Seed Scientists like lab reports. Yes, that's nerdy af, but a lab report is perfect for capturing the results of your experiment and sharing with other scientists, known as peer review. Lab reports also let scientists recreate your experiment, verify your results, and leverage your data for further research and experimentation. Wait, what was that last part again? Yep, your experiment's data and results can be used by other scientists to go even further. How else would NASA know which seeds to pick to grow in space? I'm guessing they reviewed other people's experiments and ran some of their own based on those results. Refining experiments with new methods, measures, and approaches is critical for scientific advancement. So, sharing your results with your peers is just Good Science.
Lab Reports have several key sections required for good documenting purposes. They document the questions, processes, and results of the experiment. They should be completed at the end of the experiment, but seed scientists like to use them to plan experiments as well.
- Title - the title of your experiment
- Abstract - the summary of your experiment
- Question / Purpose / Problem - you can describe your objective here
- Materials and Methods - describe what you need and how you are going to run your experiment
- Findings / Results - what happened?
- Discussion - How did your experiment go? As planned? Did anything unexpected happen?
- Conclusion - What did your findings tell you?
- References - What external sources did you use? Great place to include previous experiments from other scientists.
- Appendix - Hey, got something else? It didn't fit up there? Ok, put it here.
We are committed to providing a few templates for Lab Reports, including some set up to verify our own experiment results. Hopefully, these will come soon. Until then, there are many great options on the internet. Of course, scientists are creative and brilliant, so feel free to create your own.