Department of Physics and Computer Science
Lab Notebook Summaries
In many courses with labs, you are required to keep a notebook,
where you can make notes, record data, etc. Often you'll be
required to make a summary of one lab's entries.
A summary should be short, (one or two pages max), and focussing
on a few key points from that lab.
A point in a summary should be
- Important and Relevant;
if you missed it, it would be hard or
impossible to do the lab
- Specific; it should be detailed enough to be
used on its own, not requiring reference to some other document
- General; it applies to more than just this lab and
should be kept in mind for any similar lab
Sample Summary Entries
Suppose the labs in PC/CP120 used a lab notebook with
summaries.
Bad Summary Entry
Here's an example of a bad choice for an entry:
This is bad because it won't be any use later on.
Good Summary Entry
Here's a much better entry for the same topic:
This one describes what you need to remember all the time.
Bad Summary Entry
Here's an example of a bad choice for a different entry:
As before, it's no use as a reference for you.
Good Summary Entry
Here's a much better entry for the same topic:
In each case, the bad entries give no useful information for future
reference, while the good entries make statements which would
always be good to remember.