how to make lab report discussion

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Writing Lab Reports: Discussion

Purpose : Why do we care? Relative size : 40-45% of total Scope : Narrow to broad: the bottom of the hourglass Verb Tense : Use the past tense to refer to results from your experiment or from other studies (e.g., the results supported my hypothesis that). Use the present to suggest implication of your study (e.g., these results suggest that...). Use the future or conditional to suggest what you will study in the future (e.g., future studies should investigate...)

The discussion offers an analysis of the experiment.

The purpose of the discussion section is to provide a brief summary of your results, relate them to your hypotheses, and put them into context within the field of research. This is the most substantial section of your report, and where you will include your unique interpretations and ideas. The discussion must therefore address the following essential questions:

Remember that this section forms the bottom of the hourglass – it should mirror the introduction by first focusing on your hypotheses and interpretation of results, and then gradually expanding to make comparisons with previous research, to provide implications of your study and to pose questions for future work – and completes the cycle of the scientific method.

Discussion Section Details

Support or reject hypotheses : Begin by stating whether your results supported your hypotheses or not; remember not to say that you proved anything – you can only support or reject hypotheses. You may also briefly summarize your results.

Interpret and compare results : Do your results make sense? Why do you think you found what you did? Compare your results to those of other studies. Do they differ? If so, how and why? Use literature to support your arguments, statements, and generalizations.

Discuss factors influencing results : Were there any anomalies in your data? Discuss any errors, inconsistencies, assumptions, or other factors that may have influenced the outcome of your study. If you were to repeat your study, would you do anything differently?

Discuss implications : How do your results contribute to existing research? Why was your study important?

Propose ideas for future research : Did your research generate questions for future research? What are the next steps in this field of study?

A good discussion section should…

A good discussion section should NOT…

Back to Writing Lab Reports

How To Guides

Phoenix College

Lab Report Writing

Discussion or Conclusion

Test yourself (discussion).

Once you've discussed the most important findings of your study in the Results section, you will use the Discussion section to interpret those findings and talk about why they are important (some instructors call this the Conclusion section). You might want to talk about how your results agree, or disagree, with the results from similar studies. Here you can also mention areas ways you could have improved your study or further research to be done on the topic. Do not just restate your results - talk about why they are significant and important. Here's a paragraph taken from the Discussion from the bone fracture paper. Notice how the authors relate their results to what is already known about the topic. The numbers in brackets refer to references listed at the end of their paper (not shown here).

The data indicate that avoiding a low level of physical activity substantially reduces the risk of all fractures, particularly hip fractures—the most devastating of osteoporotic fractures—in men. Even changes in physical activity during the follow-up affected hip fracture risk. As expected, those who maintained a high physical activity level had the lowest risk of hip fracture, but there was also a tendency towards a lower risk of fracture for those who increased their level of activity compared with those who reduced their level of activity, or compared with those who reported constant low activity. This observation has previously been made in women [8,16]. There are several possible mechanisms, related to muscle performance and balance as well as to bone architecture and strength, whereby physical activity can reduce the risk of fractures [28,29].

Which of the following is a good example of a sentence you would find in the Discussion section of a lab report?

a. Ten dogs with no previous training were selected for the study. b. Unlike in previous studies on dog training, most of the dogs in this study retained the ability to perform tricks for up to six weeks after the initial training sessions. c. Seven of the ten dogs learned how to "sit" after three training sessions. d. It was hypothesized that the dogs would be able to retain all of the training commands for six weeks after the initial training sessions.

B The Discussion should interpret the findings from the study and relate them to other similar studies. It is not the place to talk about the results, the methods use, or the original hypothesis.

Click on the question, to see the answer.

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Chemistry Lab Resources (for CHM 1XX and 2XX Labs)

Organizing Your Lab Notebook

Parts of a Lab Report

Sample Lab Reports

The first video explains what you put in the “Introduction,” “Results,” and “Discussion” sections of your lab report. The second video gives a different perspective on what you put in the “Discussion” section of your lab report.

Note: Most 100-level chemistry labs require only worksheets to be filled out at the completion of each lab. Therefore, this information would be most useful for 200-level students as lab reports are often required for those courses.

Now that you have completed an experiment and have collected all of the necessary information in your lab notebook and any supplementary data from analytical instruments, you need to write up your results in a lab report. The purpose of writing reports you've performed is to communicate exactly what occured in an experiment or observation and to clearly discuss the results.

