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How to Write a Scientific Report | Step-by-Step Guide

Got to document an experiment but don't know how? In this post, we'll guide you step-by-step through how to write a scientific report and provide you with an example.

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Is your teacher expecting you to write an experimental report for every class experiment? Are you still unsure about how to write a scientific report properly? Don’t fear! We’ll guide you through all parts of a scientific report, step-by-step.

How to write a scientific report:

What is a scientific report
General rules for writing Scientific reports
Introduction/Background information
Risk assessment

What is a scientific report?

A scientific report documents all aspects of an experimental investigation. This includes:

The aim of the experiment
The hypothesis
An introduction to the relevant background theory
The methods used
The results
A discussion of the results
The conclusion

Scientific reports allow their readers to understand the experiment without doing it themselves. These reports also give others the opportunity to check the methodology of the experiment to ensure the validity of the results.

how to write a science report hypothesis

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A scientific report is written in several stages. We write the introduction, aim, and hypothesis before performing the experiment, record the results during the experiment, and complete the discussion and conclusions after the experiment.

But, before we delve deeper into how to write a scientific report, we need to have a science experiment to write about! Choose an experiment to use as an example from our 7 Simple Experiments You Can Do At Home article.

blog-how-to-write-a-scientific-report-experiment

General rules for writing scientific reports

Learning how to write a scientific report is different from writing English essays or speeches.

You have to use:

Passive voice (which you should avoid when writing for other subjects like English!)
Past-tense language
Headings and subheadings
A pencil to draw scientific diagrams and graphs
Simple and clear lines for scientific diagrams
Tables and graphs where necessary

Structure of scientific reports

Now that you know the general rules on how to write scientific reports, let’s look at the conventions for their structure!

The title should simply introduce what your experiment is about.

The Role of Light in Photosynthesis

2. Introduction/Background information

Write a paragraph that gives your readers background information to understand your experiment.

This includes explaining scientific theories, processes, and other related knowledge.

Photosynthesis is a vital process for life. It occurs when plants intake carbon dioxide, water, and light, and results in the production of glucose and water. The light required for photosynthesis is absorbed by chlorophyll, the green pigment of plants, which is contained in the chloroplasts.

The glucose produced through photosynthesis is stored as starch, which is used as an energy source for the plant and its consumers.

The presence of starch in the leaves of a plant indicates that photosynthesis has occurred.

blog-how-to-write-a-scientific-report-photosynthesis

The aim tells us what is going to be tested in the experiment. This should be short, concise, and clear.

The aim of the experiment is to test whether light is required for photosynthesis to occur.

4. Hypothesis

The hypothesis is what you predict the outcome of the experiment will be. You have to use background information to make an educated prediction.

It is predicted that photosynthesis will occur only in leaves that are exposed to light and not in leaves that are not exposed to light. This will be indicated by the presence or absence of starch in the leaves.

5. Risk assessment

Identify the hazards related to the experiment and explain how you would prevent or minimise the risks. A hazard is something that can cause harm, and a risk is how likely it is that harm will occur because of the hazard.

A table is an excellent way to present your risk assessment.

Remember, you have to specify the type of harm that can occur because of the hazard. It’s not enough to simply identify the hazard.

Do not write: “Scissors are sharp.”
Instead, write: “Scissors are sharp and can cause injury.”

blog-how-to-write-a-scientific-report-photosynthesis-risk

The method has 3 parts:

A list of every material used
Steps of what you did in the experiment
A scientific diagram of the experimental apparatus

Let’s break down what you need to do for each section.

6a. Materials

This must list every piece of equipment and material used in the experiment.

Remember, you need to specify the amount of each material you used.

1 geranium plant
Aluminium foil
2 test tubes
1 test tube rack
1 pair of scissors
1 250 mL beaker
1 pair of forceps
1 10 mL measuring cylinder
Iodine solution (5 mL)
Methylated spirit (50 mL)
Boiling water
2 Petri dishes

blog-how-to-write-a-scientific-report-photosynthesis-material

As a rule of thumb, you should write the method clearly and in a way that readers can repeat the experiment and get similar results.

Using a numbered list for the steps of your experimental procedure is much clearer than writing a whole paragraph of text. The steps should:

Be written in a sequential order, based on when they were performed
Specify any equipment that was used
Specify the quantity of any materials that were used

You also need to use past tense and passive voice when you’re writing your method. Scientific reports are supposed to show the readers what you did in the experiment, not what you will do.

