Aerospace Engineering: Written Laboratory Reports

April 20, 2006

At the Junior and Sophomore level in Aerospace Engineering, lab reports are the bases for much of the semester's total grade, but both professional laboratory reports and professional writing are rarely taught below the Sophomore level; this was the premise for creating this guide.

As opposed to other types of homework, laboratory reports display the student's knowledge of the foundation and theory for the lab/course, appropriate experimental procedure, professional presentation of the results and in depth analysis of the results. Accordingly, these reports are a large percentage of the total grade in a given course.

The following guide sets the basic requirements for a general lab report in Aerospace Engineering. The format of the guide begins with the title page of the report and follows through any appendices utilized within the report.

Note: Although this information is applicable to the general Aerospace Engineering curriculum, it is important to clarify requirements for a given lab report with the appropriate professor and teaching assistants.

General Experimental Lab Tips

• When running experimental labs it is critical to review the lab handouts before class to ensure that you know what you are doing and don't waste time. At times, you will be required to finish the experimental section of labs in as little time as an hour.
• Exchange and digitize data as soon as possible to ensure that there are no mistakes and that the only copy is not deleted or lost.

The Report

In General

• Use past tense (only acceptable place is in theory and background).
• Do not use first person (we, I, us etc.).
• Page numbers begin with the main document. Title page, table of contents, figures and tables do not have page numbers.
• Number every equation, table and figure; capitalize the first letter when referring to these objects (i.e. Figure 1, Table 2, Equation 3).
• Do not use specific names (Matt, Joe etc) whenever human test subjects are used. Use generic names such as person 1, male 1, subject 1 etc.
• Do not include raw data in report.
• It is not possible to complete a quality lab in one night.
• An outline can be helpful before writing the lab since it gives time to think without having to worry about the format and it helps with the overall organization and "flow" of the lab.
• Completing the results necessary for the lab report before beginning to write allows a broader since of what happened but writing the theory and background before completing the results can also help. Choose which way works for you, but it is not possible to write anything other than the theory and background as well as the apparatus and procedure without the results.

Equations

• Always use an equation editor when writing a lab (in Microsoft Word, it can be found under the menu Insert, option object and scroll down until Microsoft Equation Editor 3.0 appears).
• Center every equation and number the equation, usually to the right of the equation, if it is referred to in the text.

Figures

• Include descriptive titles, legends and axis labels.
• Include units with the axis labels.
• Only use legends if necessary (don't use if only one set of data).
• Don't use any colored backgrounds.
• Label the figure below the figure.
• If not printing in color, dash or dot the different sets of data if using more than one set: don't make the reader distinguish between different shades of gray.
• Fit the data on the figure as best as possible; extra space is distracting (Ex. Measured boiling point is 94 +/- 1 degrees Celsius. do not plot 0-100 degrees Celsius.
• If the figure is not yours, site the source.
• Center figures.
• If comparing two or more different figures, keep the axis spacing constant.
• Indicate major events on the plot (an arrow or text).
• Click here for a figure comparison.

Citations

• Format is usually not important unless specified by the professor or TA's.
• A common type is to use a [x] at the end of a section or a figure/table. This references that section to the source numbered x in the reference section.
• Superscripts can also be used which denote footnotes/endnotes. Look up footnotes on the web for more information. One good site is this research guide.

Tables

• Label the table above the table.
• Be concise and only use important information; do not include tables of raw data.
• Label all units with headings.

Sections of the Report

Title Page

• Top of page: descriptive title of lab.
• Bottom of page: name(s), student ID number, course call number & section, professor and date of submission.
• Keep brief and simple; pictures are not necessary.

Table of Contents, Table of Figures and Table of Tables

• Contents: A simple list of sections including page numbers (i.e. Introduction, Theory and Background etc.).
• Figures: List of all figures in document including page numbers.
• Table: List of all tables in document including page numbers.
• Keep tables of contents, figures and tables separate.
• Click here for a good example of a title page and table of contents, table of figures and table of contents.

Abstract

• What did you do?
• Why did you do it (the objective)?
• What were the major results?
• Make sure that the abstract is concise, at most a paragraph (only a couple of lines for each of the parts).
• Do not refer to figures, tables or any section in the report. An abstract is sometimes not attached to the document.
• The abstract also gets the reader interested in reading the remainder of the report.
• Click here for a comparison of a good and bad abstract.

Introduction

• What problem are you trying to solve by doing this lab.
• It can be help to bring a small amount of the history of the problem into this section (i.e. how does this fit into aerospace and engineering and why it matters).
• The introduction lays the groundwork for the more detailed discussions in the body of the report.

Theory and Background

• Give the background for all processes involved in the lab.
• Introduce the reader to the theory involved. Assume that the audience has no idea what you are talking about, but don't go overboard, assume they know what you did before taking the course or particular subject.
• Discuss the why concerning what you did or used in the procedure.
• Include all equations you used with brief explanations for them. Include only important derivations; if you think the derivation is somewhat important, include it in an appendix.
• State all assumptions made to perform the experiment.
• Diagrams can be helpful, especially free body diagrams; a diagram can save a lot of bulky text and allow the reader to gain a better understanding of the material.
• DO NOT simply copy and paste from the theory and/or procedure given by the professor.

Experimental Apparatus and Procedure

• Describe the apparatus and procedures in such a way that someone who has not seen the experiment before could recreate it.
• A simple list of the apparatus is appropriate. Include the make and model of the equipment used.
• Diagrams of the apparatus are also very helpful in this section.

Summary of Results

• Present results in a clear and concise manner. Some readers who have some background in the problem will skip right to the results and look for specific things (usually, not the TAs).
• Tables and graphs of relevant data should be included.
• Make things easy to find and have clear labels.
• Include some brief discussion to introduce your results and clarify anything confusing.
• Say at least one or two lines about every figure and table. State where the plot came from (i.e. equation or process).

Discussion

• Interpret your results, qualify them and put them into context.
• Bring the background, theoretical presentation and experimental results together to lead the reader to the conclusions of the study.
• Compare the theoretical and experimental results. Describe any sources of error and perform error analysis (i.e. percent error, standard deviation etc.).
• Answer any questions related to the result given by the professor and/or TA's.
• Think about and analyze the results as much as possible before writing this section as this is the most important section in the report.

Conclusions

• Collect all important results and interpretations in clear summary form.
• State your opverll conclusions about the lab itself.
• State specific major results.
• Give major discussion points associated with the results including error analysis.
• The conclusion should mirror the abstract (do not copy the abstract), but also discuss how the experiment could have been improved to improve accuracy and also discuss any possible next steps to further the lab and concept.

References

• Cite all references using an accepted format and number them.
• Click here for an example of a reference page.
• Links to APA/MLA and other style guides.

Appendices

• Appendices include anything you don't need which is too cumbersome to be in the report, such as: symbol list, equation derivations, extra figures or tables that enhance results or apparatus sections but are not required.
• Don't include pages of raw data.

A portion of this guide was taken from the handout for the courses ASEN 2002 and ASEN 3113 at the University of Colorado at Boulder.