LAB HINTS (as far as this course goes, anyway)

The basic process for working in the lab is as follows: Read. Think. Do. Think. Write. Think. Rewrite if necessary. Repeat. Always read the material dealing with the lab exercise before you come to lab. Make sure you understand it. Then reread it in the lab as you do the work. Make sure you pay attention to the instructions given, both in the manual as well as by the instructor at the beginning of the lab. (Some important clues and hints may be given in that introduction, so don’t ignore it.) Don’t concentrate solely on handing in the report or the worksheet. Read the manual and other materials along with the worksheet. Don’t do the work simply to have something to hand in to get a grade. It is important that you learn the material, not just give answers. That is the goal of the laboratory experience. Keep your answers short and simple, but complete. Make sure you answer the question that is being asked. For example, if the question is “Does something change?”, then the answer may be as simple as “Yes” or “No”. But if the question includes “Why?” or “Explain.”, then make sure you include that also. There is no need to repeat the question in the answer. (While this is generally a good procedure to follow, lack of room on the worksheet means this is not necessary here.) Make sure your answers are legible. Print if necessary. Grammar and spelling and the correct use of words are all important. Make sure you are saying what you mean. Don’t leave it up to the instructor to interpret what you are saying. Reread what you have written and make sure it will make sense to the reader. Abbreviations are usually acceptable as long as they are common and understandable. Short phrases instead of complete sentences may also be acceptable in some circumstances. Part of grading the answers entails making sure that you, as an individual, understand what is going on. You, as an individual, are getting that grade. For this reason, on individual reports, it is important that you DO NOT COPY SOMEONE ELSE’S ANSWER. After coming up with a possible answer, you may confer with someone else to check it, but make sure you understand the answer enough so that you can put it into YOUR OWN WORDS. And then do so. (The excuse “But we worked on it together so we came up with the same answer!” does not hold up. You must give an answer as you understand it to be, in your own words.) Copying someone else’s work and passing it off as your own is cheating. Changing a couple of words here and there, or changing their order, is still the same as copying. Letting someone copy your answer is also cheating. Both actions potentially lead, minimally, to the loss of points. For example, even if the answer is correct you may both lose the points for that answer, and perhaps lose some “penalty” points as well, if copying is suspected. More severe action may be taken if warranted. Copying an answer directly from a textbook or some other source is plagiarism. Read it, understand it, and put it into your own words. For numerical answers, it is good to check and recheck your answers before handing them in. Do they make sense? Are they in the right ballpark of where you might expect them to be? You MAY check your answers with someone else, but only after you have come up with an answer on your own and only to see if there is a problem with your (or their) answer. If the answers do not match, figure out what is wrong and redo the calculations; don’t just copy an answer. (Besides, it may be incorrect.) Where necessary, always show where your answers came from. For example, if you are handing in a measurement, and the object being measured is included in the report (a chart, for example), indicate where the measurement was made so that it may be checked more easily. In a teaching laboratory such as this one, and especially when working with biological systems, the results are not always what is “expected.” If that is the case, in order to show that you know what is going on, record the data/answer that you obtained, but include a note indicating why you think the answer may be incorrect and indicate what the “correct” answer should be. Do the same thing if you get no data at all. (You may lose a minimal amount of points in this case, but it won’t be as much as if you turn in no answer.) On group lab reports it is important that everyone agrees on the answers to be handed in. If you disagree, say so. It is your grade as well as the others’. Make sure you understand the answers; they may show up again on an exam (where no group work is allowed). (If you do not agree with a group answer, and you are sure you are correct, then you always have the option of handing in an individual report based on the group’s work. Just make sure that you indicate where the data come from and what group did the work. If you agree with all the answers except a few then your individual report only has to include those that are different.) Having your name on a group lab report indicates that you contributed significantly to the production of that report in some way. If the other members of the group do not feel that you contributed enough to deserve the grade then they have the right—and obligation—to bring it to the instructor’s attention and your grade may be reduced accordingly. Don’t be afraid to ask questions of the instructor. You may not get a direct answer—answers to questions that you are being asked in the manual are not going to be given away!—but you can expect guidance as to how to figure out the answer. After all, this is a laboratory, and figuring things out is what it is all about.

Additional Web Resources

Page obtained from link at URL: http://www.ric.edu/faculty/jmontvilo/109.htm Prepared by Jerome A. Montvilo, Ph.D. for the use of his students. Copyright © by Jerome A. Montvilo. All rights reserved. Please send questions, comments, or suggestions to jmontvilo@ric.edu. Last updated 9 January, 2008