DIABLO VALLEY COLLEGE – BIOSC 140 Name_________________________________

PREPARATORY REPORT EXERCISE (PRE) TIPS FOR PREPARING LABORATORY REPORT

Background:
This handout is designed to help you think of some of the things that you could potentially include in the final version of
your laboratory report. You should consider these important aspects of the report, but certainly not limit yourself to only
these concepts. The more you can demonstrate you understand what we did in the laboratory, what the purpose of the
experiment was, what the results were and what the implications of those results were, the better you will score on the
report.

One thing that should be noted is that there are acceptable, multiple approaches to each topic and experiment, so if you
differ in your approach from others that is fine. You do not have to be different, but it is generally acceptable to have a
different approach or emphasis from others as long as you are including the necessary aspects needed for the laboratory
report. Your main source of information should come from the sheets in your portfolio that you have previously completed
along with your research you have done. You should discuss the following sections and aspects at a minimum.

At Minimum Discuss and Share Perspectives for the Introduction:

• What is the general overview of your experiment – what you are going to do and how you will do it?
• What is the main hypothesis (what do we expect to happen)? Make sure to use the “If…Then…Because” method.
• What is the evidence you have uncovered for the hypothesis based on the research (what are the physiological
principles studied)? The information presented in the laboratory manual is probably sufficient for the Introduction,
but you could have a bit more detail. This is one of the more important aspects and will certainly be covered in the
more detail in the Discussion section, but you need to briefly mention what is your evidence for the hypothesis in
this section.
• What information have you found to put the experimental question and hypothesis in perspective (what are the
scientific and/or historical principles involved)? Again, this largely stems from the background information you
have uncovered based on your research.
• Mention the nature and scope of the experiment and mention how can you put it into perspective or practical
terms? Discuss the important practical matters with an emphasis on why should we care about these
physiological principles involved.

At Minimum Discuss and Share Perspectives for the Results:

• Discuss the important results (what are the data points you need to report)? Determine if you are presenting all of
the results you need to, but at the same time, not reporting results that are irrelevant.
• What tables or figures are the best way to present your data? Remember do not have redundant data, so it is best
represented by a table or figure? If it is a figure, it is better as a line graph, pie chart, bar chart or some other
representation? Compare your tables and figures you made previously.

At Minimum Discuss and Share Perspectives for the Discussion:

• Discuss the important results you feel that should be mentioned in this section.
• Each member of the group should mention what they feel is the significance of the experiment.
• Most importantly, you should spend time discussing the key physiological points you want to make based on the
significance? What is the physiological information that lead you to these conclusions? Where did you find the
information that you are using to support your arguments?
• Did your results match the expected results based on previous scientific research? Where there any
discrepancies between the measured data and what was expected? If so can you explain it?
• What are the physiological principles you should mention in your conclusion along with the important results?
• Are there any directions for future research (things that could be further tested to better answer the hypothesis)?

At Minimum Discuss and Share Perspectives for the References:

• Remember that you are not turning in a Reference section as part of the laboratory report. While you will make
sure you properly reference material in the body of the paper, that reference list will not be included in the final
draft. Some students feel the need to include this, which is fine, but the reference list does not make a difference
in your score as we have demonstrated we have that knowledge from a previous assignment.
• Share with your laboratory partners the most important and useful references you have found during your
research on the topic. This has likely already been done while you were discussing the previous elements.