Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
The extract
was stored in a clean, capped container.
When writing a lab report, it is often a good idea to
begin by writing the Materials and Methods section. This Four individually labeled spectrophotometer tubes were
prepared using different amounts (as represented in Table 1) of
section is usually very straightforward, and writing it
the following reagents: a buffer of pH 7, a 0.1% catechol
first helps many people establish the proper thought substrate, and distilled water. The wavelength of the
process and understanding of the work that will allow Spectronic 20 spectrophotometer was set at 540 nm. To
the rest of the report to flow more smoothly. Following calibrate the specrophotometer at zero absorbance, a blank
this section, it is generally recommended to write the control tube prepared with no catechol substrate and labeled
Results section, followed by the Discussion, and finally "tube 1" was inverted and inserted into the spectrophotometer.
the Introduction. Although this strategy is only a
recommendation, and although it may seem illogical at It is important to note that the extract to be tested was added to
first, many have found this approach very effective for each tube immediately before placing the tube into the
writing scientific papers. spectrophotometer. 1.0 ml of catecholase extract was pipetted
into tube 2. Tube 2 was immediately inverted and placed in the
The Materials and Methods section is a vital component of spectrophotometer. The absorbance was read and recorded for
any formal lab report. This section of the report gives a time zero (t0), the ten minute mark (t10), and each minute in
detailed account of the procedure that was followed in between. Tube 2 was removed from the spectrophotometer and
completing the experiment(s) discussed in the report. Such an the same measurements were taken for tube 3 and tube 4 using
account is very important, not only so that the reader has a the same protocol.
clear understanding of the experiment, but a well written
Materials and Methods section also serves as a set of Sample 2: A potato and a knife were obtained for this
instructions for anyone desiring to replicate the study in the experiment. Also, distilled water, a blender, cheese cloth, a
future. Considering the importance of "reproducible results" in clean container with a cover, and eight spectrophotometer
science, it is quite obvious why this second application is so tubes were used. A Spectronic 20 spectrophotometer was used
vital. for this experiment, as were buffers of pHs 4, 6, 7, and 8.
Catechol substrate, Parafilm coverings, KimWipes, a black
There are several common mistakes that are often found in the pen, and pipettes were also obtained for this experiment.
Materials and Methods section of a lab report. One major Finally, a pencil and pad were obtained for recording results.
concern is deciding upon the correct level of detail. (Pechenik,
p. 55) It is often very easy for a writer to get carried away and Sample 3: In preparing the catecholase extract, a potato was
include every bit of information about the procedure, skinned, washed, and diced. A balance was used to obtain 30.0
including extraneous information like the number of times g of the diced potato. 150 ml of distilled water was poured into
he\she washed their hands during the experiment. A good a beaker. The water was added to the diced potato. The cover
guideline is to include only what is necessary for one of a kitchen blender was removed. The potato and water were
recreating the experiment to know. Keeping this in mind will added to the blender. The solution smelled like potato. The
lead to a Materials and Methods section that is thoroughly cover was placed on the blender and the power button was
written, but without the kind of unnecessary detail that breaks depressed. The clock was observed until the second hand
the flow of the writing. Another common mistake is listing all circled twice. The power button was pushed again to stop the
of the materials needed for the experiment at the beginning of blender. The resulting solution was filtered through four layers
the section. Instead, the materials and equipment utilized of cheese cloth. The extract was stored in a clean, capped
during the experiment should be mentioned throughout the container.
procedure as they are used. Enough detail should be included
in the description of the materials so that the experiment can WRITING MATERIALS AND METHOS
be reproduced. Finally, it is generally recommended that the
Materials and Methods section be written in past tense, in
1. Begin writing the Materials and Methods while you are
either active or passive voice. Many are written in third-person
performing your experiments.
perspective but check with the professor to be certain what
verb tense and perspective the report should use. This is
demonstrated throughout the example of a well written Writing during the research process will prevent you from
Materials and Methods section. forgetting important details and save you time when you begin
writing the full manuscript. You can also ask co-authors who
performed specific experiments to write the corresponding
Materials and Methods examples parts of the Methods section.
Sample 1: In preparing the catecholase extract, a potato was 2. Start with general information that applies to the entire
skinned, washed, and diced. 30.0 g of the diced potato and 150 manuscript and then move on to specific experimental
ml of distilled water were added to a kitchen blender and details.
blended for approximately two minutes. The resulting solution
Examples of general information that you could begin with are data – data gathered Quantitative data – data gathered based
characteristics of the study population, sources and genotypes on measurement based on measurement or counting like
of bacterial strains, or descriptions of samples or sample sites. height of or counting like height of plant, weight of plant,
Then, you could share more details about your experiment. plant, weight of plant, number of seedlings in a number of
seedlings in a plot plot
3. Match the order in which methods are described to the
order of the results that were generated using those 6 Qualitative data – data gathered using a non-standard using a
methods. non-standard scale or unequal intervals scale or unequal
intervals or discrete categories or discrete categories like leaf
Also, be sure that each method you used is described, even if condition like leaf condition categorized as categorized as
it is just a quick sentence (e.g., “Toxin assays were performed healthy or not healthy; healthy or not healthy; color of leaves
as described [reference]”). This practice is helpful for as green, color of leaves as green, dark green, light green or
transparency, as well as reproducibility. dark green, light green or yellow green, etc. yellow green, etc.
