prac report template

Student research project

Writing a research report

Number: 43935 Title: Student Research Project

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Writing a research report 1

Contents – Writing a researchreport

Introduction....................................................................... 3

Writing the report .............................................................. 5

The style of a scientific report...................................................5

Describing your method.................................................... 9

Steps..........................................................................................9

Equipment ...............................................................................10

Experimental design ...............................................................11

Describing your results ................................................... 13

Ending your research report ........................................... 15

Conclusion...............................................................................15

References ..............................................................................16

Appendix..................................................................................17

Evaluating your report..................................................... 19

How did you go? .....................................................................19

Experimental report scaffold ........................................... 21

2 Student research project


Introduction

Now is the time to write your experimental report. To help you with theformat there is a scaffold supplied. This sets out what is expected in eachstep of the report. You may choose to use this format or if you feelconfident, write your own report.

You should:

• show in your logbook that you have drafted a report about yourresearch project.

• your report should include the following sections

– title

– aim

– hypothesis

– method

– results

– conclusion

– references

– appendix, if needed

• evaluate your progress towards completing your project and researchreport.


Writing the report

Have you thought about the best way to publish the report about yourresearch project? It needs to be written in the style of a scientific report.

The style of a scientific reportScientific reporting is different from other forms of writing. A scientificreport contains technical terms and sentences are often packed withinformation.

Even before you do an experiment you usually write about it in past tenseas though it has already been finished. A scientific report about theexperiment reads as if someone did the research yesterday.

In the past, scientific reports were also always written using the passivevoice. This made the writing very impersonal.

For example, using this format, you would write …

20 g of soil was weighed and placed in a glass jar

instead of …

I weighed 20 g of soil and put it in a jar.

Scientists chose this impersonal style of language to reflect theobjectivity of science. Objectivity means that it is based on facts andevidence, not on feelings and interpretations.

Nowadays, many scientists have realised that formal language makesreports more difficult to understand and may restrict the spread ofknowledge and understanding of natural phenomena. More and moreresearch is being published in everyday language. This means that vitalinformation about our world is available to us all.


The format of a scientific report

There are several acceptable ways to write scientific reports, eachscientific publication sets its own format. For your report, use the formatsupplied in the following scaffold.

Your research report should consist of the following sections:

• title

• aim

• hypothesis

• method

• results

• conclusion

• references.

It may also have an appendix.

In this lesson, you will learn more about each of these sections of ascientific report. You will also draft each section for your own report. Soby the end of this part, you will be making good progress towardsproducing your own scientific report for publishing!

Writing a title

The title of a research project should give the reader an idea of what theexperiment is about. It can include the independent and dependentvariables. For example: Investigation on the effect of daylength onflowering in tomato plants.

Writing a title

Rewrite the following title to make it a better project title.

An investigation of the numbers of native and introduced fish speciesfound in NSW rivers in the 1970s compared with the numbers of thesefish found now.

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

Change in the numbers of native and introduced fish in NSW rivers since 1970


Your turn

Draft a title for your own project in your logbook.

When you are satisfied with your title turn to the experimental reportscaffold at the end of this lesson and fill in the Title.

Aim

The aim is a simple statement that tells the reader what you are settingout to do. It often starts out with a simple statement starting with "To".Do not use the first person "I". A simple way to write the aim is identifythe independent and dependent variables and then put the aim in thefollowing format:

To determine the effect of (insert the independent variable) on (insert thedependent variable).

For example:

To determine the effect of daylength on flowering in tomatoes.

and not

I grew some plants and then I used different daylengths to see whenflowering occurred.

Your turn

Draft an aim for your own project in your logbook.

Now turn to the experimental report scaffold at the end of this lesson andwrite the aim of your experiment.


Hypothesis

The hypothesis is a statement to explain observations in an experiment.The experiment should be designed so that it tests the hypothesis. Thehypothesis is not proved during an experiment, rather the experimenteither supports the hypothesis or doesn't support the hypothesis. If furtherexperiments do not support the hypothesis then a new hypothesis must bewritten to take into account observations from experiments.

For example:

A daylength greater than thirteen hours promotes flowering in tomatoes.

Your turn

What is the hypothesis for your project? Edit your hypothesis in yourlogbook and check that it contains a prediction that can be tested.

Check that what you are aiming to do is a test of the prediction in thehypothesis.

Complete the hypothesis section of the report scaffold.


Describing your method

This section will help you write the method for your research report.

Your method is what you did in the investigation. You will communicatewhat you did, how you did it and the equipment you used. This section isone of the most detailed of your report. It must contain enoughinformation to enable another researcher to reproduce your study. Youmay need to describe, in detail, the following things:

• your experimental design, such as variables and controls, and howmany readings you took

• the methods you used to make observations and measurements

• the equipment and instruments you used

• any other materials you used. For example, did you collect anysamples of plants, soil and so on? Give details about any samples,such as the size, and where and when you collected them.