The abstract is a one or two paragraph concise, yet detailed summary of the report. It should contain these four elements:

Often, the abstract is the last piece of the report written.

Introduction

This section tells the reader why you did the experiment. Include background information that suggest why the topic is of interest and related findings. It should contain the following:

Experimental (Materials and Methods)

This section should describe all experimental procedures in enough detail so that someone else could repeat the experiment. Some guidelines to follow:

The results section should present data that you collected from your experiment and summarize the data with text, tables, and/or figures. Effective results sections include:

The discussion section should explain to the reader the significance of the results and give a detailed account of what happened in the experiment. Evaluate what happened, based on the hypothesis and purpose of the experiment. If the results contained errors, analyze the reasons for the errors. The discussion should contain:

A brief summary of what was done, how, the results and your conclusions of the experiment. (Similar to the Abstract.)

A listing of published works you cited in the text of your paper listed by author or however the citation style you are using requires the citation to be listed.

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How to Write a Discussion for a Lab Report

Updated 17 Feb 2022

Learning process contains theoretical and practical parts, where the theory comprises lectures, and the practice includes laboratory and independent work based on the material covered within one course. During lectures, students may get very tired listening to a large scope of new information and trying to understand it. That is why laboratory or independent assignment is more exciting as it combines testing of knowledge and gaining tremendous experience on the topic. The most important part of lab report writing is discussion section. As a help, we are going to tackle the issue of how to write a discussion for a lab report.

Basically, lab report is the most popular type of written tasks for engineering, biology, chemistry, biology, and other disciplines. During a course of study in college or university, you’ll most probably encounter one. While often neglected, it truly enhances grades. However, it’s necessary to know how to write report right, what structure should be followed, which sources should be used, etc. Without further adieu, here is some information you should know before writing it.

Discussion Purpose

What you should know is when you write discussion, there is a purpose behind the said argument. Discussion’s aim is result interpretation, which means explain, analyse, and compare them. Often, this part is the most important, simply because it lets the researcher take a step back and give a broader look at the experiment. Do not discuss any outcomes not presented in the results part.

Furthermore, via this section, students can more comprehensively show their understanding of experiment, even more deeply than after performing it. This part focuses on question of understanding “What is the significance or meaning of the results?” and tries to answer it as fully as possible, mentioning data and research findings along the way.

What to Write in Discussion of Lab Report?

Lab report discussion section often begins with statement as to whether findings in results section support expected findings stated in hypothesis. It is very important to make this comparison as turning back to hypothesis is crucial for scientific thinking. Support or non-support statement then leads to the next logical issue, an explanation of why hypothesis was or wasn’t supported by received data. Explanation might focus on scientific reasoning that supported original hypothesis and on alterations or errors in experimental procedure and how they could have affected the outcomes. Also, discussion provides opportunities to compare results with research of others.

When you are wondering how to write a discussion for a lab report, it's best to ask yourself what does this paper type mean. Question “What does it mean” can greatly help with research proposal writing and in writing your argument. In a sense, explaining the meaning behind experiment should be done in the discussion.

How to Write a Lab Report Discussion

Now that we've established what this whole thing actually is, let's talk about doing discussion for lab report properly. The first thing to note is that you shouldn't discuss outcomes that are presented in results. In fact, here you should make a statement whether or not these outcomes actually underpin expectations presented in the hypothesis. Making such a comparison is crucial, as it shows basic scientific understanding. In order to better answer the question of how to make a discussion in lab report, consider the following steps when you write your lab report :

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Example of Discussion in Lab Report

Here is an extract from a discussion section taken from a lab report. It provides an analysis of customers’ behavioral patterns with an aim to identify smartphone models within a reasonable price to be procured for the company employees.

