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Everything to Know About How to Write an Observation Report

Welcome to The Knowledge Nest, your ultimate resource for all things related to observation report writing. In this comprehensive guide, we will provide you with valuable insights, tips, and techniques to help you excel in the art of writing an observation report. Whether you are a student, researcher, or professional, this guide is here to assist you in crafting impactful observation reports that leave a lasting impression.

Understanding the Importance of Observation Reports

Observation reports play a crucial role in various fields, including education, psychology, scientific research, and more. These reports allow individuals to document and analyze their observations, providing valuable insights and contributing to the overall knowledge base in their respective fields. Writing a well-structured, detailed, and insightful observation report is essential for effectively communicating your findings and ensuring their validity.

The Key Components of an Observation Report

Before we delve into the nitty-gritty details of writing an observation report, let's outline the key components that should be included in your report:

• Introduction: Begin your report by providing background information about the subject of your observation and the purpose of your study.
• Methodology: Explain the methods and techniques you used to conduct your observation, including any tools or equipment.
• Observation Process: Describe the setting, context, and timeline of your observation. Include relevant details such as the participants involved, location, and any other pertinent information.
• Observation Findings: Present your observations in a clear and organized manner. Use descriptive language and provide specific examples to support your findings.
• Analysis and Interpretation: Analyze the data gathered during your observation and provide interpretations based on your observations. This section should involve critical thinking and reflection.
• Conclusion and Recommendations: Summarize your findings, draw conclusions, and provide any recommendations for future research or actions.
• Appendices: Include any additional supporting materials, such as charts, graphs, or photographs, in this section.

Tips and Techniques for Writing an Effective Observation Report

Now that we have covered the essential components, let's dive into some valuable tips and techniques to help you write an effective observation report:

1. Choose an Appropriate Observation Method

There are various methods of conducting observations, such as participant observation, non-participant observation, structured observation, and unstructured observation. Select the method that aligns with your research objectives and the nature of your study.

2. Plan and Prepare

Prior to conducting your observation, create a detailed plan outlining the objectives, timeline, and any specific instructions or protocols. This will help ensure that your observation is well-organized and focused.

3. Be Objective and Unbiased

When conducting your observation, strive to remain objective and unbiased. Avoid making assumptions, and let the data speak for itself. Record your observations accurately and truthfully.

4. Use Descriptive Language

When documenting your observations, use descriptive language to paint a vivid picture for your readers. This will enhance the reader's understanding and provide a comprehensive view of the situation.

5. Include Relevant Details

Ensure that your observation report includes all relevant details, such as the date, time, location, and specific actions or behaviors observed. The more specific and detailed your report, the more valuable it will be.

6. Support Your Findings with Examples

Back up your observations with concrete examples and evidence. This will add credibility to your report and strengthen your arguments.

7. Reflect and Analyze

Take the time to reflect on your observations and analyze the data you have collected. Consider different perspectives and critically evaluate the significance of your findings.

8. Edit and Proofread

Before finalizing your observation report, thoroughly edit and proofread it for any grammatical errors, typos, or inconsistencies. A well-written and error-free report enhances its professionalism and credibility.

Crafting an exceptional observation report requires time, effort, and attention to detail. By following the techniques and tips outlined in this guide, you will be well-equipped to write comprehensive and compelling observation reports that contribute to your field of study. Remember, the key to a successful observation report lies in thorough observation, accurate documentation, and insightful analysis. Happy writing!

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The purpose of a field report in the social sciences is to describe the deliberate observation of people, places, and/or events and to analyze what has been observed in order to identify and categorize common themes in relation to the research problem underpinning the study. The content represents the researcher's interpretation of meaning found in data that has been gathered during one or more observational events.

Flick, Uwe. The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Data Collection . London: SAGE Publications, 2018; Lofland, John, David Snow, Leon Anderson, and Lyn H. Lofland. Analyzing Social Settings: A Guide to Qualitative Observation and Analysis. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press, 2022; Baker, Lynda. "Observation: A Complex Research Method." Library Trends 55 (Summer 2006): 171-189.; Kellehear, Allan. The Unobtrusive Researcher: A Guide to Methods . New York: Routledge, 2020.

How to Approach Writing a Field Report

How to Begin

Field reports are most often assigned in disciplines of the applied social sciences [e.g., social work, anthropology, gerontology, criminal justice, education, law, the health care services] where it is important to build a bridge of relevancy between the theoretical concepts learned in the classroom and the practice of actually doing the work you are being taught to do. Field reports are also common in certain science disciplines [e.g., geology] but these reports are organized differently and serve a different purpose than what is described below.

Professors will assign a field report with the intention of improving your understanding of key theoretical concepts by applying methods of careful and structured observation of, and reflection about, people, places, or phenomena existing in their natural settings. Field reports facilitate the development of data collection techniques and observation skills and they help you to understand how theory applies to real world situations. Field reports are also an opportunity to obtain evidence through methods of observing professional practice that contribute to or challenge existing theories.