• the methods you used to analyse the information.

The method often includes labelled diagrams rather than longdescriptions or lists of equipment. Diagrams may show the wayequipment is set up, unfamiliar research methods and equipment used,organisms used, maps of unfamiliar places, habitat locations or anythingelse that is easier to describe and understand from a drawing.

Start off by outlining the steps that you took when setting up yourexperiment.

StepsThis section lists the steps you took when conducting your investigation.

For example:

1 Set up 20 identical pots of tomato plants.

2 Each pot had 5 tomato plants.

3 Give equal amounts of water to each tray (1L).

4 Each pot was the same temperature (24°C).


5 Four pots were placed in each of 5 conditions of daylength.

6 Each condition gave the same temperature but different amountsof day and night ratio for a period of 20 days. The ratio wentfrom 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 hours of daylight. This was achieved byartificial lighting.

7 The experiment ran for 20 days. Flowering was recorded.

9 Record the results and draw a graph.

10 Repeat the experiment once more.

Now turn to the experimental report scaffold at the end of this lesson andwrite the steps of your experiment. Include a diagram if necessary.

EquipmentInclude a full list of the equipment required using the correct scientificnames, e.g. test tube, beaker. Include any safety equipment required, e.g.goggles, lab. coat, fume cupboard. Be specific about the equipment, 10cm pots, 250 mL beaker.

For example:

• soil

• artificial lights

• 500 mL pots with 250 g of soil with 10 tomatoes growing

• gloves

• covered shoes

• laboratory coat.

Now turn to the experimental report scaffold at the end of this lesson andwrite the equipment for your experiment.


Experimental design

Replication

The experiment must be designed so that the method can be reproducedby other people and give the same result. Therefore, several replicatesshould be taken during the experiment.

For example: Each pot had 10 tomato plants so these were replicates forthe treatment.

Repetition

The experiment must be repeated several times. This increases thereliability of the experiment by reducing the chance of errors or anunusual result.

For example: The entire experiment was repeated.

Risk assessment

Assess the dangers that may be involved in the experiment and describehow you are going to overcome them.

For example: Soil may contain harmful micro-organisms. To overcomethis risk gloves were worn at all times. When working with heavycontainers there is a risk that they might fall. To overcome this riskcovered shoes were worn.

Dependent variable

Identify the dependent variable in your experiment. This is what you aremeasuring in your experiment. When drawing a graph the dependentvariable usually goes on the Y-axis. It can be thought of as theresponding variable, it responds to the experimental changes you make.

For example: The dependent variable was flowering.


Independent variable

Identify the independent variable in your experiment. The independentvariable is the variable that you are manipulating to cause a change in thedependent variable. It is usually placed on the X axis (horizontal) of agraph.

For example: The independent variable was the daylength.

Control

A control may be included as a comparison so that the experimentaleffect can be attributed to a change in variables.

For example: One group of tomatoes was kept at a 12:12 day to nightratio.

Variables

All variables other than the dependent and independent variables must bekept the same so that any effect can be attributed to the change in theindependent variable affecting the dependent variable.

For example: Temperature, amount of water and humidity levels were allkept the same. The soil and containers were the same. The amount oftime for flowering was also kept the same.

Now turn to the experimental report scaffold at the end of this lesson andwrite the experimental design of your experiment.


Describing your results

This section will help you to provide the results of your investigation foryour research report.

What did you find out by conducting your research project? This is thequestion that should be answered in the ‘Results’ section. Describe yourresults so that they are concise and easy to understand.

Your results should include the following information:

• a summary of what you found out

• recorded data (for example, in tables, graphs, diagrams,photographs) that support your analysis.

The way results are described depends on the type of results.

Report what happened. Choose ways to clearly present and organise theinformation such as tables, graphs and diagrams. Programs such asdatabases and spreadsheets are useful for presenting results.

Your turn

You need to look at the data you gathered in your investigation anddecide the best method of presentation.

Any evidence you have found must be clearly and concisely presented somake sure that tables, graphs and diagrams are clearly titled and labelled.And, don’t make them too small. They should be large enough toillustrate your research findings at a glance.

Go to the exercises section and write your results into the experimentalreport scaffold. Do not discuss what the results mean or why you gotthese particular results in this section.


Ending your research report

In this lesson, you will draft the last sections of your report. This shouldbe fairly easy because you have kept notes in your logbook about theresources you have used and your thoughts throughout your research.

The last four sections for your scientific report are:

• conclusion

• references

• appendix.

ConclusionA conclusion is like an answer to your aim. It includes a summary ofyour results and discussion. If your research supports your hypothesis,then your hypothesis and conclusion will agree with each other. If theresearch does not support the hypothesis, then the hypothesis andconclusion will not agree.

Did your research support or not support your hypothesis? If it supportedyour hypothesis then you should be able to see a match between yourhypothesis and your conclusion. (If your research did not support thehypothesis then you should write your conclusion so that it is obviousthat the hypothesis, and conclusion do not match.)

