Strawberry Creek Lab Report Criteria

The following are the standards for your Strawberry Creek Lab Report. Please follow them carefully (final due date to be determined):

GENERAL EXPECTATIONS FOR THE PAPER

Format:
12-point “normal” font
Double-spaced
1” margins
Headers (titles) at the beginning of each paper section

Writing Quality:
Pay attention to: legibility, spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence and paragraph structure. Be DETAILED and DESCRIPTIVE!

Sources:
For this paper, please compile a bibliography at the end of the paper, at least including: author, title, URL (if applicable), and publication date.

SECTIONS OF THE PAPER

Introduction: A few sentences introducing the reader to what follows in the paper

Hypothesis:
• Should be an “If….., then…..” statement.
• Should show cause and effect with one independent and one dependent variable.
• State your reasoning for the hypothesis (i.e. past observations, experience, research, etc.).
• Needs to be TESTABLE.

Experiment Methodology:
• What will you test for and why?
• What equipment will you use?
• What sites will be tested and why?
• What will be the frequency, duration, timing, and number of samples you will use and why?

Performing the Experiment:
• Describe your testing sites in as much detail as possible.
• Explain why you chose to use the data that you did.
• Explain how and by whom the data were collected.
• Describe what the field experience was like.

Data Analysis:
• Describe the data that you used, and what they mean.
• Compare the results from your different test sites and/or conditions.
• You must have at least one graph, well labeled with your independent variable on the x-axis and your dependent variable on the y-axis.

Conclusion:
• Explain whether your hypothesis was confirmed, disproved, or partially confirmed/disproved, and why you say this.
• What were some occurrences in the lab process that may have affected your results unintentionally? (e.g. human error)
• What are the next steps for this scientific process?
• What further questions or possible future research do you come away with from this experiment?