great help but not essential
• Always contain some explanatory text; this should only be a description of the results, not a discussion. Refer to the tables and graph

Discussion

• This is one of the most important parts of the report; the most additional marks can be gained here.  Try to interpret your results in the light of current knowledge of the subject and draw appropriate conclusions.  Use lecture notes, text books and research papers for the up to date knowledge
• Be careful to cite all references and quotes correctly in the report (see references section below)
• Only include material that is relevant to the report subject
• Note any problems with/ modifications to the experimental procedure and how these might have affected your results
• Suggest possible improvements and additional experiments that could be carried out to clarify the results or expand the study
• Remember, in the discussion you are attempting to explain your results with reference to the underlying biological mechanisms that is thought to be involved.

References

• References should be listed in alphabetical order at the end of the report, and referred to in the text by the author’s name, and year in parentheses. There are two or three accepted formats for referencing; the standard format for practical reports in this School includes: last names and initials of all authors, year published, title of article or book, name of journal (if appropriate), volume number and inclusive pages. For example:
• Book: Begon, M., Harper, J.L. and Townsend, C.R. (1990).

Ecology: individuals, populations and communities. 2nd Edition. Pub. Blackwell Scientific.

• Journal Article: Brown, B. and Taylor, W. (1991).

Effect of temperature on the metabolic rate of the common rough woodlouse, Porcellio scaber.Journal of Invertebrate Physiology, 18: 155-161.

• Journal articles cited in a textbook: (i.e., cases in which you have not read the original reference):

Brown, B. and Taylor, W. (1991). Effect of temperature on the metabolic rate of the common rough woodlouse, Porcellio scaber. Journal of Invertebrate Physiology, 18: 155-161. In: Begon, M., Harper, J.L. and Townsend, C.R. (1990). Ecology: individuals, populations and communities. 2nd Edition. Pub. Blackwell Scientific.

 

The Short Report

(2-4 pages) Similar to long reports except with considerably less detail and there is more focus on the results rather than the interpretation.

Sometimes several of these short reports are grouped together to form a laboratory file which is submitted as one piece of coursework at the end of the module. It should contain the following:

Title

• As for the long report

Introduction

• As for long report; it’s really important to keep it to 1-2 paragraphs

Methods

• As for the long report

Results

• As for the long report; the results are the main focus

Discussion

• This contains the main differences between the long and short reports. In a short report the discussion is very brief, normally just numbered points drawing the main conclusions from the experiment. If written in normal text, keep to 1-2 paragraphs

References

• As for the long report