BMB 303 Techniques in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Fall 2006
Two formal laboratory reports will be completed during the course of the semester. These laboratory reports will be organized in a way that is standard to the presentation of scientific work. The sections and major features expected in each section of your laboratory report are given below. Use third person past tense in your writing. The use of “we” is acceptable, but should be used sparingly. Complete guidelines for the preparation of a lab report are detailed in Pechenik's A Short Guide to Writing about Biology. Published scientific papers, as well as what you have learned about science writing in Chemistry 211/212 also serve as good examples in how to write and structure your reports.
Title. Spend some time generating a title for your report. A good title should accurately describe the experiments carried out, giving as many specifics as possible in as few words as necessary.
Abstract. The abstract should explain concisely what the goal of the experiment was, what measurements were made, and a summary of the most important results obtained. The abstract must be one paragraph in length.
Introduction. In the Introduction, you should explain why you did the study and provide necessary background information to explain the significance of the work. Citation of research articles is required.
Materials and Methods. In this section, you should describe what you did in sufficient detail so as to permit your experiment to be repeated. However, the writing should be as concise as possible. For example, it is necessary to report the composition of the buffer you used, but it is not necessary to write that it was prepared using a 500 mL volumetric flask.
Results. In this section, your data are presented using tables, plots, and other graphics with accompanying text. It is important to point out any particularly interesting trends or data points. Please note that the Results section is:
1. not the place to discuss why the experiment was performed (covered in Introduction).
2. not the place to discuss how the experiment was performed (covered in Methods).
You should always summarize your data so that the trends can be easily spotted (use averages, standard deviations, etc). This may mean showing an edited subset of your experiments. For example, if you made some experimental errors before finally succeeding in a cloning experiment, we simply need to see your final experiment in which you succeeded and do not need to show your failures unless something interesting was learned as a result. Make sure that figures are properly labled and that you have provided a detailed and informative figure legend. Finally, when appropriate, report the error associated with your data. This can typically be calculated using replicate measurements or other statistical means. Your instructor will point out when this type of analysis should be done.
Discussion. A thorough analysis of the data and conclusions derived from them should be made. The results must be interpreted in the context of the specific questions you set out to address as outlined in the introduction. Questions that should be answered in the Discussion include:
1. What was your hypothesis and what were the expectations of the designed experiments?
2. How did your results compare with those expected; do the results validate or invalidate your hypothesis?
3. What are possible, alternative explanations of the results and any unexpected results?
4. How might these alternative explanations be examined further by experimental means?
The Discussion is perhaps the most important section of your laboratory report. Length is not a factor in evalution, but depth of understanding and clarity in presentation is critical. Noting other techniques or methods that would be superior or may be helpful in addressing new questions is an example of good information to provide in the discussion.
Acknowledgments. If individuals other than those listed as authors helped in the investigation they should be specifically cited in the Acknowledgment section.
Literature Cited. Cite literature or manuals from which any information or procedures were derived when writing your report or performing the experiments described within.