Chapter 23: Lab, Experiment, and Field Reports Summary

Chapter 23: Lab, Experiment, and Field Reports Summary

            In this chapter we learn about how to properly document a scientific experiment or study. Accurately recording and thoughtfully interpreting the results of the study or experiment is a must. There are two methods in which this can be done. The first is the scientific method. You would start by observing something interesting and check whether scientists have explained this same observation before. Then you can summarize your observations and create a testable hypothesis. You want to be able to test your hypothesis, paying close attention to the variables and the controls. When you see the results of the experiment, you can accept, reject or modify your hypothesis. You may need to repeat a few of these steps in order to completely understand what you are observing and the results. The other format you can follow is the standard format. Following this format you would model scientific thinking, lab and field reports including an introduction that establishes the problem, details showing the procedure, results that provide the data and finally discussion that will interpret the data you found. No matter which of the two methods you choose, you need to understand and be able to distinguish the facts from possibilities and experiments from studies. Facts are the data that you have collected, while possibilities are interpretations of that data. And experiments test your hypothesis by manipulating the variables, while studies observe what is actually there by counting, measuring or sampling.