Report Format

The format for the laboratory reports is the AIAA conference paper format. This format MUST be followed. No exceptions will be made.

Click here for the AIAA conference paper format package.
Click here for an example paper.
Click here for another example paper.

I. Cover Page

Each report must have a cover page. providing the following information:
- Experiment number and title
- Name of author
- Group number and names of other group members
- Date when experiment was performaed and date the report was due

II. Title and Author Information

Following the AIAA conference paper format, each report must also have a title and the author information on the first page after the cover page.

III. Abstract

An abstract or executive summary is the essence of the whole report. By reading a well-written abstract the reader should know what was done, why it was done, how it was done and what the significant results were.If you were asked to determine specific values of certain parameters or properties in the experiment, e.g. lift coefficient, thermal conductivity, etc, you should include the numerical values of these parameters in the abstract. The abstract should be very brief, between 200-250 words and should not provide details of the experiment.The purpose of the abstract is to provide enough information to the reader that s/he may get the gist of the study and then decide whether to read the report for details. Remember that an abstract is NOT AN INTRODUCTION; this is probably the most common mistakes made by students.

IV. Introduction (& Background)

This section is designed to provide the following, but in paragraph form:

Background Information: by providing some background you introduce the reader to the problem under study and hence explain the ...

Motivation: ... reasons you are conducting the present experiment. You should also state your ...

Objectives, i.e. what you hope to learn from this work. It is also important to briefly discuss your ...

Approach: or how you plan to conduct your study and the reasons for choosing this method. (Note: the details of the experimental approach should be provided in next section)

V. Experimental Techniques

The goal of this section is to provide the reader with information so that s/he may make an independent judgment on the overall quality of your experiments and the suitability and accuracy of the measurements techniques. Enough detail must be provided so that the reader can repeat your experiments, if they so desire. Information regarding the following should be included:

Hardware:
A brief description of the hardware (and software) used to conduct the experiments should be provided. Please use sketches, drawings, and pictures of the experimental setup where needed.

Procedure:
A summary of the procedure used to conduct the experiments should be provided. This should be written in paragraph form, not in bulleted or numbered format like the lab manual.

VI. Results & Discussions

This section constitutes the 'meat' of the report because it presents the results and, more importantly, your interpretation of the results. It provides a summary of the information learned and the knowledge gained from your experiments. This section MUST be written in narrative form, like the example papers shown above.

The questions listed at the end of the laboratory write-ups are structured to assist you in writing this section. They are structured such that they emphasize the important results and allow you to present data which is significant, from the standpoint of your objectives, and they are representative of the overall results that should be presented. You should include any equations and correlations used and any assumptions made in obtaining your rsults. Detailed calculations should be included in the appendices. You must present your results clearly and concisely. One of the best ways to present your results is in a graphical form, i.e., plots; details and "do's and don't's" of plots are discussed below.

Graphical representation is the most powerful and useful form of data presentation and interpretation. So, when presenting significant data, PLOT YOUR RESULTS WHENEVER POSSIBLE. Plotting your results appropriately makes the interpretation and subsequent discussion of the results much easier. It also allows you to recognize general trends (and anomalies) or lack of one, distinguish between significant and unimportant parameters and (this is very important), saves you from having to write pages after pages of text necessary to describe aspects of which can be easily displayed in a single plot.

It is important to remember that plots are only useful only if they carefully done. Here are a few pointers on making good plots:

• Each plot must have a self-explanatory title.


• Choose your axis carefully. Plot your dependent variable on the y axis and the independent on the x axis. Sometimes you may have to experiment to find out which parameters should be plotted against each other. Sometimes, several parameters may have to be combined to form a non-dimensional parameter. In fact, whenever possible, try to non-dimensionalize your variables. You may not always be specifically told how to non-dimensionalize your data.


• Clearly label your axis, and remember to include units.


• Pick your axis range carefully to maximize the space in the plot. For example, if you are plotting velocity on the x-axis where the axis goes from 0 to 100 m/s while the actual range of velocities measured is 20-45 m/s, then you are only using 25% of the x axis space.