4. Always include citations for procedures that have been 7 B. Continuous Data vs. Discontinuous/Discrete Data
described previously. Discontinuous/Discrete Data Continuous data – data gathered
Continuous data – data gathered through measurement like
If you made any modifications, be sure to list them. through measurement like heights of plants, weights of heights
of plants, weights of plants, flowering time, etc. plants,
flowering time, etc. Discrete data – gathered obtained Discrete
5. Describe statistical tests as fully as possible. data – gathered obtained through counting like through
counting like number of leaves per plant, number of leaves per
Give as much information about the tests as possible; just plant,
mentioning a t-test is not sufficient for the reader to determine
if the correct statistical analysis was performed. 8 number of pods number of pods produced per plant,
produced per plant, number of mangoes per number of
6. Avoid discussing the pros and cons of certain methods or mangoes per basket, number of basket, number of seedlings in
results of any kind. a plot, etc. seedlings in a plot, etc.
Save evaluations for different methods for the Discussion 9 Data may also classified according to scales of measurement
section of your paper. – nominal, ordinal, interval or ratio. Data may also classified
according to scales of measurement – nominal, ordinal,
7. To save space, be concise, yet thorough, when listing the interval or ratio. Nominal data – data where objects are placed
equipment you used. in discrete objects are placed in discrete categories which
cannot be categories which cannot be ranked in ascending or
You might consider listing all of your equipment purchased ranked in ascending or descending order like brand of
from a single company in one sentence. Or, you could create a descending order like brand of detergents, color of leaves, etc.
flowchart figure of the steps in an important procedure. detergents, color of leaves, etc.
16 2. Measures of Variation 2. Measures of Variation Range 23 Example: Table 2. Mean heights of plants grown in soil
Range Quartile Deviation Quartile Deviation Mean Deviation with and without fertilizers. and without
Mean Deviation Variance Variance Standard Deviation fertilizers.================================
Standard Deviation Descriptive Without Horse Urea Information Fertilizer
Manure (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm)
17 IV. INTERPRETING QUALITATIVE AND (cm)---------------------------------------------------------- Mean
QUANTITATIVE DATA After you have organized and 20.60 32.60 30.80 Range 5 8 6 Maximum 21 33 32 Minimum
presented your data in a more compact form, you are now 16 25 26 Number of Plants 7 7 7
ready to analyze, interpret and synthesize the relationships ==================================
between and among your data variables. After you have
organized and presented your data in a more compact form, 24 Consider the following questions: 1. Are there significant
you are now ready to analyze, interpret and synthesize the differences in the mean heights of the three sets of plants? 2.
relationships between and among your data variables. Can you conclude that fertilizers improve plant height? 3. Are
the differences due to the application of fertilizer alone or is it
18 Guide in analyzing and interpreting data interpreting data by chance?
1. Write a topic sentence stating the independent and
dependent variables. Give reference to table and graph. 1. 25 How do you answer these questions? How do you answer
Write a topic sentence stating the independent and dependent these questions? To be able to answer these questions, you
variables. Give reference to table and graph. 2. Write a should use inferential statistics particularly the area of
sentence comparing the measure of central tendency of the hypothesis testing. To be able to answer these questions, you
collected data. 2. Write a sentence comparing the measure of should use inferential statistics particularly the area of
central tendency of the collected data. 3. Write a sentence hypothesis testing.
describing the variation.
26 List of some appropriate List of some appropriate statistical
tools statistical tools==============================
Category Analysis Quantitative Qualitative of Data Data Data
of Data Data
Data================================ Descriptive
Measure of Mean Median statistics Central Range Mode
statistics Central Range Mode Tendency/ Variance Frequency
Tendency/ Variance Frequency Variation Standard distribution
Variation Standard distribution deviation deviation
Frequency table
test================================
o What else could they have used?
o How might we decide what to use?
Pie charts to show you how a whole is divided into The results of dichotomizing optimism follow.
different parts. You might, for example, want to show (Group 1 = Optimists)
how a budget had been spent on different items in a
particular year. Report
Data can be defined as facts, figuresor statistics used for Total .9897 33 5.906E-02
reference or analysis. It can be numbers,characters, symbols,
images etc. Data must be interpreted, by a humanor machine,
to derive meaning. Data is raw material for dataprocessing.
(Comment on E-notation)
Data refers to unprocessed information. Information is data
that has beenprocessed in such a way as to be meaningful to
the person whoreceives it. It is anything that is communicated. What would you conclude?
Information refersto interpreted data.
The results of trichotomizing optimism follow.
Review study
Report
Key Takeaways
3.00 1.0030 11 4.183E-02
Hypothesis testing is used to infer the result of a hypothesis
performed on sample data from a larger population.
What would you conclude? Statistical analysts test a hypothesis by measuring and
examining a random sample of the population being
analyzed.
Finally, I have drawn a diagram plotting the ratio of t2/t1
against the pessimism score (notice that I have switched to
Pessimism). It follows. How Hypothesis Testing Works
TESTING HYPOTHESIS
1. be written to relate directly to the aims of the project 3. Scientific Method
as stated in the Introduction. State the Purpose of your experiment - What are you trying to
find out?
2. indicate the extent to which the aims have been Select a variable (something you will change/vary) that will
achieved. help you find your answer.
State your Hypothesis - your guess about what the answer will
3. summarise the key findings, outcomes or information be.
in your report. Decide on and describe how you will change the thing you
selected.
Decide on and describe how you will measure your results.
4. acknowledge limitations and make
recommendations for future work (where
applicable) 4. Run Controlled Experiment and Record Data
Do the experiment as described above.
Keep notes in one place. Write down everything you can think
WRITING ABSTRACT of, you might need it later.
1. Select a Topic
See the list of projects and read What Makes a Good Project?.
Remember a Science Fair Project is a test you do to find an
answer to a question, not just showing what you know about
something.