LABORATORY NOTEBOOK STYLE GUIDE

You must keep a bound note book record of your laboratory work. Each page must be numbered. All materials must be attached. Print-outs and charts must be taped into your notebook. Notebook organization and report contents should follow the general outline below:

TABLE OF CONTENTS. Your notebook should begin with a table of contents that lists on the left most column the date, followed by an experiment title, and finally a page number in your notebook.

ELEMENTS OF THE EXPERIMENTAL REPORT
(Items #1-5 should be done before you come to lab)

1. TITLE. Simple explanatory title on the top of the first page of each experimental report.
2. DATE. Starting date of the experiment.
3. OBJECTIVE. One paragraph describing goals of the experiment, what we hope to measure/discover, and why it is important.
4. REFERENCES. List here any bibliographic materials that you refer to in the course of the experiment. Leave space so that additional materials can be added as the experiment proceeds.
5. PROCEDURE. Outline the protocol that we will use to do the experiement. Use just enough detail so you can do the experiement by following the notebook without referring to other materials, handouts, or books. (Use your own words here, do not simply tape in a lab handout!)
6. RESULTS. Record your observations here. Raw data charts from instruments should be taped and labeled here. All measurements should be recorded in this section. Label clearly! Use unit labels! Sample calculation methods and the calculated results should also be in this section. Sumarize the processed raw data in tabular form here when appropriate.
7. CONCLUSIONS. One page discussion of the results. Were our objectives met? What did we find? Repeat the major numeric findings here and be clear to indicate how these relate to our objectives. (If they don't, maybe your objective statement is a little too brief or hasn't been fully thought through.)