(OEP) Open End project Experimental data

SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY

DIVISION OF ENGINEERING

NOTES 0N REPORT WRITING · Mutlu Ozer

In- writing a technical report. it is wise to keep in mind the purposes that the report is to serve. Toe most ·common purposes are:

1. to communicate to others the results and conclusions drawn from the laboratory or field work.

2. to create a permanent record of laboratory or field work which may be used at a later time in connection with other work.

The laboratory reports for this course shall be either Formal or Informal reports as indicated by the instructor for each experiment.

The Formal report consists of the following sections:

1. Title Page

2. Abstract

3. Table of Contents

4. Summary

5. Introduction

6. Apparatus and Test Procedure

7. Results

8. Discussion

9I Conclusions and Recommendations

10 References

11. Appendices

The Informal report consists of sections 1, 2 or 4, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11. An informal report is intended for a reader who is familiar with the basic test program but does not know the most recent test results.

Title Page

The title page should contain the test title; the date the test was performed. the date of the report. the name of the author of the report and the names of the laboratory partners. If there is room on the title page for the complete abstract, it may be placed there also.

Table of Contents

This is simply a list of the sections of the report and the page number where they can be located. A minor point can be noted here in books, the title which appears at the top of the table of contents is most commonly “Contents” not “Table of Contents”.

Abstract

Toe abstract contains only enough information about the work being reported to enable someone who is searching for information to quickly determine the applicability of the report to his problem. Try to think what information you would

want if you were performing a library search. You wouldn't want it to be too long if it were not applicable to your problem yet you would want to know generally what was done if you thought it might be applicable. The abstract should normally not be longer than 100 to 150 words.

While the abstract should only refer to material described in the report, it should never directly-reference material in the report. It should never say something such as: “is shown in Figure 15". The abstract should start with a statement of what was done or what the objective of the experiment was. tn one sentence· or so it should then describe how the results were obtained. Then, one of the key. results should be stated. For example,

A performance test was performed on a Fuller Model C-15 rotary air compressor. Instrumentation was provided to measure the air flowrate, inlet and outlet pressures and temperatures and shaft speed. The shaft power required was measured with an electric motoring dyno meter. The highest efficiency was observed to occur-at a shaft speed -of 600" rpm.

Summary

The abstract and the -summary are quite similar in the nature. The summary is normally longer and more complete and may, if necessary, include graphs and tables. While an abstract is normally used by the reader to determine whether-or not he should read the report, the summary will normally be read by someone who is interested in the work described. If, however the reader is not using the results directly the summary may be the only portion of the report he reads. Such people might include your bosses boss and persons in your organization· not directly connected with the work. For this course, the summary will normally be one to two pages’ long

Introduction

The purpose of the introduction is to prepare the reader for the body of the report by giving him a clear statement of the background and objectives of the report. The following items are often components of a good introduction:

1. The reader should be convinced of the values of the work and why it was performed.

2. A review of applicable literature should be included:

3. The limits of the work should be outlined here.

4. The outline of the presentation in the remainder of the report should be discussed if is different from normal practice

5. If the test was performed in order to verify an existing theory, then the theory should be discussed in the introduction. If a theory was developed on the basis of the test results" it is better presented in the discussion section of the report. Sometimes, the theory is presented as separate section of the report placed the right after the introduction.

Apparatus and Procedure

The apparatus should · be described both in words - and in sketches or pictures. If the experiment includes fluid flows, a flow diagram should be included. A sketch or flaw diagram should always be included in the body of the· report. Detail drawings should be referenced here but included in an appendix: A list of the instrumentation should be ·included. This list should include the manufacturer and model number and ln some cases the serial number. If the test procedure is simple, it can ·be included· here. If the test procedure is lengthy., it should be referenced here and included in an appendix.

Results

The key results from the test should be included here in graphical and/or tabular. form. A Short text should be included to state what results are included and-on which graph they are plotted (on� the half to one page.) Each table and each figure should be assigned a unique number. Tables are normally numbered with Roman numerals and Figures use arabic numbers. The number normally appears adjacent to the title. For example: “Figure 10 - Beam Stress vs. strain” and “Table IV, Summary of Results”

For purposes of this course, all results which are presented· and/or (graphed should be presented in tabular form. The formulas which were used to compute results, including a calculation for a typical case; should be included in an appendix and reference in the results text. In industry, this may not be the case. In fact, modem data acquisition, systems may only provide results in graphical form. The text should also reference the original lab data sheets which should be placed in an appendix Only include in the text results which are of direct interest of your reader.

The format of the graphic results is important Figure 1 represents an acceptable graph. This graph was constructed by cutting the grid portion from a sheet of graph paper and attaching it to a sheet of 8 1/2 x 11 plain paper. Toe lettering was then drawn. The following notes apply ta graphs:

1. With the exception of a page number nothing should be written within 1/2 inch of title top, bottom or ·right hand side of the graph or within 1. inch of the left hand side (the-top and bottom being the 8 1/2 dimension.)

2.The graph should be placed in the report so that it can be read in the same direction as a written page or can be read by rotating the report 90 degrees clockwise from that orientation. 3. Discrete data points should be plotted as discrete points surrounded by a plot symbol: such as a circle or a square. 4. Theoretical predictions should be presented as lines or curves and not plotted as points. If no theory is presented, it is permissible to draw a best fit line curve through the data points 5. All data points should be identified as on the example 6. The graph should have a title. This can either be at the top or bottom of the page or on the grid portion of the graph. 7. All curves should be drawn with french curves. The use of spreadsheet generated plots is encouraged. However, there are several points which should be noted. Spreadsheet programs normally provide an option to connect the data points with straight lines. Unless the points are rather close together; this produces a rather unattractive graph. It is best to suppress the lines option and draw in-your own best fit curve using a french curve. Some spreadsheet programs can print the figure title in a very large font. Although the title may be a slightly larger size than the other plot lettering, it should not be very large.

Discussion This is a major part of the report and will vary in scope, length and complexity according to the nature of the investigation. Basically, the discussion evaluates the results, interprets them and investigates their significance. It is the bridge that leads the reader from the results to the conclusion. It is possible to integrate the discussion section of the report into the results section. The discussion should include the following: 1. A statement about each result presented including its significance 2. A discussion of any results that are unexpected. 3. Discussion of issues of experimental uncertainties: 4. Comparison of results to theories or preexisting experimental results. 5. Personal opinions to explain result 6. If applicable, description and comparison to data of any new theories developed on the basis of the test data. Conclusions and Recommendations There should always be specific conclusions and recommendations that answer the objectives of the experiment or explain why the objectives were not met. No new results should be presented in this section of the report. This section can include a listing of the main results. Recommendations for methods to improve the experiment can be included in this section of the report References A listing of documents mentioned in other portions of the report Appendices The following must be included in the appendices 1. Original laboratory data sheets 2. Sample calculations (include graphs from the lab syllabus if used.in reducing the data). See comments on Sample calculations below. The following may be included in the appendices: 1.Test procedure if not included in the body of the report· 2. Detailed drawings of the test facility 3. Information of interest to some readers but not central to the report. The format of the sample calculations is important. In experimental runs "where "the." calculation formulas are identical except for the input numbers, sample calculations should be performed for a typical run. Each calculation should be labelled as to what is in being calculated. The source of each number should be-stated (unless it appears earlier in the sample calculation) program was used for the main calculations and serve as a check on the accuracy of the main calculations.