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Scientific reports communicate findings In this topic, you will learn that:
• a scientific report is where results and findings are recorded • scientists use a similar style and language in their reports so that they can be understood by scientists worldwide • scientists communicate with other scientists so that they can learn from one another and expand on one another’s work.
What is a scientific report? A report is a written account of an experiment and usually has eight parts:
1 Title, date and partners (if you are working in a group) – do not forget to write your own name. 2 Aim or question – this is what you were trying to find out or why you were doing the experiment.
aim the purpose of an experiment
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3 Hypothesis – this is your initial prediction about the outcome of the experiment and a possible explanation based on your research that will be supported or refuted by the experiment. (Note: Not all experiments contain a hypothesis.) 4 Equipment or materials – this is a detailed list of the equipment used.
5 Method – this is the steps or procedure that you use to carry out the experiment, including diagrams of the equipment. There are two reasons to write a method. The first is to plan what you are going to do. This method should be in the present tense. The second type of method is for a formal report. Past tense should be used for this method.
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method a series of steps explaining how to do an experiment
6 Results – these are measurements and observations taken in an experiment, usually presented in a table, graph and/or diagram. A few sentences can be used to provide a description of the data in the tables or graphs. discussion a summary of findings, and analysis of the design of an experiment, including problems encountered and suggestions for improvement
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8 Conclusion – this is the answer to the aim or question. It should be clear and reasoned and should relate very closely to the starting aim or question. It should be written in the third person.
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conclusion a statement that ‘answers’ the aim of an experiment
7 Discussion – this is your opportunity to discuss the findings, why they are important, any problems that were encountered and suggestions for improvement or further investigation. This should be written in the third person.
Writing in the third person The best type of scientific report lets the results speak for themselves. If an experiment has been controlled to make it a fair test, then it should not matter whether Einstein or your 5-year-old brother conducted the experiment. This is one reason why personal pronouns (‘I’, ‘me’, ‘our’) are usually left out of scientific reports. When you use personal pronouns, it is tempting to put in a lot of information that is not relevant.
Writing a scientific report Now it is your turn to do an experiment and produce your first scientific report. Read through the following instructions before you begin. You will be working in pairs. > Create an outline of the scientific report, including a table for your results, before you begin. > Conduct the experiment and fill in the table of results. > Answer the discussion questions, practising using the third person. > Check back to the aim to remind you of what your conclusion is answering. > Write a conclusion by following the instructions in the example on page 23. > Evaluate the design of this experiment.
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS OXFORD SCIENCE 7: VICTORIAN CURRICULUM No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means.