Aluminium foil was used to fully cover a leaf of the geranium plant. The plant was left in the sun for three days.
On the third day, the covered leaf and 1 non-covered leaf were collected from the plant. The foil was removed from the covered leaf, and a 1 cm square was cut from each leaf using a pair of scissors.
150 mL of water was boiled in a kettle and poured into a 250 mL beaker.
Using forceps, the 1 cm square of covered leaf was placed into the beaker of boiling water for 2 minutes. It was then placed in a test tube labelled “dark”.
The water in the beaker was discarded and replaced with 150 mL of freshly boiled water.
Using forceps, the 1 cm square non-covered leaf was placed into the beaker of boiling water for 2 minutes. It was then placed in a test tube labelled “light”.
5 mL of methylated spirit was measured with a measuring cylinder and poured into each test tube so that the leaves were fully covered.
The water in the beaker was replaced with 150 mL of freshly boiled water and both the “light” and “dark” test tubes were immersed in the beaker of boiling water for 5 minutes.
The leaves were collected from each test tube with forceps, rinsed under cold running water, and placed onto separate labelled Petri dishes.
3 drops of iodine solution were added to each leaf.
Both Petri dishes were placed side by side and observations were recorded.
The experiment was repeated 5 times, and results were compared between different groups.

6c. Diagram

After you complete your steps, it’s time to draw your scientific diagrams! Here are some rules for drawing scientific diagrams:

Always use a pencil to draw your scientific diagrams.
Use simple, sharp, 2D lines and shapes to draw your diagram. Don’t draw 3D shapes or use shading.
Label everything in your diagram.
Use thin, straight lines to label your diagram. Don’t use arrows.
Ensure that the label lines touch the outline of the equipment you are labelling and do not cross over it or stop short of it.
The label lines should never cross over each other.
Use a ruler for any straight lines in your diagram.
Draw a sufficiently large diagram so all components can be seen clearly.

blog-how-to-write-a-scientific-report-scientific-diagram-photosynthesis

This is where you document the results of your experiment. The data that you record for your experiment will generally be qualitative and/or quantitative.

Qualitative data is data that relates to qualities and is based on observations (qualitative – quality). This type of data is descriptive and is recorded in words. For example, the colour changed from green to orange, or the liquid became hot.

Quantitative data refers to n umerical data (quantitative – quantity). This type of data is recorded using numbers and is either measured or counted. For example, the plant grew 5.2 cm, or there were 5 frogs.

The way you record your results is important. Most of the time, a table is the best way to do this.

Here are some rules to using tables

Use a pencil and a ruler to draw your table.
Draw neat and straight lines.
Ensure that the table is closed (connect all your lines).
Don’t cross your lines (erase any lines that stick out of the table).
Use appropriate columns and rows.
Properly name each column and row (including the units of measurement in brackets).
Do not write your units in the body of your table (units belong in the header).
Always include a title.

Note : If your results require calculations, clearly write each step.

Observations of the effects of light on the amount of starch in plant leaves.

blog-how-to-write-a-scientific-report-photosynthesis-results

If quantitative data was recorded, the data is often also plotted on a graph.

8. Discussion

The discussion is where you analyse and interpret your results, and identify any experimental errors or possible areas of improvements.

You should divide your discussion as follows.

1. Trend in the results

Describe the ‘trend’ in your results. That is, the relationship you observed between your independent and dependent variables.

The independent variable is the variable that you’re changing in the experiment. In this experiment, it’s the amount of light that the leaves are exposed to.

The dependent variable is the variable that you’re measuring in the experiment. In this experiment, it’s the presence of starch in the leaves.

The presence of starch is indicated when the addition of iodine causes the leaf to turn dark purple. The results show that starch was present in the leaves that were exposed to light, while the leaves that were not exposed to light did not contain starch.

2. Scientific explanation

Give an explanation of the results using scientific knowledge, theories, and any other scientific resources you find.

As starch is produced during photosynthesis, these results show that light plays a key role in photosynthesis.

3. Validity

Validity refers to whether or not your results are valid. This can be done by examining your variables.

VA lidity = VA riables

Identify the independent, dependent, controlled variables, and the control experiment (if you have one).

The controlled variables are the variables that you keep the same across all tests e.g. the size of the leaf sample.

The control experiment is where you don’t apply an independent variable. It is untouched for the whole experiment.

Ensure that you never change more than one variable at a time!

The independent variable of the experiment was the amount of light that the leaves were exposed to (the covered and uncovered geranium leaf), while the dependent variable was the presence of starch. The controlled variables were the size of the leaf sample, the duration of the experiment, the amount of time the solutions were heated, and the amount of iodine solution used.

4. Reliability

Identify how you ensured the reliability of the results.

RE liability = RE petition

Show that you repeated your experiments, cross-checked your results with other groups, or collated your results with the class.

The reliability of the results was ensured by repeating the experiment 5 times and comparing results with other groups. Since other groups obtained comparable results, the results are reliable.

5. Accuracy

You should discuss accuracy if your results are in the form of quantitative data (numerical), and there is an accepted value for the result.

Accuracy wouldn’t be discussed for our photosynthesis experiment as qualitative data was collected. But, it would be discussed if we were measuring gravity using a pendulum:

The measured value of gravity was 9.8 m/s 2 , which is in agreement with the accepted value of 9.8 m/s 2 .

