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Re: [Phys-l] format for lab reports




----- Original Message ----- From: "LaMontagne, Bob" <RLAMONT@providence.edu>


Formal lab reports certainly have their place.

I'm just not sure where? When, as a practicing physicist, has anyone ever written a formal lab report? I guess it might happen in industry or government work, but even there........ Sure most of us have written papers based on our lab work, but that is considerably different than writing a 'lab report', at least it seems that way to me. My thesis work is sitting on a shelf here--about two dozen 3-ring binders full of data sheets and (hand drawn and analyzed) plots of the data--no lab books, no lab reports. In my classes (and I have the curse or luxury of having no physics majors--we have none here) I emphasize having the necessary information recorded and having the calculations, analysis, and conclusions written IN the lab book. To get to this state we have open lab-book quizzes where I ask for certain pieces of data, a quantity that would come from the slope of a graph that should have been made (WITH UNITS and without too many extraneous digits), I can ask for a particular calculation or to draw a conclusion on some aspect of the experiment (and justify that conclusion), but provide very little time to write this information down. If it is in the lab book it can be copied out, if not, then there is insufficient time to do the analysis, equation, etc. I have recently switched to this rather than wading through individual lab books looking for this information or having formal reports written. It is a lot easier via quizzes but still assesses the same points that reading books or reports would.

Sorry if these points have been expressed previously as I just picked up on the thread and am too lazy (sorry--busy) to look through the archives. ;-)

Rick