The Lighthouse

Lab report structures can vary (so check your assignment instructions carefully). But a standard lab report structure includes the following:

1. Abstract (only sometimes included)
2. Introduction
3. Method
4. Results
5. Discussion

The purpose of a lab report is to report on and analyse the results of an experiment. The main purpose of the introduction is to justify the hypothesis (or research question) by reference to previous literature. The method section explains the method that was used (in enough detail so it can be easily replicated). The results section outlines the main findings. The discussion explains and interprets the findings with reference to the literature. It is important to keep a strong focus on the hypothesis in the discussion – was the hypothesis supported?

For further help see:

• http://owll.massey.ac.nz/assignment-types/lab-report.php
• http://owll.massey.ac.nz/assignment-types/lab-report-structure.php