Taner Avci
Engineering Writing
February 14,2019
Lab Report Analysis
Perception of Different Sugars by Blowflies by Alexander Hamilton and Design of a Temperature Measurement and Display System Using the 68HC11 Microcontroller by an unknown author are an insight into sample lab reports. Although they may have different formats, both convey their information in a understandable and organized manner. Perception of Different Sugars by Blowflies is a general lab report with all the elements of a lab report. Some of the elements of a lab report consist of title, introduction, abstract methods and materials results, and discussion. As it will be discussed as how these elements compare to the design report of the Temperature Measurement device of the second report which consists of elements suc as introduction, procedures, assessment , and conclusion. Design of a Temperature Measurement and Display System Using the 68HC11 Microcontroller is considered to be a design report, where the design of a hardware and software in this case is thoroughly detailed and laid out. The purpose of this is to make the understanding of complex tools be more reusable in the future.
Perception of Different Sugars by Blowflies by Alexander Hamilton observes flies and their reactions to different types of sugars. Their team were able to discover that flies are able to taste and choose foods that are good for them. In this lab report the title is clear however not specified. A Title of lab report is one of the most crucial components of a report, a good title allows for scientist and engineers to find relevant research easier. Furthermore an informative and keywords relevant to the research are also important. The lack of keywords can be an issue because when a person is searching for lab reports, the lack of keywords could make it difficult to find this report. But the title still is able to keep on the focus of the study. The abstract of this report gives the reader a clarified background on the experiment. It is able to capture the whole report in a paragraph, discussing the purpose, objectives, and findings. In the introduction, Hamilton uses previous research that was done on insects, to introduce the audience to the topic. Hamilton does this by using cohesive citations on previous research. Furthermore Hamilton states his hypothesis in the closing sentence to which he will later return in the discussion. A good introduction such as this one, not only introduces your lab, but previous relevant research that was done. Addressing any theoretical background is also necessary to give the reader a frame of idea about the subject. Hamilton does this by stating “Studies if sensory physiology have often used insects as experimental subjects because insects can manipulated with ease”. Next is the methods, here the researches lay out the all the materials that were used. It is recommended to use a active voice, this clarifies any misunderstanding and allows you to be very specifics as needed. In the methods portion Hamilton doesn’t include materials in the title but does include it in the paragraph. It would make it clear if Hamilton chose to list some of the materials that he used. This would make it easier for the reader to follow along. In this portion Hamilton does mention very specific details, that are necessary for the replicability of this lab. Results are the part of the lab where, your able to persuade the reader with your evidence. The evidence is usually presented in charts an data. Hamilton summarizes and simplifies the overall findings so that an average reader is able to understand. Furthermore Hamilton uses clear graphs and charts to indicate his findings. In the discussion column, Hamilton decides if his hypothesis were correct or not. He uses his findings and evidence in the lab, to decide on this. Hamilton states “My other hypothesis was not supported”. Also, Hamilton states the weaknesses of lab, this is a crucial part, because this is important for the replicability of the lab. In the Acknowledgments; Hamilton thanks his Professor and lab partners. These were the people that helped Hamilton in study or preparing the lab report. In the references, Hamilton cites all the text and information that was used in this lab report. He cites them in a alphabetical manner.
In the second lab report Design of a Temperature Measurement and Display System Using the 68HC11 Microcontroller, the format is drastically different. This is due the fact, that this is design report. According to the Craft of Scientific Writing, “Design reports are written to show how engineers use the design process to arrive at an effective design”. Design reports are used to design concept prototype, and recording the testing of it.