Discussion Knowing the time that users spend on their smartphones during the day encourages examining applications that are particularly popular among the target group. Hereby, respondents were asked to name their favourite mobile phone features. As in a number of other studies, text messaging is an unconditionally popular option among respondents (Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, 2017; Gerber et al, 2009). However, survey revealed an array of other phone options that outnumber messaging popularity by a large margin. Gaming was identified as the most popular among surveyed users. Respondents rated gaming by 2 points on a 10-point scale, where 1 corresponded with the most favourite feature. Accordant to the respondents, camera, internet browsing and social media were much less favorite features in their mobiles. Subsequent comparison suggests no major difference between Apple iPhone 8 and Samsung Galaxy S8 with regard to application variety. However, there is a significant price difference between models. It means that Samsung is more feasible with regard to the ratio between options and price range. Survey indicated an interesting trend that is suggested for in-depth examination in further research. In reported study, majority respondents assigned 3.5 to health and wellbeing applications meaning that they have slightly lost in popularity. Wellbeing and health applications are nevertheless much more popular than browsing the internet, media and entertainment options. Popularity of apps concerning health or wellbeing is certainly an exiting trend that requires further study. In the meantime, it is worth stressing that phones have become very popular with Canadians. An overwhelming majority of Canadians aged between 24 and 29 spend at least one hour a day on their smartphones. While these users prefer iPhone 8, Samsung S8 is considered a more appropriate option with regard to specs, features, and price. Survey findings indicated mobile application range that is most popular with the target group, which suggests insights into smartphone model to be preferred. According to the study, health & wellbeing related applications are gaining momentum and are more popular with users than web browsing or media sites. This trend indicates major transformations in consumers’ behavioural patterns regarding mobile use. A thorough examination of discovered trends is required to identify a model to be purchased and promote an appropriate and expedient use of phones.

This lab report discussion example can be utilised as sample while working on your own report. Just ensure you follow all structure steps and instructions given by professor. It will for sure help receive high grades for such assignments.

Thinking in Questions, Explaining in Answers

When thinking about writing a discussion lab report, be sure to edit final version. Use this checklist and ensure all question are answered and all details are present in the report:

If you can answer those questions without our lab or book report writing services and present them in a scientific manner, you'll have your discussion complete and ready. Now the question of how to make discussion in lab report won’t be an issue for you. In addition, you can always turn to our service for assistance with discussion writing and receive professional support from the best experts in academic field. This solution is for students who don’t possess the necessary knowledge or environment for writing lab reports on time.

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Writing a Lab Report: Introduction and Discussion Section Guide

In an effort to make our handouts more accessible, we have begun converting our PDF handouts to web pages. Download this page as a PDF: Writing a Lab Report Return to Writing Studio Handouts

Part 1 (of 2): Introducing a Lab Report

The introduction of a lab report states the objective of the experiment and provides the reader with background information. State the topic of your report clearly and concisely (in one or two sentences). Provide background theory, previous research, or formulas the reader should know. Usually, an instructor does not want you to repeat whatever the lab manual says, but to show your understanding of the problem.

Questions an Effective Lab Report Introduction Should Answer

What is the problem.

Describe the problem investigated. Summarize relevant research to provide context, key terms, and concepts so that your reader can understand the experiment.

Why is it important?

Review relevant research to provide a rationale for the investigation. What conflict, unanswered question, untested population, or untried method in existing research does your experiment address? How will you challenge or extend the findings of other researchers?

What solution (or step toward a solution) do you propose?

Briefly describe your experiment : hypothesis , research question , general experimental design or method , and a justification of your method (if alternatives exist).

Tips on Composing Your Lab Report’s Introduction

Part 2 (of 2): Writing the “Discussion” Section of a Lab Report

The discussion is the most important part of your lab report, because here you show that you have not merely completed the experiment, but that you also understand its wider implications. The discussion section is reserved for putting experimental results in the context of the larger theory. Ask yourself: “What is the significance or meaning of the results?”

Elements of an Effective Discussion Section

What do the results indicate clearly? Based on your results, explain what you know with certainty and draw conclusions.

Interpretation

What is the significance of your results? What ambiguities exist? What are logical explanations for problems in the data? What questions might you raise about the methods used or the validity of the experiment? What can be logically deduced from your analysis?

Tips on the Discussion Section

1. explain your results in terms of theoretical issues..

How well has the theory been illustrated? What are the theoretical implications and practical applications of your results?

For each major result:

2. Relate results to your experimental objective(s).

If you set out to identify an unknown metal by finding its lattice parameter and its atomic structure, be sure that you have identified the metal and its attributes.

3. Compare expected results with those obtained.

If there were differences, how can you account for them? Were the instruments able to measure precisely? Was the sample contaminated? Did calculated values take account of friction?

4. Analyze experimental error along with the strengths and limitations of the experiment’s design.

Were any errors avoidable? Were they the result of equipment? If the flaws resulted from the experiment design, explain how the design might be improved. Consider, as well, the precision of the instruments that were used.

5. Compare your results to similar investigations.

In some cases, it is legitimate to compare outcomes with classmates, not in order to change your answer, but in order to look for and to account for or analyze any anomalies between the groups. Also, consider comparing your results to published scientific literature on the topic.

