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Rex N. Fisher                                                                               Computer Science and Engineering Department, BYU-Idaho

Lab Notebooks & Lab Reports

  Lab Notebook

 

All lab work must be recorded in a lab notebook, that has non-removable pages that are sequentially numbered.  All lab records must be written in ink while the experiment is being performed -- not afterwards!   Each page must be signed (or initialed) and dated.

In industry, lab notebooks are used for both technical and legal documentation. 

 

Four elements are required for your lab notebook to satisfy the legal requirements:

 

    1. It has numbered pages that are not removable.
    2. Notes are written in ink at the time of the actual experiment.
    3. Each page (or revision on a page) is signed.
    4. Each page (or revision on a page) is dated.

 

Lab notebooks will be turned in for grading at the end of the semester and are worth 100 points.  They will be graded on their completeness and whether they meet the above requirements -- not on neatness.  Points will be deducted for each missing, or poorly documented lab.

 

What should you write in your notebook?  Anything that you need to write down while doing your experiment.  Do not write on scraps of paper, or in the margins of texts or data books.  If you must write it down, it goes in the lab notebook! 

 

Remember to draw the schematic diagrams of your circuits in your lab notebook before wiring them -- it will make troubleshooting much easier!

 

Lab Report

 

A formal lab report, worth 50 points, must be turned in for each experiment.  Use the information you recorded in your lab notebook to write them.   Lab reports must be done on a computer.  They are due at 5:00 PM, one week after the lab was assigned.

 

Each lab report must have five sections, with no more than one section on a page.  This is the format for lab reports:

 

Cover Sheet (worth 2 points).  This is the first page and will contain:

 

  1. Name & number of the lab exercise.
  2. Your full name.
  3. Course and section number.

 

Introduction (worth 10 points).  This will have three parts (label them):

 

  1. Purpose: What are the objectives of the lab exercise?
  2. Equipment: What equipment, supplies, and materials were used in the lab exercise?
  3. Procedure: What steps were taken to accomplish the stated objectives?  Be complete.   A good rule of thumb is to write it for someone who has the same background you have at the beginning of the lab.  Write the directions specific enough so that he or she can exactly duplicate your work.  Use a bullet format to make the steps easier to follow.

 

Schematics (worth 5 points). 

 

The Schematic Diagram section shows the circuit(s) used in the experiment.  The circuit(s) should normally be generated on a computer.  If you do not have software that can do this, go to the software downloads on this site.  In the rare event that something must be illustrated by hand, draw it neatly on plain white paper.  The heading, however, must be typed.

 

Experiment Data (worth 10 points).  This will have two parts (label them):

 

  1. Expected (or Calculated)  Results: These are the results you predicted or calculated.  Show how they were determined.
  2. Actual (or Measured) Results: These are the results or values you actually observed or measured.

 

Discussion & Conclusions (worth 15 points).

 

This section is the most important -- and is worth the most points.  It ties all of the other sections together.  It compares the expected results with the actual results and describes what it all means.

 

Your conclusions show how much you have thought about the experiment.  Explain the basic principles that were examined and show how your results correlate with the theory.  Do not simply say, "Everything went smoothly, and I learned a lot."  Remember, it is not a summary, it is a discussion of what you concluded after performing the lab experiment!  You will probably use words like, "This demonstrates . . .", "This means . . .", "This is because . . .", etc. 

 

The following points should be covered:

 

  1. How well did you achieve your objectives?
  2. How accurate are the measurements?
  3. What errors were encountered?  How were they eliminated or minimized?
  4. If your measurements are different from your calculations, why is that so?
  5. What are some applications for these principles or circuit configurations?
  6. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this circuit implementation compared to others you have used?

 

Although you may work with a partner on your lab experiment, and therefore have the same data, your conclusions must be uniquely yours.  You may not write a joint Discussion & Conclusions section.

 

Other (8 points)

In addition to the points listed for each section, 3 points are given for neatness and 5 points are given for professional-quality language and spelling.