Laboratory Report Format

A laboratory report describes the outcome of a scientific experiment and provides a formal record of the hypothesis and raw data included in the report. The purpose of the lab report is to demonstrate the person’s understanding of the data, method, results and concepts by performing and evaluating a practical lab experiment. These types of reports can usually be found in the sectors of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

What is the format of the typical laboratory report?

The structure of a laboratory report usually includes the following sections:

1. Title – clearly expresses what the study is about and includes the variables being investigated
2. Abstract – provides a brief comprehensive summary of the research aims, methods, results and conclusions
3. Introduction – explains the context needed to understand the topic or hypothesis in general terms
4. Method – describes the materials, parameters and procedures used in the experiment
5. Results – presents the descriptive and inferential statistical analyses
6. Discussion – outlines the findings, interprets and evaluates results and identifies limitations
7. Conclusion – a concise summary of the main findings of the experiment
8. References – lists of all sources cited in the report
9. Appendices – contains detailed materials, raw data, procedures, calculations, tables or figures
   

By incorporating these elements, you can be sure of a good start. This Laboratory Report Format template is ready-made, printable and customizable, which makes it easy to create your own look and feel, regardless of what industry you’re in. Just download this Laboratory Report Format template in Google Docs, MS Word format and you are ready to go!