Exercise Physiology Laboratory – Spring 2021

Lab Report – Results

Lab Report Assignment

The objective of the lab report will be to practice writing research studies. This report will be broken into 5 sections worth 20 points each. The main sections covered will include an introduction, hypothesis, methods (participant info, instruments, and procedures), results, discussion, and conclusion with limitation and future studies. All 5 sections will be worth 25% of your final grade. You will write your lab report sections based on peer-reviewed scientific articles, concepts covered in class, and the data collected from the lab sections.

Results

The objective of the results section is to explain your data and direct attention to any meaningful findings to be discussed in depth in your discussion section. Typically this occurs after you collect all the data. In this case the data is provided for you since we are unable to collect data ourselves. In this portion of your lab report, your job is to present the findings of your research in a visually appealing way that highlights group differences (training type, sex differences, methodology differences, etc). You also want to write a short paragraph explaining your data.

Requirements

· 1 graph of your choice (bar graph/line graph/etc) that splits the data into one of the following groups:

· Sex (male vs female)

· Training type (aerobic vs anaerobic vs untrained)

· Bout type (bout 1 vs bout 2)

· 1 table in APA format that summarizes the findings of the raw data (excel sheet on iLearn)

· Table must represent data as mean±standard deviation

· Points will be deducted if table does not follow APA standards (see instructions on iLearn)

· 1 paragraph (approximately 150-200 words) that explains your table and graph and also briefly describes how you decided to analyze the data

Bar Graph Example

Sample bar graph showing framing scores for three levels of reward and four different age groups.

Table Example

This image shows a table split into four columns and seven rows.

Numbers. Number all tables with Arabic numerals sequentially. Do not use suffix letters (e.g. Table 3a, 3b, 3c); instead, combine the related tables. If the manuscript includes an appendix with tables, identify them with capital letters and Arabic numerals (e.g. Table A1, Table B2).

Titles. Like the title of the paper itself, each table must have a clear and concise title. When appropriate, you may use the title to explain an abbreviation parenthetically.

Example: Comparison of Median Income of Adopted Children (AC) v. Foster Children (FC)

Headings. Keep headings clear and brief. The heading should not be much wider than the widest entry in the column. Use of standard abbreviations can aid in achieving that goal. All columns must have headings, even the stub column (see example structure), which customarily lists the major independent variables.

Body. In reporting the data, consistency is key: Numerals should be expressed to a consistent number of decimal places that is determined by the precision of measurement. Never change the unit of measurement or the number of decimal places in the same column.

Table Checklist

Use the following questions below to ensure your table is correctly formatted before submitting.

· Are all tables numbered with Arabic numerals in the order they are mentioned in the text? Is the table number bold and left-aligned?

· Are all tables referred to in the text?

· Is the title brief but explanatory? Is it presented in italicized title case and left-aligned?

· Does every column have a column heading? Are column headings centered?

· Are all abbreviations; special use of italics, parentheses, and dashes; and special symbols explained?

· Are the notes organized according to the convention of general, specific, probability?

· Are table borders correctly used (top and bottom of table, beneath column headings, above table spanners)?

· Does the table use correct line spacing (double for the table number, title, and notes; single, one and a half, or double for the body)?

· Are entries in the left column left-aligned beneath the centered stub heading? Are all other column headings and cell entries centered?

· If the table or its data are from another source, is the source properly cited? Is permission necessary to reproduce the table?