3. A Sample Report ("Simulation of a 40-year climatic time series to illustrate a random trend")
A brief paper that employs these structural and stylistic guidelines. It ain't perfect, and heck, it hasn't even been peer-reviewed, but it's an example nonetheless. Enjoy!
The main purpose of a scientific report is to communicate. A typical structure and style have evolved to convey essential information and ideas as concisely and effectively as possible. Precise formats vary by discipline and scientific journal, but always treat them as flexible guidelines that enable clear communication.
Assume that your intended reader has a background similar to yours before you started the project. That is, a general understanding of the topic but no specific knowledge of the details. The reader should be able to reproduce whatever you did by following your report.
Good scientific reports share many of the qualities found in other kinds of writing. To write is to think, so a paper that lays out ideas in a logical order will facilitate the same kind of thinking. Make each sentence follows from the previous one, building an argument piece by piece. Group related sentences into paragraphs, and group paragraphs into sections. Create a a flow from beginning to end.
Likewise, use figures, tables, data, equations, etc. to help tell the story as it unfolds. Refer to them directly in the text, and integrate the points they make into your writing. Number figures and tables sequentially as they are introduced (e.g., Figure 1, Figure 2, etc. with another sequence for Table 1, Table 2, etc.). Provide captions with complete information and not just a simple title. Label all axes and include units. Insert a figure or table after the paragraph in which it is first mentioned, or, gather all supporting material together after the reference section (before any appendices).
The report should be grammatically sound, with correct spelling, and generally free of errors. Avoid jargon, slang, or colloquial terms. Define acronyms and any abbreviations not used as standard measurement units. Most of the report describes what you did, and thus it should be in the past tense (e.g., "values were averaged"), but use present or future tense as appropriate (e.g., "x is bigger than y" or "that effect will happen"). Employ the active rather than passive voice to avoid boring writing and contorted phrases (e.g., "the software calculated average values" is better than "average values were calculated by the software").
Within the report, the exact format of particular items is less important than consistency of application. For example, if you indent paragraphs, be sure to indent them all; use a consistent style of headings throughout (e.g., major headings in bold with initial capitals, minor headings in italics, etc.); write "%" or "percent" but do not mix them, and so on. In other words, establish a template and stick to it. Consult real journal papers for examples.
There are four major sections to a scientific report, sometimes known as IMRAD -- Introduction, Methods, Results, And Discussion. Respectively, these sections structure your report to say "here's the problem, here's how I studied it, here's what I found, and here's what it means." There are additional minor sections that precede or follow the major sections including the title, abstract, acknowledgements, references, and appendices. All sections are important, but at different stages to different readers. When flipping through a journal, a reader might read the title first, and if interested further then the abstract, then conclusions, and then if he or she is truly fascinated perhaps the entire paper. You have to convince the reader that what you have done is interesting and important by communicating appeal and content in all sections.
Convey the essential point of the paper. Be precise, concise, and use key words. Avoid padding with phrases like "A study of ..." or headlines like "Global warming will fry Earth!"
Condense the whole paper into miniature form. A sentence or two summarizing each of the IMRAD sections should suffice. No new information, no supporting material, limited details, just the essential message that explains what you did and found out. Write this section last of all.
Introduce the problem, moving from the broader issues to your specific problem, finishing the section with the precise aims of the paper (key questions). Craft this section carefully, setting up your argument in logical order. Refer to relevant ideas/theories and related research by other authors. Answer the question "what is the problem and why is it important?"
Explain how you studied the problem, which should follow logically from the aims. Depending on the kind of data, this section may contain subsections on experimental details, materials used, data collection/sources, analytical or statistical techniques employed, study area, etc. Provide enough detail for the reader to reproduce what you did. Include flowcharts, maps or tables if they aid clarity or brevity. Answer the question "what steps did I follow?" but do not include results yet.
Explain your actual findings, using subheadings to divide the section into logical parts, with the text addressing the study aims. Link your writing to figures and tables as you present the results. For each, describe and interpret what you see (you do the thinking -- do not leave this to the reader). If you have many similar figures, select representative examples for brevity and put the rest in an appendix. Mention any uncertainty in measurement or calculation, and use an appropriate number of decimal places to reflect it. Make comments on the results as they are presented, but save broader generalizations and conclusions for later. Answer the question "what did I find out?"
Discuss the importance of what you found, in light of the overall study aims. Stand back from the details and synthesize what has (and has not) been learned about the problem, and what it all means. Say what you actually found, not what you hoped to find. Begin with specific comments and expand to more general issues. Recommend any improvements for further study. Answer the question "what is the significance of the research?"
Restate the study aims or key questions and summarize your findings using clear, concise statements. Keep this section brief and to the point.
This is an optional section. Thank people who directly contributed to the paper, by providing data, assisting with some part of the analysis, proofreading, typing, etc. It is not a dedication, so don't thank Mom and Dad for bringing you into the world, or your roommate for making your coffee.
Within the text, cite references by author and year unless instructed otherwise, for example "Comrie (1999) stated that ..." or "several studies have found that x is greater than y (Comrie 1999; Smith 1999)." For two authors, list both names, and for three or more use the abbreviation "et al." (note the period) following the first name, for example "Comrie and Smith (1999)" or "Comrie et al. (1999)." Attribute every idea that is not your own to avoid plagiarism.
In this reference section itself, list alphabetically only the people and publications that you cited in the report (if none, omit the section). Provide sufficient detail to enable somebody to actually track down the information. List all authors for the "et al." publications. Follow a standard format such as the examples below, and note the distinctions regarding italics, capitalization, volume/page numbers, publisher address, etc. between the various kinds of references.
If necessary, one or more appendices containing raw data, figures not used in the body of the paper, sample calculations, etc. may be included. They are considered as additional material to the report, and may not be examined by the reader at all.