Lab Reports Education Objectives

L A B R E P O R T S

E V S 3 1 1 . F I E L D S E M I N A R I N E N V I R O N M E N TA L S C I E N C E A N D S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

– A L B E R T E I N S T E I N

“Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.”

P R I N C I P L E S & E D U C AT I O N O B J E C T I V E S

• Professional Communication

• Clarity

• Scientific Rigor

P R O F E S S I O N A L C O M M U N I C AT I O N

TA K E I T T O T H E N E X T L E V E L

• Documentation

• Key assumptions - when you assume, you make an a$$ out of “u” and “me”

• Sources - cite them; just be clear…and no, wikipedia is not a source

• Collaboration - get in the habit of recognizing contributions from team

• Persuasiveness

• You will be judged on content AND form - looking good matters

• Avoid distractions - grammar, spelling, format

• The message is (in) the medium - table v sketch v graph v text

” I F Y O U W A N T T O G O FA S T, G O A L O N E ; I F Y O U W A N T T O G O FA R , G O T O G E T H E R ” - A F R I C A N P R O V E R B

C L A R I T Y

T H E R E I S A D I F F E R E N C E B E T W E E N K N O W I N G T H E PAT H A N D WA L K I N G T H E PAT H

• Responsiveness

• Read and answer the question - specific observation v general inference

• Cross-section is not a sketch; observation is not an inference, etc.

• Brevity

• Have been rewarded for length…gets fluffy; say only what is necessary

• Will be rewarded for the elegant two-line email…you have six seconds” B R E V I T Y I S T H E S O U L O F W I T ”

- W I L L I A M S H A K E S P E A R E

S C I E N T I F I C R I G O R

R E F I N E Y O U R E V E R Y D AY T H I N K I N G

• Objective Observations

• Measurements - what instrument did you use; report accuracy and precision accordingly (significant figures, etc.)

• Take quantitative measurements whenever you can - several faults v nine faults, scale for drawings / sketches

• Record environmental conditions under which you took your measurement

• Subjective Inferences

• When asked to make an inference, take a position…do not be afraid of being wrong

• Support it with observations and deductive logic

S U G G E S T I O N S

O V E R C O M I N G C H A L L E N G E S

• Work fast and slow

• Do a draft of everything quickly; revise slowly (3 : 1 :: edit : draft)

• Start the lab report the day after while material is fresh…sleep on it and then revise

• Work together

• Environmental science is an interdisciplinary field (you’re lucky); learn to work together now

• Document that you worked together and write your own lab report (Ryan is on the Student Conduct Board)

• Resources

• http://flowingdata.com/2008/12/11/winner-of-tufte-books-and-many-other-good-entries/

• edwardtufte.com - The Visual Display of Quantitative Information