• Do not randomly connect your data using straight lines. Use a linear fit or an appropriate smooth curve to illustrate the trends in the data. The equation for the fit should be provided on the graph and the justification for using the particular fit should be provided in the discussion section. If the data are random then just plot the data without any lines.


• If more than one set of data is plotted on the same graph, then represent each set by a different symbol and provide a legend on the graph, clearly identifying the symbol for each data set.


• Include error bars, representing the uncertainty in your measurements. If error bars are too small to be visible on the plot, mention this in your discussion.

Once the data has been presented, its significance is examined and explored in the discussion and analysis section. The trends observed in the results are discussed and any correlation obtained (e.g., via fits of plotted data) is presented. The significance of the results and their trends, or lack of any, should be discussed from a theoretical perspective. The analysis frequently includes additional plots which supplement and shed further light on the data presented in the results section. The results should also be compared to other similar studies or standard reference data if possible. Possible reasons for agreement or discrepancies should be proposed. If any anomalies were observed, they should be explained, or at least a logical explanation proposed.

VII. Summary or Conclusions

As the name implies, this provides a summary of the important results obtained in the study and their significance from a theoretical and practical perspective. It discusses the degree of success, or failure, of the study. It emphasizes the contributions of the work to the specific field and frequently includes suggestions for improvements and for future studies that would expand on the present work.

VIII. References

List all references used, in the order in which they were used in the text. The format specified by AIAA should be followed.

IX. Appendix

The appendix includes details which are too lengthy to be included in the main text but may be of interest to someone who really wants to know all the details of the experiment. It must include sample calculations. Do NOT include your spreadsheet data.

Writing Style

Remember, your goal in writing a report is to be as clear and concise as possible so be as brief as you can while still conveying the relevant information. Use simple but grammatically correct English, there is no need to use big words.

It is generally said that one should avoid using first person (I or we) and always use the third person in writing technical reports.For example, instead of writing, "we conducted pitot surveys", one should write "pitot surveys were conducted". I believe that although this was the practice in the past it is no longer necessary to adhere to this rule. Occasionally, it is appropriate to use the first person especially to avoid monotony. (Reading "the pitot surveys were conducted; the data was collected, the measurements were made ...."" can be boring after some time.)

Avoiding repetition, e.g. starting each sentence with the same phrase, is always a good rule to follow.

Remember the general rules of good writing also apply to technical report, a fact overlooked by most authors of technical reports. A good report should read like a story (although less exciting perhaps) and flow smoothly with transitions between paragraphs and sections.

General Comments

Each report must be typed using a word processor and stapled. Lengthy reports should be bound. Justified alignment and single-line spacing MUST be used.

Use tables, graphs, sketches, pictures and whatever is necessary to make your point clearly. Also, don’t forget to label and provide titles for your tables and figures, etc.

Always clearly show your units. Points will be deducted if you do not.

Be aware of the significant digits in reporting your results. If the accuracy of one of the measured parameters is only 3 significant digits, then any variable which contains that parameter cannot have more significant digits!

The reports must be neat and grammatically correct.

To encourage you to be prepared and to read the lab manual before coming to the laboratory, unannounced quizzes may be given at the beginning of a lab period or antyime during a lecture period. The lab quizzes will be simple and will only deal with the experiment you will be performing that day. Lecture quizzes will be related to recently discussed topics.

Read the lab manual and any background material needed before you come to the lab. This point cannot be overemphasized; you MUST be prepared for your experiments before coming to the lab.In many cases you may have to go back to your heat transfer and/or fluid mechanics textbooks to review the principles dealt with in the experiment. Don't be afraid to do so.

Please, start writing your reports early. Most reports require a significant amount of analysis, which cannot be done properly if you start one or two days before the due date. Start early and give yourself time to get help in case you run into problems, I can not help you if you wait till the last moment.

I hope that you actively participate in class, so please don't hesitate to ask questions. It makes for a more interesting and lively lecture and provides me feedback on your understanding and my teaching of the subject. Please utilize the teaching assistants' and my office hours fully, don’t wait till the day before the lab reports are due!