Electrical
Lab Reports
Developed by The Center for Communication Practices at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute,
Troy, New York.
Objective
The objective of your experiment should be stated clearly
and concisely, in one or several sentences.
Example: The purpose of this experiment
was to determine whether measurement of the changes in air-to-earth
potential gradient could be used as a reliable and practical
method of predicting local thunderstorms.
Equipment Used
Do not give details that are common knowledge in your
field. Provide information of particular interest, such as
the brand name and model of complicated apparatus or unusual
equipment (e.g., Oscilloscope -- Tectronix -Model 561B-CRO-158,
Serial # XXXX).
Procedure
For our purposes, it is sufficient that you state the
source of the procedure that you have used. If you deviated
from the given procedure, describe the procedural changes
you made.
If you were documenting your research for
audiences that were not familiar with the procedure, then
you would need to state the procedure fully, in chronological
order. You would provide enough information so that another
researcher in your field could use your description to replicate
the experiment.
Results
Provide a sample calculation, using one complete set of
data. Give the results of the calculations for the rest of
your data. It is not necessary to recopy your raw data from
the page where you first recorded it. Refer to it as necessary,
pointing out trends and identifying special features.
State the results of your experiment clearly.
Figures, graphs and tables may help to support your claims,
but do not rely upon them exclusively to convey essential
information. Any figures or tables used should be labelled
and given a reference number (e.g., Figure 1, Input Frequency
and Capacitor Value).
State all significant results explicitly
and in verbal form. Organize your paragraphs around effective
topic sentences. Use short, declarative sentences for the
most part, but vary sentence length for flow and emphasis.
Discussion
Your discussion is the single most important part of your
report. In it, you will show your reader that you understand
the experiment and can interpret it. Analyze and explain your
results, focusing your attention on questions like these:
- What results were expected? What results
were obtained? If there were any discrepancies, how can
you account for them?
- Do any of your results have particular
technical or theoretical interest?
- How do your results relate to your experimental
objective(s)?
- How do your results compare to those
obtained in similar investigations?
- What are the strengths and limitations
of your experimental design?
- If you encountered difficulties in the
experiment, what were their sources? How might they be avoided
in future experiments?
Conclusion
The body of your report should end with a brief concluding
statement, similar to an abstract, which summarizes the significant
aspects and results of your experiment. It should tell the
reader why the experiment is significant and what implications
its results have for your field of study. If your experiment
confirms or contradicts an established principle or theory,
this should be stated clearly. In the plainest terms, your
conclusion should answer the question, "So what?"
Back Matter
Include references for your sources of information as
appropriate.
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