I will upload the ppt file for presentation and research proposal, refer them write final lab report please.
- Title-
- Should be a SUMMARY of your findings and not just a general statement.
- Ex: Increase in temperature results in increase in bean beetle oviposition. Instead of a general statement such as: Relation of temperature and bean beetle egg laying behavior.
- Should be a SUMMARY of your findings and not just a general statement.
- Abstract-
- An abstract is a quick summary of everything you did in your experiment. Including a summary of your objective, hypothesis, purpose, methods, results, stats (p-value), interpretation, bigger picture, and implications.
- An abstract, despite containing a lot of information, should still be concise and ≤300 words.
- Abstracts are one continuous paragraph.
- Abstracts contain your alternative hypothesis and NOT your null hypothesis.
- Abstracts contain your p-value and a statement on statistical significance related to your hypothesis.
- Methods-
- Begin with statement describing overall methods for your experiment and its purpose.
- Methods are incredibly detailed and contain all of the specific data collection from your experiment.
- Methods contain your stats test and methods run for analysis (including alpha value: 0.05).
- Results-
- Also… begins with statement describing overall findings from your experiment.
- Your results section normally ends up as your shortest section as you are stating the data that you received from your experiment. You are NOT discussing your results as your saving any discussion of the results for the actual discussion section of your paper.
- Here, you are stating (not discussing) your findings, especially including your p-value, but not making any conclusions or explanations of the data or your experiment, as that is saved for the discussion.
- In general, a good rule of thumb is to reference your data and the specific values by referencing your figures/tables, actually stating your p-value, making a statement on if its relation to your alpha value, and then that is normally perfectly adequate for your results section (there are only 2 sections on the rubric for the results section and only 8 points total for the lab report grade).
- Discussion-
- Begins with statement relating your findings to your hypothesis (a general statement of your p-value and what that means).
- For biology, when your p-value is less than your alpha value (0.05), your data is statistically significantly different, meaning that you reject your null hypothesis, and your experiment and your results are statistically significant. If your p-value is greater than your alpha value (0.05), your data is not statistically significantly different, meaning that you fail to reject your null hypothesis, and your experiment and your results are not statistically significant.
- Within your discussion, if you want to discuss the relation of your p-value with your alternative hypothesis, feel free to, but it is the most important and required to make a statement of the relation of your p-value and whether you reject the null hypothesis or fail to reject the null hypothesis.
- For point b in the discussion section of the rubric, it is very easy to get points off and is often the most frequently deducted section while I’ve graded lab reports for the past 2 years. Please read carefully that this section is asking for 1-2 paragraphs of discussion and interpretation of your data, results, findings, observations, and your experiment. This section is not stating that your discussion in total is only 1-2 paragraphs, this is specifically asking for at least 1 to 2 paragraphs of simply discussing your results and your experiment. The discussion section is the bulk of your research paper and being skimpy with your discussion (especially point b here), is a very common mistake and cause for students losing points. Also, it says “findings may be compared to others” and not that your findings should be or have to be in order to receive full credit, but that this section can include comparisons to other experiments or lab groups to further lengthen your discussion. Also, you should include referencing your figures/tables in this section as well.
- Additionally, the next section of the rubric (point c) is then asking for your discussion of your stats results. This includes an interpretation of your p-value and its meaning when it comes to your interpretation of your results. Further, when it says scientific concepts are used accurately in the rubric, it’s referencing the correct usage of “reject the null hypothesis” meaning statistical significance or “fail to reject the null hypothesis” meaning lack of statistical significance when discussing your stats test results. Please note that point b and point c are asking for two different types of discussions… b means discussing your findings and observations vs. and c means discussing your stats test results.
- Further, this section is then asking you to describe and discuss any issues you ran into (problems or sources of uncertainty) as well as how you would improve those issues (if you were to run the experiment again, what would you change) and extensions of your experiment, as in what idea or experiment you would explore if you could continue on and study something else related to this animal behavior lab (for example, you tested temperature, but you could test humidity and temperature if you could extend the experiment further).
- Finally, the discussion is then asking for the bigger picture and why this experiment matters and its implications. Specifically, think about the pre-lab for the experiment and what the entire point of the lab was in the first place. (For example, you could talk about how the farmers, who are trying to manage the issues relating to this agricultural pest, could (or could not) implement your findings/results to help alleviate these issues.)
