		Felleslab for SIK 2010 and SIK2015
		*Guidelines for documenting experiments* Main page \| Objective \| Exercises \| Plan \| Supervisor \| Report \| Date \| Lab watch \| Evaluation \| Q&A

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Guidelines for report of version 3

Including your experimental data of version 3 and data from version 2 with identical title (see R&A 9).

Maximum 20 pages plus appendices

In writing a technical report, it is wise to keep in mind the purpose that the report is to serve. The most common purposes are:

1.To communicate to others the results and conclusions drawn from the laboratory or field work

2.To create a permanent record of laboratory or field work that may be used at a later time in connection with other work

The formal report consists of the following sections:

1. Title page

2. Evaluation form

3. Abstract

4. Table of contests

5. Introduction

6. Principles

7. Apparatus and test procedure

8. Results

9. Discussion

10. Conclusions and recommendations

11. References

12. Appendices

Title page. The title page should contain the test title, the date of the report, and the names of the author and co-authors.

Evaluation form. This form is designed for supervisor to give character for the report.

Abstract. The abstract is a very brief, stand-alone summery of the material resented in the report. The abstract contains only enough information about the work being reported to enable someone who is searching for information to determine quickly the applicability of the report to his or her problem. There should be no graphics, tables or pictures in the abstract.

The abstract should start with a statement of what was done or what the objective of the experiment was. In one sentence or so it should then describe how the results were obtained. That is, there should be some description of the experimental approach and apparatus and any unusual instrumentation.

Table of contents. This is simply a list of the sections of the report and the page number where they can be located.

Introduction. The purpose of the introduction is to prepare the reader for the body of the report by giving clear statements of the background and objectives of the project. The following items are often components of a good introduction:

1. A review of applicable literature should be included.

2. In some cases, the theory is discussed in the introduction and the capital of principle can be combined together.

Principles. The principles should include only relevant but enough theoretical background for your experiments, which the experiment design, data analysis and discussion should base on.

Apparatus and test procedure. The apparatus should be described both in words and in sketches or pictures. Block diagrams should be provided that show all sensor locations. A list of the instrumentation should be included directly or be included in appendix. The list should include manufacturer, model number and serial number of each instrument used. The principle of the main instrument should be briefly described.

The purity and producer of chemical should be stated and the chemical form should be filled before experiments and included in appendix. The detailed experimental conditions and procedure should be clearly stated, so that one can reproduce the experiments.

Results. The results in the report should include two sets, one set from your own experiment and another set from your partner group who will only write a short report. Both the primary results from your test and your partner group should be included here in graphical and /or tabular form. A short text should be included to state what results are included and on which graph or table they are included. The number normally appears adjacent to the title. For example:

Figure 2 Concentration vs. time

Table 2 Conversions at different temperatures

If the numerical results are too expensive, they should be presented in tabular form. Somewhat more extensive tabular results might be referenced and placed into an appendix.

The format of the graphical results is important. Figure 1 represents an acceptable graph prepared using EXCEL. The following notes apply to graphs:

1. The graph should be placed in the report so that it can be read in the same direction as a written page or can be read by rotating the report 90 ° clockwise from that orientation.

2. Discrete data points should be plotted as points surrounded by a plot symbol such as a circle or a square. If there are large number of points so that the plot symbols overlap, it is better to eliminate the plot symbols and connect the data points with straight lines.

3. Continuous theoretical predictions or correlation should be presented as lines or curves and it is recommended that they not be plotted as discrete points.

4. There should be a legend identifying different types of data points.

5. The graph should have a title (caption). This can be at either the top or bottom of the graph or on the grid portion of the graph. The title location should be the same for all figures in a given report.

6. All curves should be drawn smoothly, either with computerized functions or with french curves.

Discussion. This is a major part of the report. Basically, the discussion evaluates the results, interprets them, and investigates their significance. It is possible to integrate the discussion and results sections into a single section. The discussion commonly includes the following:

1. A statement about each result presented, including its significance and how it relates to the project objectives.

2. A discussion of any results that are unexpected.

3. Discussion of causes of experimental uncertainties.

4. Comparison of results to theories or preexisting experimental results.

5. Personal opinion to explain results

6. If applicable, description and comparison of data of any new theory developed on the basis of the test data.

Conclusion and recommendations. There should always be specific conclusions and recommendations that answer the objectives of the experiment or explain why the objectives were not met. Recommendations for future work or methods to improve the experiment can be included in this section of the report.

References.

Journals: Authors, title, journal, volume, side (year)

Book: Authors, Title, (Editors,) Publisher, Publish place, Year.

Examples:

A. J. Wheeler and A. R. Ganji. Introduction of Engineering Experimentation. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, 1996.

Appendix. Calibration data, primary experimental data, examples of detailed calculation….

Guidelines for report of version 2 and 1
Maximum 5 pages plus appendices for Version 2

Maximum 2 pages plus appendices for version 1

Report consists of the following sections:

Introduction

Experimental

Results and discussion

Conclusion remarks

References

Appendices

Introduction should include relevant theoretical background for experiments.

Experimental section includes chemical, apparatus and experimental procedure used in the experiments.

Results and discussions section should include the primary experimental results and a very brief discussion.

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