Laboratory Reports
Reports will be due on Fridays at 11:59 pm at the end of the weeks specified in course schedule. You can choose which report to submit each week; you do not need to submit reports in the same order in which you did the labs The electronic submissions must be formatted into single documents, preferably a google doc shared with write access. Spelling, grammar, and general writing style will be considered when grading the reports. Reports must be submitted by each group member through Canvas. Your report should contain the following sections.
TITLE PAGE
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
Conclusion
References
Appendices
Formatting Requirements
Title page. Format as you wish but must contain the course number, project title, names of group members, and date of submission.
One inch margins at top, bottom, left, and right.
Left justification, 1.5 lines spacing.
Use Times New Roman, 11 point font.
Page number at bottom of page.
Figures and tables should be placed inline close to the relevant text but positioned after they are first discussed. Figures must be numbers and captioned. The caption should contain only information needed to decode the figure.
If you include figures or from other sources they must be clearly identified as such.
References should be formatted consistently author-year style. It is recommended to use a reference manager to store and typeset the references, e.g. Zotero. References must be in alphabetical order (each author's surname first, with all authors listed). Your exact format may vary based on selected citation style but must be self-consistent.
Sections
Your report must be in narrative form and not just consist of figures and bullet points. Spelling, grammar, and general writing style will be considered when grading the reports. A professional style guide is highly recommended to assist you with writing, e.g:
Strunk and White, The Elements of Style, 4th edition, Peasrson.
Abstract (200 words). The abstract should briefly state the purpose of your study, principal results and major conclusions. Avoid references. Avoid non-standard or uncommon abbreviations. If any are essential to include, ensure they are defined within your abstract at first mention.
Introduction (500-1000 words). Provide an adequate background and motivation to your work. Avoid writing a detailed literature overview or summary of your results. The introduction should end with a clear statement of the objectives of your work.
Methods (500-1000 words). The methods section should provide sufficient details about your methods to allow your work to be reproduced by an independent researcher. Includes approach taken for data collection and for data analysis.
Results (500-1000 words). Report what was measured/observed. Results should be clear and concise and include analyzed data in the form of figures and tables.
Discussion (500-1000 words). The discussion section should explore the significance of your results but not repeat them. Interpret results, connect to hypotheses, describe relevance, comment on what should be done differently/additionally.
Conclusion. (200 words). The conclusion section should present the main conclusions of your study.
References. References should be primarily to the peer-reviewed literature and must be be connected to the text, i.e. the reference must logically connect to the cited context.
Appendices Include a table that summarizes approximate contributions to each of the elements of the lab and report writing. These will be used together with the grades assigned to each of the elements of the report as one piece of information when calculating the student-specific part of the overall report score. So, for example, if the overall report receives a score of 44/50, but the introduction received only 5/10, the student(s) responsible for writing it would receive a lower score overall. Another element will be anonymous evaluations that each student will complete after submission of the report.
| Section | Eladio | Elena | Edward | Erica |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data collection | 30% | 20% | 25% | 25% |
| Data analysis | 10% | 40% | 15% | 35% |
| Abstract | 100% | |||
| Introduction | 100% | |||
| Methods | 50% | 50% | ||
| Results | 50% | 50% | ||
| Discussion | 30% | 20% | 25% | 25% |
| Conclusion | 100% | |||
| References | 25% | 30% | 10% | 35% |
You may include additional appendices for things like tables, graphics, and photos that would take up too much space in the report. Any appendices will be considered in the score for the section from which they are described.
Contribution Weighted Rubric
When grading the reports, I will provide comments about things that could be improved, but I will not attempt to specify how many points were lost as a result of each comment. The section scores are assigned based on an overall assessment about the clarity, accuracy, writing, length, quality of analysis, and adherence to the formatting requirements. I will take more points off with each report for mistakes I commented on in reports of yours I graded and returned. So you should read and understand the comments I provide, both in the sections you contributed to and those you did not.
Results will be weighted by contribution. Therefore, try to divide the report sections within your group such that everyone is responsible for an approximately equal part of the overall score. So, for example, one student could be entirely (= 100% in the table) responsible for writing one of the sections worth 10 points (introduction, methods, results, or discussion/conclusions) in a group of 5 students. Don’t worry if the split is not exact for each report because you can balance it out between the five you will submit during the quarter.
The weighted raw scores will be assigned a letter grade based on mastery-based grading (see syllabus). The mastery-based grading will take into account anonymous evaluations that each student will complete after submission of the report.
| Section | Eladio | Elena | Edward | Erica | Total | Awarded | Eladio | Elena | Edward | Erica |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data collection | 30% | 20% | 25% | 25% | 5 pt | 4 pt | 1.2 | 0.8 | 1 | 1 |
| Data analysis | 10% | 40% | 15% | 35% | 10 pt | 9 pt | 0.9 | 0.36 | 0.135 | 3.15 |
| Abstract | 100% | 5 pt | 3 pt | 3 | ||||||
| Introduction | 100% | 10 pt | 8 pt | 8 | ||||||
| Methods | 50% | 50% | 10 pt | 10 pt | 5 | 5 | ||||
| Results | 50% | 50% | 10 pt | 9 pt | 4.5 | 4.5 | ||||
| Discussion | 30% | 20% | 25% | 25% | 10 pt | 8 pt | 2.4 | 1.6 | 2 | 2 |
| Conclusion | 100% | 5 pt | 4 pt | 4 | ||||||
| References | 25% | 30% | 10% | 35% | 5 pt | 4 pt | 1 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 1.4 |
| Total | 70 pt | 59 pt | 13/17.5 | 16.5/17.5 | 12.5/17.5 | 12.5/17.5 | ||||
| Letter Grade | B | A | B | B |
Plagiarism
Please review the academic integrity section in the syllabus. Two important forms of academic misconduct relevant for the lab reports include
The use of generative AI software such as ChatGPT or GitHub Copilot is expressly forbidden in this course.
Verbatim copying or paraphrasing somebody else’s report, paper, web-based entry, book, or any other source without use of quotation marks and citation (verbatim text) or citation (paraphrasing).