Does your conclusion support (or not) this hypothesis?

___________________________________________________________

The conclusion section of a scientific report contains your ideas aboutwhat the results mean. Interpret your results in this section.

You should include the following information:

• a description of the trends that emerged in the data

• evidence that will support your interpretation

• a description of the limitations of your research project

• suggestions for further research.


Your discussion should analyse your results and suit the purpose of yourinvestigation.

Your turn

Plan a discussion of your results. Use the points below to help youorganise your thoughts.

• Describe the trends in your data. What does it show?

• What is some evidence to support this interpretation of the data?

• What were the limitations of your research? For example, would youhave obtained a better answer to your problem if you had had moretime, more equipment, had studied more variables and so on.

• Suggest some further research that could be performed in the topicarea of your research. For example, it could be another problem thatyou discovered while you were doing your research.

Look through your logbook to check that you have analysed all theinformation you collected.

Complete the conclusion section of the report scaffold.

ReferencesAt the end of any research report, there should be a list of all thereferences you consulted and used information from during your researchproject. (Don’t list resources that you looked at but didn’t use.)

It should be easy for you to put your reference list together because youhave been writing the information about each resource you used intoyour logbook.

Use a standard reference system.

For books:

Smith JM. Tomatoes that changed the world, New York: Macmillan, 2005.

For journals and magazines:

Jones A. How to get your tomatoes flowering. Education Monographs, 2001.5,6:2-5.


For pamphlets:

Australian Photonics, The how, what and why of optical fibres. Australian Photonics.

Sydney.

For websites:

Learning Materials Production 2005, NSW Department of education and training,

Sydney, viewed 20 March 2005,

<www.lmpc.edu.au/Science/junior_science/project.htm>

For people:

Fred Bloggs, nurseryman

Do not include personal details such as an address or telephone number,to protect the person’s privacy. However, it may be useful to includeworkplace details.

Remember, this section is used by people interested in what you’ve beenresearching. People refer to it to search for related books, articles and soon, to extend their own research. For this reason, it must be detailed andaccurate. It should include at least five references.

Complete the reference section of the report scaffold.

AppendixAn appendix is an attachment that contains materials to support yourreport. These are materials that you refer to in your report. They mayinclude tables of information, survey questionnaires, raw data, relevantphotographs, letters and articles. Each separate type of attachment isincluded as a separate appendix. It is also a good place for a logbook.

Not all reports will have an appendix. You will need to decide if youneed an appendix or not.

Complete the appendix section of the report scaffold if necessary.


Evaluating your report

This section will help you to:

• solve any problems remaining in your research project

• evaluate and present your research report.

Here are some suggestions of things you could do to improve your work.

You could look for more resources, for example, by going to the library.Remember to record appropriate information in your logbook about theresources, for your reference list.

Read over all the parts of your report and complete and fix them.

How did you go?It is a good idea to evaluate your report before you hand it in.

How will you know whether your research report is good? There is amarking scheme on the next page. You may like to refer to it as youprepare and publish your report.

Circle the mark beside each question that you think best suits yourproject/report.


No A bit Yes

Difficulty (10 marks)

• Was your project difficult or complex? 1 2 3 4 5

• Did you do your best in your research and report? 0 1 2

• Have you produced an excellent report? 1 2 3

Language (10 marks)

• Have you used report text type for your report? 0 1 2

• Have you written clearly? 0 1 2

• Have you written concisely? 0 1 2

• Have you written in grammatical sentences? 0 1 2

• Have you spelled most words correctly? 0 1 2

Parts of the report (50 marks)

• Is your title a good one for the project? 0 1 2

• Is your hypothesis testable? 0 1 2

• Can you make predictions from your hypothesis? 0 1 2

• Have you stated a clear aim? 0 1 2

• Have you identified the dependent variable? 0 1 2

• Have you identified the independent variable? 0 1 2

• Have you controlled all other variables? 0 1 2

• Have you done a risk assessment? 0 1 2

• Have you identified all the necessary equipment? 0 1 2

• Have you clearly described what you did? 1 2 3 4 5

• Do your results clearly state what you found out? 1 2 3 4 5

• Do tables, graphs and so on have clear headings? 0 1 2

• Are diagrams and graphs neat and labelled? 0 1 2

• Does your conclusion match your aim? 0 1 2

• Does your conclusion and the hypothesis match? 0 1 2

• Have you used a recognised reference system? 2 3 4

• Is your report neat and well presented? 1 2 3 4 5

Total mark for research report = / 65


Experimental report scaffold

Name ____________________________

Teacher ____________________________

Title


Aim:

Hypothesis:

Method:

Steps


Equipment


Experimental design

Replication

Repetition

Risk assessment

Dependent variable

Independent variable


Control

Controlled variables

Analysis


Results:


Conclusion:

Suggest improvements for future experiments.

References:


Appendix:

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