- Essentially, when students ask about how to compose their discussion, I always suggest: first statement relating results to hypothesis, first paragraph (normally longest) thoroughly discussing observations/findings/figures, second paragraph (normally smaller) discussing stats results, and third paragraph discussing issues/errors, improvements, extensions, implications, and why this matters.
- Writing-
- In general, almost all students receive full credit for this section. However, if you obviously did not put a lot of effort into your report, you could lose points for clear sentences, cohesive flow of ideas, or appropriate use of terminology.
- Additionally, if you ever reference the species name, you could lose points if that is not italicized.
- Format of Report-
- Again, in general almost all students receive full credit for this section as well.
- If any section is written in bullet points, you would lose points here.
- If the report is not organized into the correct sections (Abstract, Methods, Results, Discussion, Figures/Tables) and these headings are not bold, you would lose points here.
- Also, this section is making sure the format is correct, meaning you would lose points if your report is not written in Times New Roman, 12-point font, double-spaced, 1 inch margins, and numbered pages.
Below is rubric
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Title (a) Title clearly conveys a summary of the lab report findings.
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4 pts
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Abstract (a) Particular question/objective and (alternative) hypothesis addressed in experiment are stated. Null hypothesis not stated.
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4 pts
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Abstract (b) Purpose or motivation for experiment is linked to a biological explanation and “big picture.”
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4 pts
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Abstract (c) Experimental approach taken to address the question is briefly summarized.
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4 pts
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Abstract (d) Major findings and interpretations are described using actual values.
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4 pts
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Abstract (e) Judgment about the hypothesis is linked to findings (p value).
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4 pts
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Abstract (f) Why this matters & specific significant implications of this experiment are described.
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4 pts
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Abstract (g) The abstract is concise (≤300 words) with all relevant details.
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4 pts
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Methods (a) Begins with 1-2 sentences describing the overall experimental design, including the purpose of the experiment.
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4 pts
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Methods (b) Specific data collection is described with the appropriate amount of detail so the experiment could be replicated, with pertinent details described.
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4 pts
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Methods (c) Analysis and interpretation procedures, e.g., statistical test including alpha value, are described and are appropriate for the data & question.
(c) Analysis and interpretation procedures, e.g., statistical test including alpha value, are described and are appropriate for the data & question.
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4 pts
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Results (a) Begins with 1-2 sentences describing the overall findings of the lab.
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4 pts
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Results (b) Findings from the experiment and data analysis are described in adequate detail including values of quantitative measurements and stating p-value if a stats test was used, but without making explanations or conclusions about the data.
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4 pts
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Figures & tables (a) Visuals are appropriate for the type of data.
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4 pts
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Figures & tables (b) Correct format is used (titles, graph components). Statistical significance is indicated.
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4 pts
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Figures & tables
(c) Figure legends accurately and succinctly describe the methods used to collect the data and the data presented
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4 pts
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Figures & tables (d) Visuals are discussed and clearly referenced in text of Results & Discussion (not in the abstract) and displayed at the end
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4 pts
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Discussion (a) Begins with a statement relating the overall results to the hypothesis.
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4 pts
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Discussion (b) Findings are described and interpreted. Findings may be compared to others’ findings. This is 1-2 paragraphs in length.
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4 pts
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Discussion (c) Specific analyzed data (i.e., results from stats if used) is used as evidence to decide whether the hypothesis is supported. Scientific concepts are used accurately and convincingly to explain whether the data supported the hypothesis.
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4 pts
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Discussion (d) Other issues are addressed as appropriate, e.g., problems that occurred; sources of uncertainty in the lab procedure or findings; improvements or extensions of the experiment.
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4 pts
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Discussion (e) Why this matters & significant implications of this experiment are described.
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4 pts
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Writing (a) There are no grammatical or spelling errors. (b) Sentences are clear and to the point. (c) Flow of ideas is cohesive and logical. (d) Use of technical terminology is appropriate and words are abbreviated or italicized as appropriate (e.g., species names)
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8 pts
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Format of Report a) Report is written entirely in sentences organized as paragraphs (not bulleted list). (b) Report is organized into sections (i.e., abstract, methods, etc.) with headings that are bold. (c) Page format: Times New Roman 12 pt font (even for headings); 1 inch margins; double-spaced; pages are numbered and stapled as needed. (d) Georgia Tech Honor Agreement is included at end of report with signature.
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