Title of Laboratory
Rank Last Name, First Name, M.I.
Course Number: Course Name (Section #)
DDMMMYYYY
Abstract
A single, overview paragraph of 250 words or less that introduces the topic or objective of the laboratory exercise, lists the methods and approach used or employed, summarizes results and/or findings, highlights conclusions that can be drawn from results and discusses their relevance within the limitations of the laboratory exercise. This section may include references, but usually does not due to its brevity.
Introduction
A one to two page, brief background to place the topic or objective of the laboratory in context for the reader. This section explains the relevance of the question/issue/skill being addressed in the laboratory exercise. This section should include references as appropriate. The introduction should build from a general introduction of the subject matter to the specific details of the experiment performed. The introduction concludes with a clearly stated hypothesis, when relevant.
The Oceanography Style Manual (Anon., 2016) provides more information about how to properly write and format a lab report for the Oceanography Department at USNA.
Methods
The methods section describes, in detail, (but in one to two pages), the steps taken to perform the laboratory exercise. This section might include the study area, the experimental design or set-up used, the sampling method, sample preparation, or analysis methodology. This section may also describe sources of data used in the analysis that were not collected by the researcher. This section should also include any statistical analyses used or models applied and cite references for any methods taken from published literature. Any specific equipment used should be named and the manufacturer referenced in this section as well; for instance SBE 4 Conductivity Sensor (Sea Bird Electronics, Bellevue, WA, USA). This section may also include figures or tables as appropriate (Figure 1).
Results
The results section presents and summarizes results of the laboratory exercise through the use of figures (Figure 2) and tables (Table 1). The text portion should be two to four pages, not including tables and figures. This section should not interpret the results, but should simply clearly summarize the results for the reader. The results should include figures and tables numbered in order and cited in the text (Figure 3). This section may also include references as appropriate.
Discussion
The discussion section should put the results (Figure 2) into context in two to four pages. This section interprets and explains the results for the reader within the context and limitations of the laboratory exercise. The discussion should reference the figures and tables from the results section and may include additional figures and tables as needed to summarize the results. This section also highlights any weaknesses, problems, or shortcomings in the analysis or approach, identifying potential sources of error. This section should reference other published literature to put the described research into context (McMillan, 2006).
Conclusions
The conclusion draws appropriate, applicable conclusions based on the results of the laboratory exercise and discusses the relevance of these conclusions to the larger field in approximately one page. The conclusion also makes recommendations and suggestions for improving the approach and/or conducting future experiments or research. Finally, the conclusion poses additional questions not addressed by the laboratory exercise but that logically follow from the research conducted here.
References Cited
Anonymous, 2016, Oceanography style manual: accessed 19 October 2016.
McMillan, V.E., 2006, Writing papers in the biological sciences: New York, Bedford/St. Martin’s, 269 p.
Figure 1. Outline ofUSNA Oceanography Department proper lab write-up format.
Figure 2. Properly formatted figure showing all necessary parts of a figure including axis labels and legend.
Figure 3. Mean grade of students in the USNA Oceanography Department following vs. not following the format guidelines for lab reports. Error bars represent + 1 SEM. Note: not real data.
Table 1. Proper table formatting for USNA Oceanography Department lab reports.
Column 1 / Column 2 / Column 3Row 1
Row 2
Row 3
Appendices
Appendix 1. The appendices should include supplemental informationsuch as large datasets or MATLAB code.
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