Research papers and laboratory reports

When instructors refer to research papers, they may have different assignments in mind. One assignment might ask you to read articles written by researchers in the field and then present your synthesis of those sources of information. For instance, you might write about a genetic syndrome to demonstrate your understanding of the characteristics of the disorder and other researchers’ investigations of the causes of the syndrome.

Another assignment might require you to report on the results of an experiment you conducted and to interpret your results; this document is typically called a laboratory report. Unlike the laboratory notebook, a lab report may relate your interpretations to what others in the field have concluded from their own experiments. Biologists publish research papers and reports in journals after the papers have undergone rigorous and impartial review by other biologists, called a peer review, to make sure that the scientific process used by the researchers is sound.

Whether published in a journal or written for a college course, research papers and reports based on original experiments follow a standard format and include the following sections:

Sample student paper: Laboratory report

Related topics:

Laboratory notebooks

Literature reviews

Research proposals

Poster presentations