Claude Said:

When writing a scientific report, should I use past tense or present tense? Do I use present tense for the?

We Answered:

>The accepted convention for reporting scientific results is past tense,
>passive voice. This removes the scientist from the center of attention and
>focuses the attention on the apparatus, methods, and results, where it
>belongs. After all, an experiment should be reproducible by anyone
>following the procedure, so the identity of the actor is irrelevant.
>
>Most, but not all scientific writing follows this convention. Often part of
>an introductory section will be written in first person, reporting the
>investigators' motivations for carrying out the project described.
>Conclusion sections often will have a sentence or so in future tense,
>describing what the investigators intend to do in the future. Review
>articles and Accounts are often told in narrative format.
>
>Richard E. Barrans Jr., Ph.D.
>Assistant Director
>PG Research Foundation, Darien, Illinois

http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/ge…

Beatrice Said:

Can personal pronouns (I, we, us etc) be used in a scientific report?

We Answered:

No. Do not write in the first or second person. Write your report in the third person, just like an essay or resume.

Beatrice Said:

In a hypothesis in a scientific report, should writing in the first person be avoided?

We Answered:

It is generally not a good idea to write a science prac in first person as you are trying to be matter-of-fact and not personal.

By writing in third person and not mentioning 'I' at all it gives a certain distance to the reader and makes your piece sound unbiased (a good thing!)

Paula Said:

Help on writing a scientific report?

We Answered:

I learned to write them similar to journal papers.
-Abstract
-Intro
-Hypothesis
-Results (Both figures and written explanation)
-Discussion

A few things I picked up while working on my degree:

Always start with the Null Hypothesis (that the variable that you're testing won't cause a change in results). For example, stating that adding compound X to your cell culture *won't* increase the growth rate (even if you want compound X to work, you need to go with the null hypothesis for the sake of impartiality).

Save analysis of the data and statements as to its meaning for the discussion section. One of my professors always got annoyed when we would put a conclusion in the Results section. Results should be dry statement of the data (even if it ends up sounding boring).

The discussion section should contain conclusions, references to other experiments (yours and others'), and implications for future research.

Every professor has their own idea of the perfect report, but they should follow this basic guideline. Hope this helps!