This report takes a look at using a microcontroller to present a temperature and display system. For this report, it was mainly broken into two categories; hardware, and software. This is made the implementation of the two clearer. The objective were to use the microcontroller to measure the temperature as well as designing software to be able to get warnings sent to the PC if the temperate fell below 20 and above 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
This design report has a general lay out, however it should be noted that a problem definition was never defined. For most design reports you begin by addressing a problem or a issue that your design will attempt fixing. Although this report definitely has a thorough introduction, there is no problem. As stated before, the introduction of any report should give the audience a clarification of the subject being discussed. This is to allow the reader to understand the following report; in this case the author(s) discusses the layouts of the microcontroller and the objectives of the report. Carrying on to procedures for design, here we get a more detailed description of the report. This part of the lab is the most technical because your basically describing how everything works together. The design portion is actually broken into three subsections. The first is the overview; here you summarized your design on a highly technical level. In this case the author is discussing the circuit connections. The second subsection is the detailed description, where you dive into more detailed description. This Design report does a great job of guiding the reader throughout the description. The author does use figures in which he further explains. In the final subsection of the procedure of design, is the usability. This basically covers how the design is used. For this report, it discussed the connection of LEDs to different ports. The next portion of a design report is the Evaluation or the Assessment of Design; this portion of the report is basically to verify that your design works as you intended. Most evaluations provide evidence though computed models or simulation to support their evidence. In this report, a table of the recorded temperature paired with the number of LEDs lit is given. Part of the Assessment is providing the weaknesses in your design. Some of the issues that were address in this report were, troubleshooting, problems with the code, and the rate of the out of the alarm message. This assessment, accomplishes the task by being honest and not giving unnecessary excuses. The conclusion is able to summarize the report, mention the goals and objectives as well as the outcomes clearly.
When Perception of Different Sugars by Blowflies by Alexander Hamilton and Design of a Temperature Measurement and Display System Using the 68HC11 Microcontroller are put side by side, the difference are clear. Perception of Different Sugars is a standard lab report, that is targeted towards a younger audience. Being able to understand the language that was used made it easier to follow along. Furthermore this lab definitely has the most potential for replicability, because of previous research as well as new knowledge created. In addition visual elements such charts, graphs, and table made the data easier to comprehend. Another element of this lab report was the use of the first-person view, this allowed the reader to be able to connect with the author as well as the report itself.
On the other hand Design of a Temperature Measurement and Display System Using the 68HC11 Microcontroller was a great example of a design report. The target audience of this report is considerably a higher level. Understanding the languages at some point were difficult. This is however understandable considering the complexity of the lab was higher than the Lab Report. some of the visual aspects were circuit board designs, ass well as jargon code. Most likely the average reader would not be able to understand either of those components. These also added to the level of difficulty of the report. With that said, these parts were also crucial to the report, if understood, they would add to the point of repeatability and clarifying any misunderstandings. The new knowledge found in this report would be able to help further in other designs involving similar technology.
Why would the author(s) of these two lab reports choose two drastically different formats of reports? Considering Different Sugars by Blowflies by Alexander Hamilton and taking account the type of research and experiment that was done, a typical lab report is more suited. Also usually a lab report is used in more science field, such as Chemistry, Earth Science, and Physics. Taking a look at Design of a Temperature Measurement and Display System Using the 68HC11 Microcontroller, while this report is the process of building a physical device, with multiple and complex parts. A design report is more suited towards this device, because your able to show case your design, generally design reports will have CAD renderings, as well simulations. In this report the author was able to show how the circuits were wired as well as the coding in the backend.
In conclusion the elements of any report are the what make up the report, and they all play a crucial role in how the audience reads, views, and understands the report. While a lab report may be a better suit toward the science field, a design report works better in the engineering field. The lab report examined a experiment done on blowflies, while the design report examined a temperature measurement device. Both reports however address a problem that the report goes thoroughly in detail on how to apply a solution. Reports such as these allow science and engineering to keep track of research and allow us to better understand and learn more about our world.
“Design Reports.” Writing Guidelines for Engineering and Science, www.craftofscientificwriting.com/design-reports.html.
“Example of a Design Report. Design of a Temperature Measurement and Display System Using the 68HC11 Microcontroller.” PDF, DocPlayer, docplayer.net/24983462-Example-of-a-design-report-design-of-a-temperature-measurement-and-display-system-using-the-68hc11-microcontroller.html.
“English – Perception of Different Sugars by Blowflies…” The Logistic Model Has Good and Bad Features PROS CONS Mathematically Tractable, College Life, www.coursehero.com/file/16305944/English/.