6. Possible improvements

Point out any errors or risks you found in the experiment and suggest a method to improve it.

If there are none, then suggest new ways to improve the experimental design, and/or minimise error and risks.

blog-how-to-write-a-scientific-report-improve

Possible improvements could be made by including control experiments. For example, testing whether the iodine solution turns dark purple when added to water or methylated spirits. This would help to ensure that the purple colour observed in the experiments is due to the presence of starch in the leaves rather than impurities.

9. Conclusion

State whether the aim was achieved and if your hypothesis was supported.

The aim of the investigation was achieved, and it was found that light is required for photosynthesis to occur. This was evidenced by the presence of starch in leaves that had been exposed to light, and the absence of starch in leaves that had been unexposed. These results support the proposed hypothesis.

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© Matrix Education and www.matrix.edu.au, 2023. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Matrix Education and www.matrix.edu.au with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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Step-by-Step Guide: How to Craft a Strong Research Hypothesis

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Table of Contents

A research hypothesis is a concise statement about the expected result of an experiment or project. In many ways, a research hypothesis represents the starting point for a scientific endeavor, as it establishes a tentative assumption that is eventually substantiated or falsified, ultimately improving our certainty about the subject investigated.

To help you with this and ease the process, in this article, we discuss the purpose of research hypotheses and list the most essential qualities of a compelling hypothesis. Let’s find out!

How to Craft a Research Hypothesis

Crafting a research hypothesis begins with a comprehensive literature review to identify a knowledge gap in your field. Once you find a question or problem, come up with a possible answer or explanation, which becomes your hypothesis. Now think about the specific methods of experimentation that can prove or disprove the hypothesis, which ultimately lead to the results of the study.

Enlisted below are some standard formats in which you can formulate a hypothesis¹ :

A hypothesis can use the if/then format when it seeks to explore the correlation between two variables in a study primarily.

Example: If administered drug X, then patients will experience reduced fatigue from cancer treatment.

A hypothesis can adopt when X/then Y format when it primarily aims to expose a connection between two variables

Example: When workers spend a significant portion of their waking hours in sedentary work , then they experience a greater frequency of digestive problems.

A hypothesis can also take the form of a direct statement.

Example: Drug X and drug Y reduce the risk of cognitive decline through the same chemical pathways

What are the Features of an Effective Hypothesis?

Hypotheses in research need to satisfy specific criteria to be considered scientifically rigorous. Here are the most notable qualities of a strong hypothesis:

Testability: Ensure the hypothesis allows you to work towards observable and testable results.
Brevity and objectivity: Present your hypothesis as a brief statement and avoid wordiness.
Clarity and Relevance: The hypothesis should reflect a clear idea of what we know and what we expect to find out about a phenomenon and address the significant knowledge gap relevant to a field of study.

Understanding Null and Alternative Hypotheses in Research

There are two types of hypotheses used commonly in research that aid statistical analyses. These are known as the null hypothesis and the alternative hypothesis . A null hypothesis is a statement assumed to be factual in the initial phase of the study.

For example, if a researcher is testing the efficacy of a new drug, then the null hypothesis will posit that the drug has no benefits compared to an inactive control or placebo . Suppose the data collected through a drug trial leads a researcher to reject the null hypothesis. In that case, it is considered to substantiate the alternative hypothesis in the above example, that the new drug provides benefits compared to the placebo.

Let’s take a closer look at the null hypothesis and alternative hypothesis with two more examples:

Null Hypothesis:

The rate of decline in the number of species in habitat X in the last year is the same as in the last 100 years when controlled for all factors except the recent wildfires.

In the next experiment, the researcher will experimentally reject this null hypothesis in order to confirm the following alternative hypothesis :

The rate of decline in the number of species in habitat X in the last year is different from the rate of decline in the last 100 years when controlled for all factors other than the recent wildfires.

In the pair of null and alternative hypotheses stated above, a statistical comparison of the rate of species decline over a century and the preceding year will help the research experimentally test the null hypothesis, helping to draw scientifically valid conclusions about two factors—wildfires and species decline.

We also recommend that researchers pay attention to contextual echoes and connections when writing research hypotheses. Research hypotheses are often closely linked to the introduction ² , such as the context of the study, and can similarly influence the reader’s judgment of the relevance and validity of the research hypothesis.

Seasoned experts, such as professionals at Elsevier Language Services, guide authors on how to best embed a hypothesis within an article so that it communicates relevance and credibility. Contact us if you want help in ensuring readers find your hypothesis robust and unbiased.

References

Hypotheses – The University Writing Center. (n.d.). https://writingcenter.tamu.edu/writing-speaking-guides/hypotheses
Shaping the research question and hypothesis. (n.d.). Students. https://students.unimelb.edu.au/academic-skills/graduate-research-services/writing-thesis-sections-part-2/shaping-the-research-question-and-hypothesis