Writing a Bio Lab

WRITING A GOOD BIOLOGY LAB REPORT

DESIGN

1. Decide what to investigate
Start with the variables!
a) Decide what you want to find out about – this is your dependent variable.
b) Brainstorm (and list) all the possible variables that could influence your dependent variable.
c) Choose ONE to be your independent variable.
d) All the others will be your controlled variables.






2. Write an Aim/Problem/Research Question
To achieve a “2” on Aspect 1 you need to state a focused research question. To do this you should:
a) Briefly state what you are trying to find out.
b) Include both the independent and dependent variables.
c) Specify the scope of your experiment by stating the context of your investigation.
a. It is unlikely that your experiment will allow you to draw a conclusion that applies to all situations.
b. Therefore you need to state the conditions under which your experiment is operating e.g. the species being studied (scientific name), gender, age group, location etc
3. Identify the variables
Make sure you have read the information on variables (textbox in Step 1).
In order to achieve a “2” for Aspect 1 you must:
a) State the independent.
b) State the levels of the independent variable that will be tested (see step 5a for more information).
c) State the dependent variable.
d) State how the dependent variable will be measured (if it can’t be measured directly).
e) List several controlled variables.

Aspect 2 requires that you explain the method you will use to control each of the (controlled) variables.
f) Give brief (but specific) explanation of how you will control (keep at a constant value) each variable. Including this in the variables section ensures that you have considered each of the controlled variables. However, it should ultimately appear in the method.
g) If a variable cannot be controlled, state this. Then describe how you will try to minimize any change and/or how you will monitor the variable. See... [continues]

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