Overall Neatness and Organization (3 points)

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Investigative Lab: Each student group will develop one or more scientific questions which can be answered using one or more of the techniques learned and practiced during the first half of the semester. The instructor may have to limit which techniques will be employed for logistical reasons. Student groups must make a scientific observation, develop a scientific question, explain the observation with an appropriate hypothesis, make an experimentally testable prediction based on the hypothesis, test the prediction by doing the experiment, record the results, interpret the results and explain the results as they relate to their hypothesis. Student groups should thoroughly discuss each aspect of the lab process. Groups should agree on the actual results collected, but they should not necessarily agree on the interpretation of the results. Differences in interpretation can be addressed in the discussion. Each group will work together to write a common lab report.

Group Size: Groups will normally be 2. Groups larger than 2 are discouraged must be approved in advance by the instructor. Groups larger than 2 will be expected to produce proportionately more data , to write proportionately longer, more detailed lab reports and to give longer, more detailed oral presentations.

Written Lab Report for the Investigative Lab: One thorough written report covering the investigative lab will be prepared by each group as a group effort. All members of the group will initially get the same credit for the report. However, the final points earned by an individual will be influenced by the evaluations submitted by peers. Because it is a group report, the report will be expected to withstand the highest level of editorial scrutiny. Reports should be carefully edited for proper English usage. Poor English usage will result in significant point deductions. See the Lab Report Grading Sheet.

The typed lab report must contain the following parts (shown in boldface print). These parts should be clearly indicated in in the report with boldface print.

Title Page with the information below:

Title of Investigation
Names of students in the group
Course name and number
Day and Time of lab
Date

Abstract: A succinct paragraph summarizing the major results and the discussion points of your paper. You should very briefly describe the experiments, the results and the conclusions. You should be very specific and concise. Make the abstract able to stand alone and still make sense to the reader. It is usually best to write the abstract AFTER completing the rest of your report. Do not copy any text from the lab manual or other sources and place it in your abstract. Write your own text.

Scientific Observation: Clearly state in one or two sentences the scientific observation made by your group. For example, a group might observe that a mouse dies after being bitten by a rattlesnake.

Scientific Question: Clearly state a single scientific question which arises from the scientific observation. In our rattlesnake example the group might ask, "Why did the mouse die after being bitten by the rattlesnake?"

Hypothesis: Clearly state the tentative hypothesis which could, if correct, explain the scientific observation and answer the scientific question raised by your group. The group might come up with the hypothesis that "Rattlesnakes inject toxic venom into mice during the biting process."

Prediction: Clearly state your experimental prediction in the form of "If hypothesis, then prediction of the experiment results. An example of a prediction based on the hypothesis above would be: "If rattlesnakes inject toxic venom into mice to kill them, then removal of the venom delivery apparatus (the fangs) should prevent the rattlesnake bite from delivering the venom to the mouse and causing the death of a mouse." In the prediction section, you will be actually predicting the outcome of the experiment upon which you are reporting.

Introduction: A few paragraphs which provide the background information necessary for a reader to understand what experiments were done and why they were done. The introduction should set the stage for your scientific arguments to follow. It places your work in a broad theoretical context and gives the reader enough information to appreciate your objectives. A good introduction "hooks" the readers, interesting them in the study. Usually, it is easiest to write the introduction AFTER you have completed the rest of the manuscript. Do not copy any text from the lab manual or other sources and place it in your Introduction. Write your own text.

Materials and Methods: A few paragraphs of text which provide enough information so that the experiments could be repeated by another individual. However, the Materials and Methods section should be as short as possible. Do not copy any text from the lab manual or other sources and place it in your materials and methods section. Write your own text.Materials: Give complete taxonomic information about all the organisms that you use. Specify how the organisms were obtained. Carefully, describe any laboratory equipment which you used, avoiding brand names unless absolutely necessary. Specify the composition, source and quantities of chemical substances, growth media, test solutions and so on. Because they are more widely understood, use generic rather than brand names. Methods: Describe the various procedures in detail. Do not forget crucial details such as temperature, pH, photoperiod, duration of observations, sampling dates, electrophoretic voltage, amperage and duration, electrophoretic standards used, etc. Organize the Materials and Methods section in some kind of logical order. Omit unnecessary information. Include only those procedures directly pertaining to the results which will be reported. Do not include superfluous details or asides. Do not refer the reader to any other section of the manuscript. The Materials and Methods section should stand alone. Again, do not copy any text or any procedures from the lab manual or other sources and place it in your materials and methods section. Write your own text.

Results: This is one of the most important sections of your paper and should be one of the longest parts. This section should have text specifically stating what you did and describing the results obtained in more detail. There should be explicit reference to each of your figures, tables, graphs, photographs, etc. Incorporate your Figures and Tables directly into your text whenever possible. You should summarize and illustrate your findings with appropriately labeled figures and tables. You should summarize the data, emphasizing important patterns and trends. You should illustrate and support your generalizations with explanatory details, statistic and examples of representative (or atypical) cases. Present your data in logical order. Often the best order is the order in which the experiments were done. However, this is not always the case. Use a logical order. Tell the story of your research efforts. Use the past tense. Do not do lengthy interpretation of the data. Do not compare your results with those of others in the results section. It is okay to draw conclusions immediately having stating the results, but avoid discussing the results relative to other work unless necessary. The results section should be a straightforward report of the data which you gathered. Integrate quantitative data with the text. If the results section includes tables, figures, photographs or diagrams, be sure to refer to each in the text, pointing out the most important information contained in the figure, table or photo. For example you might write, "Table 1 shows that all 13 rattlesnakes with surgically removed fangs were unable to kill a mouse with a single strike, while 7 of 10 control rattlesnakes were successful at killing a mouse with one strike." Omit peripheral information and unnecessary details. All figures and tables should be labeded and numbered. There should be a legend to help the reader understand the figure or table. Figures, such as those with several lanes or wells, should have the lanes and wells clearly identified and labeled. Do not copy any text from the lab manual or other sources and place it in your results section. Write your own text.

Discussion: Summarize and interpret all your results, supporting your conclusions with the experimental evidence. In the results section you reported your findings; now you need to tell the reader what you think your findings mean. Do the data support your original hypothesis? Why or why not? Refer to your data, citing figures and tables when necessary. If possible relate your work and findings to those of others. Do not present every conceivable explanation, just those which are most important. Recognize the importance of "negative" results. Do not expect that your hypothesis will be supported. Usually in science they are not. Make your prose convey confidence and authority, but do not overstate your findings. Remember to use coherent logical organization. Never use phrases like "Our results proved......" or " We proved our hypothesis to be true." In science, experimental results "support" or "do not support" the hypothesis. NOTHING is "proven" and NOTHING is "true". Do not copy any text from the lab manual or other sources and place it in your discussion section. Write your own text.

References: If appropriate, provide a citation in a consistent standard format. It is usually best to list the references in alphabetical order according to the last name of the first author as indicated in the example below.

ReferencesAbelson, A., Olson, S., and Smith, W., (1993) Surgical removal of fangs has little effect on the first strike killing capacity of Biggus pythonius. J. Herpetol. Res. 343:213-226.

Jefferson, P., (1993) Personal communication.

Zilchus, Zachary (1993) "Oral surgery in reptiles" in Snake Venoms (Stockton and Thornber, eds) Plenum Press, New York, pp 56-89.