REPORT PREPARATION

Abstract

10.1. OVERVIEW

To formally document a laboratory experiment, a written technical report is prepared. However, it should be noted that detailed lab notes compiled during the experiment are essential, so they can be used later in the full written report. The overall goal for any laboratory report is to summarize an experiment efficiently for an intended audience. Therefore, knowing who will read the laboratory report (e.g. researchers in a similar field in a technical journal, business leaders in a company as an internal white paper, or the general public for mass consumption) will dictate the style, the tone and the level of technical jargon needed in the written work. After identifying the target audience, the lab report should explain the purpose of the experiment, the research questions answered, the experimental procedures, the data observed, the analysis method and the results.

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