Writing a Scientific Report

1. Title:
   Label the experiment so that it is clear what it was about.
2. Introduction / Purpose:
   Write the purpose of the experiment. Why are you doing it? What are you trying to find out? It often starts with “The aim of this investigation is to test (or to investigate) .....”. Present background information before stating your aim. Explain what others already know about your topic. The hypothesis should be stated here. Remember that it should be in a form that can be tested experimentally.
3. Materials and Method:
   Don't write a list of materials used, include what you used in the text.
   The method contains the steps followed in the order that you did them. Write in the past tense and in the 3rd person. e.g. A bunsen burner was used to heat the test tube”. Include everything that you did and explain it in enough detail so that someone who was not there could do the experiment exactly as you did. Whenever you mention any materials that you used, e.g. equipment, chemicals etc, you must include details of the make and place where it came from. Also state the controlled and independent and dependent variables. Please note: this section outlines one of the many approaches to writing a Material and Methods section for a scientific report, you can use it as a guide, if it is helpful, otherwise stick to the method that is standard practice at your school.
4. Results:
   Start with a brief overview of what you found out. Your observations should be recorded here, as tables or better still, graphs. Graphs should be plotted in pencil or done on a computer. Each table and graph should have a caption that contains enough detail so that it can be understood even if it is separated from the text. Also, describe any trends, referring to the presented data.
5. Discussion:
   How did your results fit in with what was already known? How did they contribute to the body of knowledge? Address these questions:
   1. Can you explain the trends or patterns in your results? Try to use some scientific ideas to help you explain what happened.
   2. Are there any anomalies in the results? (i.e. things that don't seem to fit). Can you explain these?
   3. What did you find out about the problem you investigated? Was the outcome different to what you would have predicted?
   4. How could you improve this experiment e.g. fairness / bias, accuracy, replication, sample size?
   5. Are your results useful to society?
      
      To finish off, you can state any conclusions you can draw from your results, use a separate sub-heading. State whether your results support or disprove your hypothesis.
6. References:
   This is a list of all text and source material used and should be presented alphabetically. Referencing is important as you need to acknowledge where you obtained your information. There are certain conventions for referencing, some of which are shown below.

Books:

Example: Lundeen, R.L. and Wood, D.L. 1977, Structure and Function of the Human Body (2nd Ed). J.B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia. Encyclopedias:

Example: Encyclopedia Felicia, vol 1, 1993 Unwin Publishing, Sydney.
Newspapers:

Example: Scaly, D. 1987. Diamond Pythons love cats for breakfast. Weekend Australian Magazine, 7-8 Feb, 22.


Journals, Periodicals, Magazines

Example: Fang, D. 1993, Experts advise pythons to combine fruit with cats for a balanced diet. Australian Slitherer 4: 26-32.


Internet:

Address of the site, date of access, page number if applicable.

Example: www.schools.ash.org.au/schools/rochedale/banjo.htm, 07/10/08, 3-6.

 

Acknowledgments:
This is a written acknowledgment of all people who provided you with assistance and stating the type of assistance provided.