Scientific Report Writing

1
Scientific Report Writing
2
Research for Your Report

• Books, papers, reports etc.
• Internet
• CD-ROMS and DVDs
• TV, documentaries etc.

3
Layout

• Title Page
• Introduction
• Materials Methods
• Results
• Discussion
• References

4
Title

• The title should be informative and clearly
  indicate what the report is about.
• Avoid questions and answers such as
• Does insulin?
• Insulin effects.

5
Introduction

• Discusses the theoretical background to your
  work.
• Precise and accurate
• Relevant references and literature from previous
  studies should be cited.
• Aims of your study should be clearly stated at
  the end of the introduction.

6
Materials Methods

• Should include all information for an exact
  repetition of the work performed.
• Itemised list of all materials used.
• Should be written as instructions to the reader.
• Do not use personal pronouns such as I, We
  etc.
• Eg. Add 2 drops of cell suspension to

7
Results

• Comment on the most significant aspects of the
  results.
• The data are usually presented in tables or
  graphs, but do not present the data in several
  different formats.
• Any comments should be backed up with data
• For example
• The treatment was 50 more effective.
• Instead of
• The treatment was more effective.

8
Results

• Tables, graphs and photos should be placed
  immediately after where they are first referred
  to in the text.
• The reader should also be referred to the
  diagrams at the appropriate time in the text and
  the most important features pointed out to them.
• Tables, graphs and photos (called figures),
  should be sequentially numbered ie. Figure
  1Figure 2

9
Discussion

• Usually the most important section of the report.
  
• It should include comments on the results,
  especially any unexpected results.
• The results should be explained or justified in
  light of the original aims.
• Compare and contrast your results to relevant
  literature.

10
Discussion

• Do not repeat data in detail from results
  section, but you can include summary tables.
• Comment on the success, or otherwise, of the
  experiment.
• Make recommendations for improvements to your
  investigation.
• Conclusions are usually included in the
  discussion, but they can be separated.

11
References

• Should be an accurate listing of all the sources
  referred to.
• Entries must conform to the conventions of the
  referencing system used (usually Harvard system).
  
• Should be listed alphabetically.

12
References

• Citation in text
• Eg. In a popular study Harvey (1992) argued
  that.
• In the Reference List
• Eg. Author, Initials. (Year). title. Publisher,
  Place of Publication.
• Internet
• Identify an author or an organisation eg. Cancer
  Research or National Trust.
• Include the date on which you viewed the site.
• Eg. Cancer Research UK (2006). About Cancer
• http//www.cancerresearchuk.org/aboutcancer.
  March 2006.

13
Avoiding Plagiarism

• Plagiarism the unacknowledged use of someone
  elses words, work or ideas.
• Everything that comes directly from the text has
  to be in quotation marks and referenced.
• Paraphrasing (presenting someone elses work in
  your own words) should be carefully checked to
  ensure that you are not just rearranging or
  replacing a few words. You must still
  acknowledge the source of the information.

14
General Points

• Size 12 font
• Pages should be numbered consecutively ie.
  1..2..3..
• A blank line is usually used between paragraphs,
  but no indentation is used
• Bulky raw data placed in Appendices
• Proof- read
• Use English and not American spelling

15
Important Information

• Additional UCAS Tariff Points
• Successful completion of the report can earn you
  up to
• 40 additional UCAS tariff points.
• Report submission date
• Friday 22nd September 2006