2.4: Miscellaneous Issues
- Page ID
- 34685
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- Figures from the lab manual—You may excerpt figures from the lab manual, where appropriate. However, the figure caption must note that the figure is from the lab manual, with an appropriate citation/reference.
- Page and figure/table/equation/section numbering—All pages should be numbered, and so should figures, tables, equations, and sections. Refer to these numbers whenever possible; e.g., “as described in Section 2...” instead of “as described above...”
- Curve fits must make sense—When fitting data, you should be able to justify the type of curve you are using (e.g., based on theory). It is a mistake to simply fit to a high-order polynomial, like in Fig. \(\PageIndex{1}\), without any idea whether the “actual” curve ought to have such a form. Such a fit might look nice, but it supplies no actual information!
- Raw data—Include your raw experimental data in table form, with proper captions and column headings (including units and uncertainties). If the table is quite large, put it in an appendix. If there is truly too much raw data to put into the report, you may omit it, but in that case you must bring the raw data (in hardcopy or electronic form) to the viva. You must be able to provide the raw data on request anytime during the semester, so do not dispose of it until after the semester, when you have received a grade for the course.
- Length—Lab reports in this course typically need not exceed 7 pages. Use \(\approx 11\) point fonts, with normal (not double) line spacing.