The “Introducing a Lab Report” guide was adapted from the University of Toronto Engineering Communications Centre and University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center.

The “Writing the Discussion Section of a Lab Report” resource was adapted from the University of Toronto Engineering Communications Centre and University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center.

Last revised: 07/2008 | Adapted for web delivery: 02/2021

In order to access certain content on this page, you may need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader or an equivalent PDF viewer software.

How to write a discussion in a lab report + examples

Lab reports are an essential part of any science education. They allow you to synthesize the data you have collected and learn from your experiments. When it comes time to write a lab report discussion section, it can be difficult to know where to start. In this guide, we will walk you through the process of writing a discussion for a lab report step-by-step. We will cover what should be included in this section and how to effectively communicate your findings. Let’s get started!

The purpose of the discussion section

The purpose of the discussion section is to interpret the data that you have collected and to explain what it means. This section should be written clearly and concisely, and it should be easy for the reader to understand. You should start by summarizing your findings and then explaining what they mean about the hypothesis or question that you were investigating.

In addition, you should also discuss any limitations of your experiment and what further research needs to be done to answer the question that you were investigating. This is an important part of the discussion section as it allows you to show that you understand the scientific process and that you are thinking critically about your data.

How to write an executive summary for a lab report + examples

How to write a biology lab report + examples

In this section, you can also: propose possible explanations for your findings and discuss any alternative hypotheses that you came up with. You should also consider the implications of your findings and what they could mean for future research.

The structure of a discussion section

Here is a basic structure that you can use when writing a discussion section for a lab report:

Let’s take a closer look at each of these elements.

Introducing the findings

When you introduce the findings of your experiment, you should be clear and concise. You should state the main findings of your study in a few sentences and then explain what they mean. It is important to be specific here and to avoid generalizations.

For example, if you were investigating the effect of a drug on heart rate, you would state the specific findings of your study, such as the drug’s dosage or how long it was administered. You should also explain what these findings mean in terms of the hypothesis that you were investigating.

If your experiment had a negative result, you should still explain what happened and why it is important. You should avoid making excuses or trying to justify a negative result.

Interpreting the findings

After you have introduced the findings of your experiment, you should then go on to interpret them. This means explaining what they mean in terms of the hypothesis or question that you were investigating. You should be clear and concise here and avoid making any assumptions about the data.

It is important to remember that your data can never “prove” a hypothesis. Rather, it can only support or disprove it. Therefore, you should always be careful when interpreting your findings and avoid overstating the conclusions that can be drawn from them.

For example, if you found that a drug did not affect heart rate, you would say that the drug did not have an effect rather than saying that the drug was ineffective.

Discussing the implications

After you have interpreted the findings of your experiment, you should then discuss their implications. This means thinking about what the findings could mean for future research and practical applications. You should also consider whether your findings challenge any existing theories or hypotheses.

It is important to be objective here and to avoid speculating about things that are beyond the scope of your data. For example, if you found that a drug did not affect heart rate, you would not say that it means that the drug is safe because further research would need to be done to confirm this.

Explaining limitations

Every experiment has limitations and it is important to acknowledge them in your discussion section. This means discussing the factors that may have influenced your results and explaining why they are important.

You should be clear about the limitations of your study and you should avoid making any assumptions about the data. For example, if you found that a drug did not affect heart rate, you would not say that it means that the drug is safe because further research would need to be done to confirm this.

Proposing further research

Finally, in your discussion section, you should propose further research that needs to be done. This could include ideas for future experiments or studies that need to be conducted to clarify the findings of your experiment.

It is important to be realistic here and to come up with proposals that are achievable within the scope of your research. You should also avoid proposing research that is already being done by someone else.

In your lab report conclusion , you should briefly summarize the main findings of your experiment and explain their significance. You should also mention any unanswered questions that remain and propose further research that needs to be done to address them.

That’s it! This is everything you need to know about writing a discussion for a lab report. Keep these tips in mind and you’re sure to produce a high-quality discussion section that will help to strengthen your argument.

Lab report discussion examples

Lab report discussion example 1:.

Below is an example of a discussion in a lab report on the effect of caffeine on heart rate.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of caffeine on heart rate. The results of this experiment showed that caffeine did not have a significant effect on heart rate. This suggests that caffeine does not affect heart rate in healthy adults.

