Behavioral & Integrative Neuroscience

Lab T.A.: Stuart LAB REPOR S stuart.jackson@nyu.edu

Spring 2014

!eneral Reports should be brief and clear, 2- pa!es of te"t #not includin! references and fi!ures$. Althou!h the labs are done in !roups, lab reports should be indi%idually &ritten #&hile the data &ill be the sa'e a'on! !roup 'e'bers, the content and approach to the lab report should be your o&n$. (n &ritin! the report keep the scientific 'ethod in 'ind: ). *efine a +uestion #introduction, discussion$. 2. ,ather infor'ation about the +uestion #introduction, discussion$. . -or'ulate a hypothesis #introduction, discussion$. .. /ake a prediction based on the hypothesis #introduction, discussion$. 0. *o an e"peri'ent#s$ to test the hypothesis #introduction, 'ethods, results #fi!ures$, discussion$. 1. Re-e%aluate the hypothesis based on the outco'e of the e"peri'ent #discussion$. Sche"ule Reports should be turned in at the start of the ne"t lab. 2rin! #i$ a printed copy of the report to lab and #ii$ e'ail 'e an electronic %ersion #.pdf preferred$. (f you are not !oin! to be able to 'ake lab, you can place reports in 'y 'ailbo" #3ackson - R' 456 /eyer$. ( &ill return your reports one &eek after you hand the' in. #or$at Title (Less than 10 words) Should reflect the factual content of the paper. 2elo& the title include: ). 7our na'e 2. 8ourse na'e . *ate .. 9a'es of lab partners Introduction (~150 words) 2e!in &ith broad state'ents, includin! enou!h back!round infor'ation #'ay include references to outside sources$ to set the sta!e for your e"peri'ent. 9arro& do&n to your particular study, e"plainin! &hy it is of interest. Specify the objecti%es of the e"peri'ent and 'ake your hypotheses clear. *o not copy any handouts: &rite your o&n introduction. Methods (~100 words) Su''ari;e the process that &as follo&ed and the 'aterials that &ere used, then refer to the lab directions for the details. 9ote any differences in the procedures you actually follo&ed fro' &hat &as specified by lab directions. Anyone &ho reads your report should be able to duplicate the e"peri'ent.

*o not include any results.

Results (~100 words) Su''ari;e the data &ithout discussin! their i'plications. *ata should be or!ani;ed into tables, fi!ures, !raphs, photo!raphs, etc. /ake fi!ures as si'ple as possible, re'o%e anythin! that distracts fro' the 'essa!e of the fi!ure. A s'aller nu'ber of &ell-'oti%ated, clear data fi!ures are better than lots of poorly'oti%ated fi!ures #e"ception: the Sheep brain report 'ay in%ol%e 'ore photos<fi!ures than a typical report$. All fi!ures should be labeled includin! units. All fi!ures should ha%e a le!end #one to three sentences$ that su''ari;es the fi!ure. -i!ures should be e"plained, or alluded to, in the te"t of the results. Discussion (~200 words) Should not be a restate'ent of the results but should e'phasi;e analysis and interpretation of the data, relatin! the' to e"istin! theory and kno&led!e. Analysis: ). =hat do the results indicate> 2. =hat ha%e you found> . ?"plain &hat you kno& &ith certainty based on your results and dra& conclusions. (nterpretation: ). =hat is the si!nificance of the results> 2. =hat a'bi!uities e"ist> . =hat +uestions 'i!ht &e raise> .. -ind lo!ical e"planations for proble's in the data. /ay e"plain the lo!ic that allo&s you to accept or reject your ori!inal hypothesis. /ay su!!est i'pro%e'ents of techni+ues or e"peri'ental desi!n. /ay su!!est future e"peri'ents that 'i!ht clarify areas of doubt in your results. References (between 0 and 5) List any publications referred to in your paper alphabetically by first author: do not nu'ber the'. ?%ery ite' in your biblio!raphy should be referred to in the body of your paper, or it shouldn@t be listed at all. =e &ill use the follo&in! standard for's sho&n in order for: an article &ith one author, an article &ith 'ore than one author, a book, and a chapter fro' an edited %olu'e: ). Reynolds, A.*. )662. /antle-'ediated shell decollation increases posterior aperture si;e in *entaliu'rectius8arpenter )41. #Scaphopoda: *entaliida$. Beli!er 0:21- 0. 2. ,app, *.A., R.9. Taranto, ?.-. =alsh, A.3. -a%orito, and 7. Chan!. )665. (nsulin cells are found in the 'ain and accessory urinary bladders of the painted turtle, 8hryse'yspicta. 3. ?"p. Cool. 20.: 2- D. . Stokes, *., L. Stokes, and ?. =illia's. )66). The 2utterfly 2ook. Little, 2ro&n and 8o., 2oston. 61 pp. .. Aearcy, R.=., and =.A. Afitsch. )66.. 8onse+uences of sunflecks for photosynthesis and !ro&th of forest understory plants. Aa!es . - 06 in ?.*. Schul;e and /./. 8ald&ell, editors. ?cophysiolo!y of Ahotosynthesis. Sprin!er Berla!, 9e& 7ork. !ra"ing

-ollo& this !uide. *o not stress out about your reports or spend si!nificant a'ounts of your ti'e 'akin! the' lon! and beautiful. So'e reports are based on a sin!le lab session #)5 pts$: others on t&o lab sessions #25 pts$. There is a one%point "e"uction per "a& late. 7ou &ill ha%e the option of droppin! your &orst !rade. (f your report is short, si'ple, and has a clear hypothesis, a clear test of the hypothesis, clear fi!ures<data, and a pointed and concise discussion, you@ll do &ell.