Laboratory Report Guidelines

The purpose of the laboratory report is to document your work in a form that is
intelligible to someone who is not previously familiar with the details of the laboratory
exercise.
Reports should be typed and double-spaced, with one inch margins. The
following format should be used for the organization of the report:

 Title page
 Introduction
 Theory and Methods
 Results and Analysis
 Discussion and Conclusions
 Appendices (e.g. data, sample calculations)

The Title page should include the title of the lab, the name of your laboratory
group members and the date on which the lab was performed. This should be a separate
page.
The Introduction section should state the purpose and technical significance of
the experiment.
The section on Theory and Methods should explain the relevant theory,
measurement techniques and procedures for the lab. Be complete and detailed enough so
that someone who has not performed the lab will be able to understand what you have
done. Explanations of the equations used in your analysis should be included.
In the Results and Analysis section, you should summarize and explain the
results of the experiment. Graphs should be plotted to best show the information gained
from the experiments. Use linear or log scaling where appropriate, plot experiment data
as individual points and theoretical or published data as continuous lines, and make sure
all axes and data curves are clearly labeled. Graphs and illustrative drawings should be
presented as figures, and numerical data should be presented in tables. Each figure and
each table should have a number and a caption. When referring to a figure or a table in
the text, always use the figure number or table number. All dimensional quantities in the
figures and tables must be accompanied by the relevant units of measure. This section
should be strictly factual, pointing out agreement and discrepancies between your results
and those predicted by theory.
For the Discussion and Conclusions, examine whether the lab satisfied the stated
purpose, and explain what you have learned. Also, discuss any differences that may exist
between theoretical (or standard experimental) values and your own results, and discuss
possible explanations for these differences.
The Appendices should contain relevant information that is not in the body of the
lab report, such as the original data sheets and details of calculations made both in the lab
and as part of your data analysis. Sample calculations should either be typeset or neatly
written in ink.
If you use information from textbooks or other references, cite the references in
appropriate bibliographical style.