The findings of this study have several important implications. Firstly, they suggest that caffeine is safe for healthy adults and can be consumed without any concerns about its effects on heart rate. Secondly, they suggest that caffeine may not be an effective means of increasing heart rate in healthy adults, which could have implications for its use in sports medicine. Finally, they suggest that further research is needed to explore the effects of caffeine on heart rate in different populations (e.g. adults with heart disease, children, etc.).

This study had several limitations that should be acknowledged. Firstly, the sample size was small and this may have influenced the results. Secondly, the study was carried out in a controlled environment and it is possible that the results would be different in a real-world setting. Finally, the effects of caffeine on heart rate may vary depending on individual factors (e.g. age, weight, etc.).

In conclusion, this study provides evidence that caffeine does not affect heart rate in healthy adults. However, further research is needed to explore its effects in different populations and settings.

Lab report discussion example 2

Below is an example of a discussion section from a college lab report. In this example, the student discusses the results of an experiment testing the effects of different concentrations of salt on the boiling point of water.

The data in Table one shows that as the concentration of salt increased, so did the boiling point of water. This makes sense because, with more salt in the water, there is more attraction between the water molecules and the salt molecules, meaning that it takes more energy to break these attractions and get the water to boil. The trend in Table one was consistent with what was predicted by Boyle’s law.

In Table two, it can be seen that as the concentration of salt increased, so did the temperature at which steam was produced. Again, this makes sense because, with more salt in the water, the water molecules are held together more tightly, meaning that it takes more energy to produce steam. The trend in Table two was also consistent with Boyle’s law.

The data in Tables one and two support the hypothesis that as the concentration of salt increases, so does the boiling point of water and the temperature at which steam is produced.

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Materials and Methods :� What did you do and how did you do it?

There are various other headings one may find for this section of the report, such as "Experimental Procedure," "Experimental," or "Methodology."� Sometimes Materials and Methods may be separated in different sections.� But however it is titled, the main tasks of the Materials and Methods are to describe (1) the lab apparatus and the laboratory procedure used to gather the data and (2) the process used to analyze the data.

Materials and Methods takes the reader step by step through the laboratory procedure that the experimenters followed.� The rule of thumb in constructing this section is to provide enough detail so that a competent scientist in the field can repeat, or replicate, the procedure.� The challenge, however, is to do so as efficiently as you can.� This means, for example, not including details that the same competent scientist already knows, such as descriptions of standard procedures that most everyone in the field would already be familiar with.

Go to the Materials and Methods of the Annotated Sample Lab Report

Results:� What did you find?

This is the heart of the scientific paper, in which the researcher reports the outcomes of the experiment.� Report is a key word here because Results should not contain any explanations of the experimental findings or in any other way interpret or draw conclusions about the data.� Results should stick to the facts as they have been observed.

Generally speaking, the Results begins with a succinct statement (a sentence or two) summarizing the overall findings of the experiment.� After that the Results integrates both visual (graphs, tables, drawings) and verbal (words) representations of the data.� The verbal descriptions consist of series of findings (general statements that summarize or give the important point of a visual) and support for the findings (further details about the data that give pertinent information about the findings).

Discussion: � What does it mean?

The purpose of the Discussion is to interpret your results, that is, to explain, analyze, and compare them. �This is the point at which the researcher stands back from the results and talks about them within the broader context set forth in the Introduction.� It is perhaps the most important part of the report because it is where you demonstrate that you understand the experiment beyond the level of simply doing it.� Do not discuss any outcomes not presented in the Results.

The Discussion section often begins by making a statement as to whether the findings in the Results support or do not support the expected findings stated in the hypothesis.� It's important to make such a comparison because returning to the hypothesis is crucial to basic scientific thinking.� The statement of support or non-support then leads to the next logical issue, an explanation of why the hypothesis was or was not supported by the data.� The explanation might focus on the scientific reasoning that supported the original hypothesis (based on the scientific concept on which the lab is founded) and on changes to or errors in the experimental procedure and how they could have affected the outcomes.� The Discussion also provides the opportunity to compare the results to the research of others.

Conclusion: � What have I learned?

The Conclusion returns to the larger purpose of the lab, which is presented as the learning context in the Introduction:� to learn something about the scientific concept that provides the reason for doing the lab.� This is where you demonstrate that you have indeed learned something by stating what it is you have learned.� This is important because it helps you to understand the value of the lab and convinces the reader that the lab has been a success.� It's important, then, to be specific, providing details of what you have learned about the theory or principle or procedure at the center of the lab.

