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Cricket Behavior Lab Report

Research Quistion:

Do cricket use vibration to detect potential predators

Hypotheses/ Predictions:

No music = chirping

Soft music = Low – No chirping

High music = No chirping

Variables:

Music VOLUME & TYPES

10 males, 5 female

Controls (Positive / Negative):

Negative control: No music

Positive control: With music

Result:

We repeated the experiment 3 times

1# No music =480 , Soft music = 440 , high music =34

2# No music =483 , Soft music = 423 , high music =36

3# No music =422 , Soft music = 406 , high music =17

PLEASE READ THIS PAGE CEARFULLY AND FOLLOW THE GUIDE STEPS

http://abacus.bates.edu/~ganderso/biology/resources/writing/HTWsections.html

Also SEE THE ATTACHMENT FILE.

NOTE:

The report MUST have FIGURE+ TABLE+ Chi square test

How to write a scientific report: Overview

I. Basic Formatting

a. Double space everything except for references

b. Use 12-pt font throughout; Times, Ariel, or another “normal” font

c. Format the page to have one inch margins

d. Add page numbers to the bottom right corners

e. Put your name, lab day/time, and date in the header so it is on each page

II. Required Sections- All except the title must begin with a clear heading

a. Title- Brief, descriptive, and intriguing for a potential reader

i. Capitalize on the first word and any proper nouns (common names of species are not capitalized.

ii. Does not need to be on a separate first page

b. Abstract- Briefly summarizes the main points of the paper

i. Maximum 250 words

ii. Includes the following components in some form: introduction, methods, results, and discussion.

c. Introduction- Introduces the reader to relevant information about the study

i. Should progress from broad topic to narrow, study-specific topic

ii. Follows clear line of thought

iii. Justifies purpose of the study, identifies goals/hypotheses

d. Methods- Clearly describes methods, allows replication of the study by others

i. Includes concise description of all methods, including information about any study species.

ii. Does not describe “common knowledge” in detail (e.g. “A 1% w/v salt solution was used…”, don’t explain that 1% w/v means 1 g into 100 ml of water)

iii. Explains the type of data analysis performed (i.e. the statistical test)

e. Results- Describes the results of the study

i. The only place results are reported, except for the abstract or referred back to in the discussion.

ii. Does not include any discussion/conclusions

iii. Includes all tables and figures- each must be referenced in the main text, and include a caption explaining the table/figure.

f. Discussion- Interpretation of the results

i. Compares results to other relevant studies

ii. Relates results and conclusions back to the justification for doing the study

iii. Provides readers with a “take-home” message from the paper

g. References- Lists any source of information cited in the paper.

i. Alphabetical by author last name, not numbered

ii. Single spaced, but with a space between each reference

h. Appendix- Raw data, summary statistics

i. Not referenced in the main text

ii. Each item includes brief information caption identifying what is displayed

How to write a scientific report: Abstract

I. Purpose- Provide the reader with a concise summary of the entire study, including the purpose, methods, results and conclusions.

II. Details

a. Basic format- Begins with the heading “Abstract”, includes up to a maximum of 250 words. Double spaced.

b. Include- a summary statement for each of the important sections of your study, including

i. Introduction/background- orient the reader to the reason for your study, provide them with context for the methods and results

ii. Basic methods- provide a very broad overview of the methods, essentially just telling the reader what the treatments were and what the basic method of treatment application was (e.g. Alfalfa seeds were allowed to grow for seven days while exposed to water, or 10% solutions of Eucalyptus or chamise extract, before total sprout length was measured.)

iii. Main results- Describe the most important results that you found. If there were significant differences, then you should include the summary data (e.g. mean ± SD and p-value), otherwise it is not necessary. If you have a lot of different analyses and results, and it is more than what can reasonably fit in the abstract, just summarize the results without any numbers included.

iv. Main conclusions- provide the reader with the main take-home conclusion from the study.

c. BE CONCISE!!! Keep it short and to the point

i. The abstract should be directed to the potential reader, giving them the opportunity to get a preview of your entire study and hopefully become intrigued enough to actually read the rest of the paper.

ii. Do not- use superfluous wording to embellish your abstract.

How to write a scientific report: Introduction

I. Purpose- Provide the reader with relevant information that is necessary to provide context to the study and allow an understanding of the justification for performing the study.

