Lab reports are written for many reasons. They are written to express an understanding of a basic scientific phenomena, to document your experimenting skills and to convey lab work to the scientific community. Different types of lab work, instructors, supervisors and publications have different guidelines regarding what to include when writing a lab report. Regardless, no lab report is complete without an introduction.
Instructions
1. Explain the experiment and your reasons for conducting it. A brief description of the methodology employed in the experiment and justifications for your choice of methodology must be included when writing an introduction to your lab report.
2. Identify the objectives of the experiment. Briefly identify your hypothesis and your predictions. Describe the purpose of the experiment. This section is particularly important because the objectives set the framework for the conclusion of the lab report where the objectives are analyzed and discussed.
3. Identify the importance of the experiment. Discuss any new knowledge the experiment found or any questions it prompted for future research. Explain if the lab work refutes an existing theory or supported an emerging concept.
4. Offer background information pertaining to your experiment. Include a review of pertinent literature on the subject and well-known, documented research relevant to your topic.
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