Abstract: � What is the essence of the report?

The Abstract is a miniature version of the lab report, one concise paragraph of 80-200 words.� Its purpose is to present the nature and scope of the report.� In the scientific literature, abstracts must be stand-alone documents, whole and self-contained, because they are often published by themselves in research guides.

To create a miniature version of the report, abstracts usually consist of one-sentence summaries of each of the parts of the report (sometimes two sentences are necessary for especially complex parts).� And those sentences are arranged on the order that the parts come in the report:� Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion/Conclusion.

Title:� What is the report about?

The main job of the title is to describe the content of the report.� In science, a title usually tells the reader what the subject of the experiment and the key research variables are, and it often gives an indication of what research methodology was used.� Titles are especially important to scientists because articles are typically indexed according to key words that come from the title.� So when scientists are searching for research articles, it is those key words that lead them the articles they need.� It's necessary, then, that titles be fully informative about the content of the report.

References:� What sources were used?

This is a list of the references that were cited in the lab report, including the lab manual, any handouts accompanying the lab, the textbook, and sources from the scientific literature.� The format for references differs in different fields and even within the same field.� It's important that you check with you teacher or lab manual to find out what is expected of you.

Appendices :� What additional material is included?

Appendices are places where you put information that does not deserve to be included in the report itself but may be helpful to some readers who want to know more about the details.� The kinds of information you might find in an appendix are:

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Writing Lab Reports

Writing lab reports follows a straightforward and structured procedure. It is important to recognize that each part of a lab report is important, so take the time to complete each carefully. A lab report is broken down into eight sections: title, abstract, introduction, methods and materials, results, discussion, conclusion, and references.

Introduction

Methods and Materials

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How To Write A Lab Report | Step-by-Step Guide & Examples

Published on May 20, 2021 by Pritha Bhandari . Revised on July 15, 2022.

A lab report conveys the aim, methods, results, and conclusions of a scientific experiment. The main purpose of a lab report is to demonstrate your understanding of the scientific method by performing and evaluating a hands-on lab experiment. This type of assignment is usually shorter than a research paper .

Lab reports are commonly used in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. This article focuses on how to structure and write a lab report.

Structuring a lab report, introduction, frequently asked questions about lab reports.

The sections of a lab report can vary between scientific fields and course requirements, but they usually contain the purpose, methods, and findings of a lab experiment .

Each section of a lab report has its own purpose.

Although most lab reports contain these sections, some sections can be omitted or combined with others. For example, some lab reports contain a brief section on research aims instead of an introduction, and a separate conclusion is not always required.

If you’re not sure, it’s best to check your lab report requirements with your instructor.

Your title provides the first impression of your lab report – effective titles communicate the topic and/or the findings of your study in specific terms.

Create a title that directly conveys the main focus or purpose of your study. It doesn’t need to be creative or thought-provoking, but it should be informative.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

An abstract condenses a lab report into a brief overview of about 150–300 words. It should provide readers with a compact version of the research aims, the methods and materials used, the main results, and the final conclusion.

Think of it as a way of giving readers a preview of your full lab report. Write the abstract last, in the past tense, after you’ve drafted all the other sections of your report, so you’ll be able to succinctly summarize each section.

To write a lab report abstract, use these guiding questions:

Nitrogen is a necessary nutrient for high quality plants. Tomatoes, one of the most consumed fruits worldwide, rely on nitrogen for healthy leaves and stems to grow fruit. This experiment tested whether nitrogen levels affected tomato plant height in a controlled setting. It was expected that higher levels of nitrogen fertilizer would yield taller tomato plants.

Levels of nitrogen fertilizer were varied between three groups of tomato plants. The control group did not receive any nitrogen fertilizer, while one experimental group received low levels of nitrogen fertilizer, and a second experimental group received high levels of nitrogen fertilizer. All plants were grown from seeds, and heights were measured 50 days into the experiment.

The effects of nitrogen levels on plant height were tested between groups using an ANOVA. The plants with the highest level of nitrogen fertilizer were the tallest, while the plants with low levels of nitrogen exceeded the control group plants in height. In line with expectations and previous findings, the effects of nitrogen levels on plant height were statistically significant. This study strengthens the importance of nitrogen for tomato plants.