II. Details

a. Basic format- Begins with the heading “Introduction”, includes one to three paragraphs of text. Double spaced.

b. Broad to narrow- Progresses from broad background topics (e.g. plants compete for resources in nature) to more narrow topics that are specific to the study (e.g. allelopathy is a methods of competition; or, the relevance of the particular plant species used in the study)

c. Clear thought process- Follows a clear line of thought throughout the introduction, without becoming fragmented and difficult to follow.

d. Includes purpose and hypothesis(es)- Informs the reader about the purpose of the study, and the hypothesis(es) being tested. (typically at the end of the introduction)

e. DO NOT refer to “I”, “we”, “my group”, “our”, etc. This is not always the case in journals, but good practice and required in this course.

f. Write in the past tense for the vast majority of your paper. Don’t switch tenses mid-paragraph.

g. Citations- Includes at least two citations of scientific literature (i.e. published in a peer-reviewed journal; ask if you’re not sure).

i. Citation Formatting-

1. NEVER QUOTE MATERIAL or include exact text from another study, information is always paraphrased in your own words.

2. Cite the material with author(s) and year in parentheses at the end of the information being cited, or the sentence. Example: Migrating swallows follow a specific route each year (Smith et al. 1986).

3. Cite the material with author(s) included directly in the sentence and year in parentheses. Example: Smith et al. (1986) verified the consistency of swallow migration routes over multiple years.

4. Who and how to cite within your main text?

a. Single authors: (Smith 1986)

b. Two authors: (Smith & Welsh 1986)

c. More than two authors: (Smith et al. 1986)

d. Organization without a specific author: (Sierra Club 2011)

How to write a scientific report: Methods

I. Purpose- Provide the reader with a concise description of all methods used during the study, thus enabling adequate replication of the study by others. Written in paragraph form, NOT bullet points.

II. Details

a. Basic format- Begins with the heading “Methods”, includes as much paragraph-form text as is necessary to convey the methods, but should not get too wordy. Double spaced.

b. DO NOT refer to “I”, “we”, “my group”, “our”, etc. This is not always the case in journals, but good practice and required in this course.

c. Write in the past tense for the vast majority of your paper. Don’t switch tenses mid-paragraph. Should not be written as directions, but as a record of what was done . (e.g. NO- “First, put 15 alfalfa seeds in each petri dish.” YES- “Each petri dish received 15 alfalfa seeds.”)

d. Order of events- Methods sections typically report the steps of a study in chronological order as they were conducted in the study.

e. Include- a description of the study species being used and an explanation of what type of data analysis was conducted (e.g. t-Test, etc.).

f. Subsections- It is acceptable (and advisable) to break up the Methods section into subsections with subheadings. This is often a good idea to separate descriptions of the study species, methods of individual experiments (if more than one in the study), and methods of data analysis. Each subsection should have a brief, descriptive, subheading (e.g. “Study species” or “Data Analysis”).

g. BE CONCISE!!! Keep it short and to the point

i. Do not- use superfluous wording to embellish your paper

ii. Do not- explain methods that are “common knowledge” to a competent scientist. For example, you can explain that sucrose solutions were made to predetermined molar concentrations, and list the concentrations, but you don’t need to explain every step of making a simple solution.

iii. Do not- explain the same methods more than once. Just explain the method once and let the reader know that it was repeated for whatever other parts of the study. For example: “All potato cylinders were produced according to the following procedures.” Then go on to explain the procedure once.

How to write a scientific report: Results

III. Purpose- Provide the reader with a concise report of the results from an experiment, including statistical analyses, tables, and graphs. There is NO DISCUSSION OR INTERPRETATION of data included in the Results section.

IV. Details

a. Basic format- Begins with the heading “Results”, typically includes one (rarely more in this class) paragraphs of double spaced text, tables of summary statistical information with descriptive captions, and graphs (a.k.a. Figures) with descriptive captions.

b. NO INTERPRETATION- The Results section of a scientific report does not include any discussion or interpretation of results (no theories!!), or any description of materials and methods.

c. TEXT component- The written portion of the Results section will report the results of all statistical analyses in full sentences. All results must be reported and completely understandable in written form, even if they are also presented in tables or figures (the reader should not have to look at the figures and tables to get the information). A results sentence must include five elements to be complete and understandable to the reader, and possibly a sixth element if results are displayed elsewhere in table or figure format. These elements are:

i. What was measured and compared statistically- e.g., the mean mass of trout.

ii. What were the treatment groups that were compared- e.g., trout fed a regular diet and trout fed a supplemented diet.

iii. An indication of whether or not there was a significant difference between the groups- e.g., if supplemented diet trout had significantly greater mass.

iv. Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) for each treatment group, including units- e.g., (27.7 ± 3.4 g).

v. The p-value from whatever statistical test was performed- e.g., (p = 0.015).

vi. If also displayed as a table or figure, then the results sentence must reference that table or figure- e.g., (Table 1, Fig. 1).

