Lab report checklist
August 27, 2014
Contact info
Trystyn Berg
Office: Ell 405 (end of hall from elevator/lobby, on left)
Email: trystynb@uvic.ca
Website: http://www.astro.uvic.ca/ trystynb/A250.html
Office hours: See website
Something I would like everyone to get out of this lab is how to write a
good lab report. I am hoping that you all come out of this lab having gained
writing skills that can be carried on in your scientific career. That being
said, do not be discouraged if your first couple of lab marks are low as they
will improve quickly :).
It helps mark your labs when I have a record of all the completed labs
together. Please use a black lab book that you can get from me (used) or
from the bookstore. If you prefer to type them up, you can submit them in
a duotang or folder, with all your previously submitted labs.
What I will look for in your write-up (in conjunction with what
is in the lab manual)
• Objective (/0.5) – Does the objective encapsulate the lab writeup’s
purpose and procedure? Make it brief! Do not copy directly from
manual, especially if it contains stuff not done in the lab. Abstract
style: summarize the objective, procedure, and results in 3-4 sentences.
• Introduction (/1.0) – Tell me something cool about the background
for this lab? Do you have all the background information (equations,
key points) needed to understand the astrophysics in the lab writeup? What science do you need to have a loose grasp of to understand
the lab procedure and results? Include figures if they will add to the
understanding and reference in introduction.
• Procedure (/1.0; with equipment) – Could you give this to a friend
(or better yet, a rival research group) to reproduce the lab? Why are
you doing these steps? Does not have to be extensive! NOTE: Do
not include trivial things, like ”cut and paste” or other things that
are done with common sense. Include figures if they will add to the
understanding. .
• Equipment/set-up – If necessary, draw LARGE diagram of equipment, label parts, etc. Label as a figure and reference this figure in the
text (e.g. in procedure). Don’t forget list of equipment if there was
anything special
• Results/Discussion/Figures/Tables/Calculations (/6.0) – Did
you answer all the questions in the lab manual? Did you include all
information presented in the lab? Do you reference and discuss the
graphs and tables in the lab? Do you explain all your calculations?
Do you include units? Are all figures attached? What do your results
tell you about your objective? Are they useful? What are the main
systematic and random errors in the lab? How did they appear?
Can they be reduced?
• Conclusion/evaluation (/1.0) – Briefly summarize the lab, and emphasize key numbers that were obtained. What is the main conclusion
from the lab? What should the take home message be for the lab? How
does this compare to what you would expect from other information
or previous work? Tell me something cool you learned from the lab!
Tell me what you found enjoyable, what you didn’t like, what could be
improved. Is there anything fundamental that you gained from the lab
that you didn’t know before?
• References – Just mention what you looked at and where you got
your information if it was not from the lab manual. If you want to
conjecture a hypothesis about something in the text, make sure you
claim it to be your own! If using footnotes, put at the bottom of the
page where the footnote is.
Do not be skimpy on information. If you demonstrate that you understand why you are doing the lab, the better your writing will be (as well as
your mark). Full marks are given when you surpass these expectations of the
lab. If you do the basics, you will get an average mark. Make sure you do
not copy people’s labs. I encourage discussing with classmates what you did
as it helps with the lab write-up!
Remember, the most important thing in these write-ups is to have fun
since we want you all to continue to enjoy astronomy! If you have any
questions either pertaining to astronomy, the write-up, or anything else, send
me an email or drop by my office at office hours.