Your lab report introduction should set the scene for your experiment. One way to write your introduction is with a funnel (an inverted triangle) structure:

Begin by providing background information on your research topic and explaining why it’s important in a broad real-world or theoretical context. Describe relevant previous research on your topic and note how your study may confirm it or expand it, or fill a gap in the research field.

This lab experiment builds on previous research from Haque, Paul, and Sarker (2011), who demonstrated that tomato plant yield increased at higher levels of nitrogen. However, the present research focuses on plant height as a growth indicator and uses a lab-controlled setting instead.

Next, go into detail on the theoretical basis for your study and describe any directly relevant laws or equations that you’ll be using. State your main research aims and expectations by outlining your hypotheses .

Based on the importance of nitrogen for tomato plants, the primary hypothesis was that the plants with the high levels of nitrogen would grow the tallest. The secondary hypothesis was that plants with low levels of nitrogen would grow taller than plants with no nitrogen.

Your introduction doesn’t need to be long, but you may need to organize it into a few paragraphs or with subheadings such as “Research Context” or “Research Aims.”

A lab report Method section details the steps you took to gather and analyze data. Give enough detail so that others can follow or evaluate your procedures. Write this section in the past tense. If you need to include any long lists of procedural steps or materials, place them in the Appendices section but refer to them in the text here.

You should describe your experimental design, your subjects, materials, and specific procedures used for data collection and analysis.

Experimental design

Briefly note whether your experiment is a within-subjects or between-subjects design, and describe how your sample units were assigned to conditions if relevant.

A between-subjects design with three groups of tomato plants was used. The control group did not receive any nitrogen fertilizer. The first experimental group received a low level of nitrogen fertilizer, while the second experimental group received a high level of nitrogen fertilizer.

Describe human subjects in terms of demographic characteristics, and animal or plant subjects in terms of genetic background. Note the total number of subjects as well as the number of subjects per condition or per group. You should also state how you recruited subjects for your study.

List the equipment or materials you used to gather data and state the model names for any specialized equipment.

List of materials

35 Tomato seeds

15 plant pots (15 cm tall)

Light lamps (50,000 lux)

Nitrogen fertilizer

Measuring tape

Describe your experimental settings and conditions in detail. You can provide labelled diagrams or images of the exact set-up necessary for experimental equipment. State how extraneous variables were controlled through restriction or by fixing them at a certain level (e.g., keeping the lab at room temperature).

Light levels were fixed throughout the experiment, and the plants were exposed to 12 hours of light a day. Temperature was restricted to between 23 and 25℃. The pH and carbon levels of the soil were also held constant throughout the experiment as these variables could influence plant height. The plants were grown in rooms free of insects or other pests, and they were spaced out adequately.

Your experimental procedure should describe the exact steps you took to gather data in chronological order. You’ll need to provide enough information so that someone else can replicate your procedure, but you should also be concise. Place detailed information in the appendices where appropriate.

In a lab experiment, you’ll often closely follow a lab manual to gather data. Some instructors will allow you to simply reference the manual and state whether you changed any steps based on practical considerations. Other instructors may want you to rewrite the lab manual procedures as complete sentences in coherent paragraphs, while noting any changes to the steps that you applied in practice.

If you’re performing extensive data analysis, be sure to state your planned analysis methods as well. This includes the types of tests you’ll perform and any programs or software you’ll use for calculations (if relevant).

First, tomato seeds were sown in wooden flats containing soil about 2 cm below the surface. Each seed was kept 3-5 cm apart. The flats were covered to keep the soil moist until germination. The seedlings were removed and transplanted to pots 8 days later, with a maximum of 2 plants to a pot. Each pot was watered once a day to keep the soil moist.

The nitrogen fertilizer treatment was applied to the plant pots 12 days after transplantation. The control group received no treatment, while the first experimental group received a low concentration, and the second experimental group received a high concentration. There were 5 pots in each group, and each plant pot was labelled to indicate the group the plants belonged to.

50 days after the start of the experiment, plant height was measured for all plants. A measuring tape was used to record the length of the plant from ground level to the top of the tallest leaf.

In your results section, you should report the results of any statistical analysis procedures that you undertook. You should clearly state how the results of statistical tests support or refute your initial hypotheses.

The main results to report include:

The mean heights of the plants in the control group, low nitrogen group, and high nitrogen groups were 20.3, 25.1, and 29.6 cm respectively. A one-way ANOVA was applied to calculate the effect of nitrogen fertilizer level on plant height. The results demonstrated statistically significant ( p = .03) height differences between groups.