d. Text example- You can identify each of the five required components in this example. **NOTE** that the last parenthetical reference of descriptive statistics is combined with the reported p-value within a single set of parentheses:

Trout fed a supplemented diet had significantly greater mean mass (27.7 ± 3.4 g) than trout fed a regular diet (21.3 ± 2.9 g, p = 0.015, Fig. 1).

e. TABLES- Tables are only included in a Results section if they report summary data, descriptive statistics, or results of statistical analyses. A table with its caption must be completely self sufficient in explaining what is displayed…in other words, the reader should not have to read the written portion of the results section to understand what is being reported in a particular table. Text may be smaller in tables, down to 10 pt font size.

i. NO RAW DATA should be reported in these tables (raw data goes in the Appendix).

ii. All tables must have a descriptive caption- This includes an identifying label (e.g., Table 1), followed by a concise description of what is reported in the table. This caption is formatted to be displayed ABOVE the table.

iii. All tables must be referred to in the written text. This is typically done as a parenthetic reference at the end of a results sentence.

iv. Example Table:

Supplemented Diet Trout

Regular Diet Trout

Mean mass (g)

27.7

21.3

Standard deviation (g)

3.4

2.9

n

10

10

t-Test p-value

0.015

-

f. FIGURES- Figures (graphs) are included to provide a visual way to interpret the reported results. A figure with its caption must be completely self sufficient in explaining what is displayed…in other words, the reader should not have to read the written portion of the results section to understand what is being reported in a particular figure.

i. All figures must have a descriptive caption- This includes an identifying label (e.g., Figure 1), followed by a concise description of what is represented in the figure and an explanation of any bars or symbols in the figure. This caption is formatted to be displayed BELOW the figure (not above, like a table).

ii. All figures must be referred to in the written text. This is typically done as a parenthetic reference (see results sentence example, above).

iii. No figure title is included- Do not put a figure title over the figure!

iv. Axes- All axes must be labeled with their respective information and units!

v. Treatment group identification- Treatment groups should be identified with a different color or symbol on the graph, and must be clearly identified either in a legend, on an axis, or in the figure caption.

vi. Significance- Significant or non-significant differences between groups must be displayed on the figure. This can be accomplished using asterisks, letters, or some other methods of identification. (See example)

vii. Example Figure: image1.png

How to write a scientific report: Discussion

I. Purpose- Provide the reader with an interpretation of the results, comparison of those results to previous studies, conclusions that you have reached. Should address whether the goals have been accomplished and should relate back to the justification for performing the study (included in introduction).

II. Details

a. Basic format- Begins with the heading “Discussion”, includes one to three paragraphs of text. Double spaced.

b. Narrow to Broad- Progresses from more narrow discussion of your interpretation of the results, then expands out to include a discussion of other literature and more general conclusions. Follows the opposite pattern as in the Introduction section.

i. Compares results to other relevant studies

ii. Relates results and conclusions back to the justification for doing the study

iii. Provides readers with a “take-home” message from the paper

c. Clear thought process- Follows a clear line of thought throughout, without becoming fragmented and difficult to follow.

d. Does NOT repeat the reporting of results- Do not redundantly report numbers from the results section, unless specifically discussing those results in comparison with other literature.

e. DO NOT refer to “I”, “we”, “my group”, “our”, etc. This is not always the case in journals, but good practice and required in this course.

f. Write in the past tense for the vast majority of your paper. Don’t switch tenses mid-paragraph.

g. Citations- Includes at least two citations of scientific literature (i.e. published in a peer-reviewed journal; ask if you’re not sure). ONE of these citations may be repeated from those cited in your Introduction section, bringing the total number of unique citations to three for the entire paper.

How to write a scientific report:

References

REFERENCES

I. Purpose- This section should include the complete references of all the sources used in your report, so a reader can find that information easily

II. Details-

a. Every reference in your report must be here. Every reference in this section must be in your report.

b. Single spaced with double space between citations

c. Alphabetical by first author’s last name (or organization)

d. NOT numbered.

e. Primarily books and journal articles should be used as references, most website resources are not reliable.

f. A minimum of three scientific literature citations must be included in full research papers, unless otherwise specified

III. Examples-

a. Journal article (one author)

Clutter, M. E. 1960. Hormonal induction or vascular tissue in tobacco pith. Science 132: 548-549.

b. Journal article with two authors

Skoog, F. and D. Armstrong. 1970. Cytokinins. Annual Review of Plant Physiology 21: 359-384

c. Journal article with multiple authors

Hildebrandt, A. C., A. J. Riker, and B. C. Dugger. 1946. The influence of the medium on growth of excised tobacco and sunflower tissue cultures. American Journal of Botany 33: 591-597.

d. Book

Schwarts, R. J. 1955. The complete dictionary of abbreviations. Thomas Y. Crowell Co., New York. 211 pp. (this last information should be the total number of pages in the book)

e. Part of a book

Overstreet, H. A. 1925. The psychology of effective writing. Pages 87-109 in H. A. Overstreet, Influencing human behavior. W. W. Norton and Co., New York.

f. Editor of a book - no author(s) named

Hamer, P. M., ed. 1961. A guide to archives and manuscripts in the United States. Yale University Press, New Haven, Conn. 775 pp.

g. Chapter or paper in a book by several authors. (Editors of book named).

Link, G. K. 1928. Bacteria in relation to plant diseases. Pages 590-606 in E. O. Jordan and I. S. Falk, eds. The newer knowledge of bacteriology and immunology. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Ill.

h. Websites

Williamson RC. 2004. Deciduous tree galls [Internet]. Madison (WI): University of Wisconsin-Madison; [cited 2013 Sep 12]. Available from http://labs.russell.wisc.edu/pddc/files/Fact_Sheets/FC_PDF/Deciduous_Tree_Galls.pdf

How to write a scientific report: Appendix

I. Purpose- This section is not a normal section in a real scientific manuscript or published article, but is a required component for this course.

II. Details

a. Basic format- Begins with the heading “Appendix”, includes only tables and very brief descriptions of each table

b. Tables- All raw data must be included in the Appendix. In addition, all calculated descriptive statistics must be included, unless already included in the Results section (do not be redundant). Tables in the Appendix are NOT NUMBERED (e.g. no “Table 1”, etc.).

i. Descriptions- ABOVE each table is a short description of what is reported (e.g. “Raw trout mass measurements). Be sure to include units!

c. Example:

Raw trout mass data

Supplemented diet trout mass (g)

Regular diet trout mass (g)

26.1

19.4

30.4

22.1

29.8

20.5

27.3

21.4

25.9

22.1

26.1

19.9

28.4

20.0

28.7

21.5

27.7

21.8

31.1

21.9

Research Paper Rubrics (Bio 111)

Author:

Total Points:

10 pts General

Title includes enough information, capitalized properly.

Proper grammar throughout.

Formatting meets requirements (page #s, spacing, etc).

Peer reviewed.

10 pts Abstract

Includes Objective/intro, Methods, Results, Conclusion. Concise and clearly written.

15 pts Introduction

A basic introduction to the topic is given. General information leads to more specific information about the topic and then includes a purpose statement or objective that tells specifically why the paper was written. Includes a hypothesis (-es) Understandable and clear line of thought. Includes at least TWO references

15 pts Materials and Methods

The passive voice is used, NOT instructions. Past tense. E.g. Dandelions were collected in spring. A sentence does not begin with a numeral.

This section is written in such a way that anyone could repeat the experiment. Section is precise and concise. Unnecessary detail (common knowledge) is not present.

15 pts Results

Passive voice & past tense is used. Explains results without discussion of the analyzed data. Major observations and key trends of the data are reported. Contains enough information in writing that charts, tables or graphs are not needed.

Charts, graphs, tables are labeled with figure or table number (e.g. Fig. 1. Or Table 1.). Labels under figures & over tables. Chart, graph or table contains enough information so that the diagram can be understood without reading the paper.

A results sentence includes treatment groups, what was measured, significant, summary data, and p-value (if stats used).

15 pts Discussion

The voice is past tense and passive. It is written in paragraph form. Includes interpretation of the results in relation to other literature.

Errors or deviations that might have been involved in the study are included here. If errors are mentions there is a reason given for the error.

Includes at least one NEW reference. Clearly written.

10 pts Literature Cited

Includes the complete references of all the sources used in the report. All references listed here are actually cited in the report. On a separate sheet of paper.

Arranged alphabetically according to the primary authors last name (no numbering).The individual reference is single spaced. Between the references it is double spaced.

Reference formatted properly in the text of the paper.

10 pts Appendix

The raw data of the paper are included in table form if did not appear in the results section of the paper. Table might/should include descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, etc.), t-Tables or results. There should be a brief explanation above each table . Tables are not labeled or numbered.

Table 1. Descriptive statistics and results of t-Test analysis of the mass of trout fed a regular diet or a diet with additional supplements.

*

Figure 1. Comparison of the mass of trout fed a regular diet or a diet with additional supplements. Bars represent mean mass ± SD and a statistically significant difference between trout fed a supplemented or regular diet is denoted by an asterisk ( t-Test, p < 0.05).

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