Next, post-hoc tests were performed to assess the primary and secondary hypotheses. In support of the primary hypothesis, the high nitrogen group plants were significantly taller than the low nitrogen group and the control group plants. Similarly, the results supported the secondary hypothesis: the low nitrogen plants were taller than the control group plants.

These results can be reported in the text or in tables and figures. Use text for highlighting a few key results, but present large sets of numbers in tables, or show relationships between variables with graphs.

You should also include sample calculations in the Results section for complex experiments. For each sample calculation, provide a brief description of what it does and use clear symbols. Present your raw data in the Appendices section and refer to it to highlight any outliers or trends.

The Discussion section will help demonstrate your understanding of the experimental process and your critical thinking skills.

In this section, you can:

Interpreting your results involves clarifying how your results help you answer your main research question. Report whether your results support your hypotheses.

Compare your findings with other research and explain any key differences in findings.

Are your results in line with those from previous studies or your classmates’ results? Why or why not?

An effective Discussion section will also highlight the strengths and limitations of a study.

When describing limitations, use specific examples. For example, if random error contributed substantially to the measurements in your study, state the particular sources of error (e.g., imprecise apparatus) and explain ways to improve them.

The results support the hypothesis that nitrogen levels affect plant height, with increasing levels producing taller plants. These statistically significant results are taken together with previous research to support the importance of nitrogen as a nutrient for tomato plant growth.

However, unlike previous studies, this study focused on plant height as an indicator of plant growth in the present experiment. Importantly, plant height may not always reflect plant health or fruit yield, so measuring other indicators would have strengthened the study findings.

Another limitation of the study is the plant height measurement technique, as the measuring tape was not suitable for plants with extreme curvature. Future studies may focus on measuring plant height in different ways.

The main strengths of this study were the controls for extraneous variables, such as pH and carbon levels of the soil. All other factors that could affect plant height were tightly controlled to isolate the effects of nitrogen levels, resulting in high internal validity for this study.

Your conclusion should be the final section of your lab report. Here, you’ll summarize the findings of your experiment, with a brief overview of the strengths and limitations, and implications of your study for further research.

Some lab reports may omit a Conclusion section because it overlaps with the Discussion section, but you should check with your instructor before doing so.

A lab report conveys the aim, methods, results, and conclusions of a scientific experiment . Lab reports are commonly assigned in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.

The purpose of a lab report is to demonstrate your understanding of the scientific method with a hands-on lab experiment. Course instructors will often provide you with an experimental design and procedure. Your task is to write up how you actually performed the experiment and evaluate the outcome.

In contrast, a research paper requires you to independently develop an original argument. It involves more in-depth research and interpretation of sources and data.

A lab report is usually shorter than a research paper.

The sections of a lab report can vary between scientific fields and course requirements, but it usually contains the following:

The results chapter or section simply and objectively reports what you found, without speculating on why you found these results. The discussion interprets the meaning of the results, puts them in context, and explains why they matter.

In qualitative research , results and discussion are sometimes combined. But in quantitative research , it’s considered important to separate the objective results from your interpretation of them.

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Purpose: Why do we care? ... Verb Tense: Use the past tense to refer to results from your experiment or from other studies (e.g., the
Discussion/Conclusion
Once you've discussed the most important findings of your study in the Results section, you will use the Discussion section to interpret
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The discussion section should explain to the reader the significance of the results and give a detailed account of what happened in the
How To Write A Discussion For A Lab Report
Lab report discussion section often begins with statement as to whether findings in results section support expected findings stated in hypothesis. It is very
Writing a Lab Report: Introduction and Discussion Section Guide
The discussion is the most important part of your lab report, because here you show that you have not merely completed the experiment, but that
How to write a discussion in a lab report + examples
The structure of a discussion section · Introduce the findings. · Interpreting the findings. · Discussing the implications. · Explaining the
Introduction to Writing Lab Reports
The Discussion section often begins by making a statement as to whether the findings in the Results support or do not support the expected findings stated in
Lab report discussion sections
Description of how to write the discussion section of a lab report.
How To Write A Lab Report
Writing Lab Reports · Why was the research done or experiment conducted? · What problem is being addressed? · What results were found? · What are
How To Write A Lab Report
Discussion · Interpret your results · Compare your findings with your expectations · Identify any sources of experimental error · Explain any
Writing in the Disciplines: Biology
The Discussion should be written after the Results section so that you have a good idea of what the experiment has demonstrated. The discussion section should