We are all observers of people, their interactions, places, and events; however, your responsibility when writing a field report is to conduct research based on data generated by the act of designing a specific study, deliberate observation, synthesis of key findings, and interpretation of their meaning.

When writing a field report you need to:

• Systematically observe and accurately record the varying aspects of a situation . Always approach your field study with a detailed protocol about what you will observe, where you should conduct your observations, and the method by which you will collect and record your data.
• Continuously analyze your observations . Always look for the meaning underlying the actions you observe. Ask yourself: What's going on here? What does this observed activity mean? What else does this relate to? Note that this is an on-going process of reflection and analysis taking place for the duration of your field research.
• Keep the report’s aims in mind while you are observing . Recording what you observe should not be done randomly or haphazardly; you must be focused and pay attention to details. Enter the observation site [i.e., "field"] with a clear plan about what you are intending to observe and record in relation to the research problem while, at the same time, being prepared to adapt to changing circumstances as they may arise.
• Consciously observe, record, and analyze what you hear and see in the context of a theoretical framework . This is what separates data gatherings from reporting. The theoretical framework guiding your field research should determine what, when, and how you observe and act as the foundation from which you interpret your findings in relation to the underlying assumptions embedded in the theoretical framework .

Techniques to Record Your Observations Although there is no limit to the type of data gathering techniques you can use, these are the most frequently used methods:

Note Taking This is the most common and easiest method of recording your observations. Tips for taking notes include: organizing some shorthand symbols beforehand so that recording basic or repeated actions does not impede your ability to observe, using many small paragraphs, which reflect changes in activities, who is talking, etc., and, leaving space on the page so you can write down additional thoughts and ideas about what’s being observed, any theoretical insights, and notes to yourself that are set aside for further investigation. See drop-down tab for additional information about note-taking.

Photography With the advent of smart phones, an almost unlimited number of high quality photographs can be taken of the objects, events, and people observed during a field study. Photographs can help capture an important moment in time as well as document details about the space where your observation takes place. Taking a photograph can save you time in documenting the details of a space that would otherwise require extensive note taking. However, be aware that flash photography could undermine your ability to observe unobtrusively so assess the lighting in your observation space; if it's too dark, you may need to rely on taking notes. Also, you should reject the idea that photographs represent some sort of "window into the world" because this assumption creates the risk of over-interpreting what they show. As with any product of data gathering, you are the sole instrument of interpretation and meaning-making, not the object itself. Video and Audio Recordings Video or audio recording your observations has the positive effect of giving you an unfiltered record of the observation event. It also facilitates repeated analysis of your observations. This can be particularly helpful as you gather additional information or insights during your research. However, these techniques have the negative effect of increasing how intrusive you are as an observer and will often not be practical or even allowed under certain circumstances [e.g., interaction between a doctor and a patient] and in certain organizational settings [e.g., a courtroom]. Illustrations/Drawings This does not refer to an artistic endeavor but, rather, refers to the possible need, for example, to draw a map of the observation setting or illustrating objects in relation to people's behavior. This can also take the form of rough tables, charts, or graphs documenting the frequency and type of activities observed. These can be subsequently placed in a more readable format when you write your field report. To save time, draft a table [i.e., columns and rows] on a separate piece of paper before an observation if you know you will be entering data in that way.

NOTE:   You may consider using a laptop or other electronic device to record your notes as you observe, but keep in mind the possibility that the clicking of keys while you type or noises from your device can be obtrusive, whereas writing your notes on paper is relatively quiet and unobtrusive. Always assess your presence in the setting where you're gathering the data so as to minimize your impact on the subject or phenomenon being studied.

ANOTHER NOTE:   Techniques of deliberate observation and data gathering are not innate skills; they are skills that must be learned and practiced in order to achieve proficiency. Before your first observation, practice the technique you plan to use in a setting similar to your study site [e.g., take notes about how people choose to enter checkout lines at a grocery store if your research involves examining the choice patterns of unrelated people forced to queue in busy social settings]. When the act of data gathering counts, you'll be glad you practiced beforehand.

YET ANOTHER NOTE:   An issue rarely discussed in the literature about conducting field research is whether you should move around the study site while observing or remaining situated in one place. Moving around can be intrusive, but it facilitates observing people's behavior from multiple vectors. However, if you remain in one place throughout the observation [or during each observation], you will eventually blend into the background and diminish the chance of unintentionally influencing people's behavior. If the site has a complex set of interactions or interdependent activities [e.g., a play ground], consider moving around; if the study site is relatively fixed [e.g., a classroom], then consider staying in one place while observing.

Examples of Things to Document While Observing

• Physical setting . The characteristics of an occupied space and the human use of the place where the observation(s) are being conducted.
• Objects and material culture . This refers to the presence, placement, and arrangement of objects that impact the behavior or actions of those being observed. If applicable, describe the cultural artifacts representing the beliefs [i.e., the values, ideas, attitudes, and assumptions] of the individuals you are observing [e.g., the choice of particular types of clothing in the observation of family gatherings during culturally specific holidays].
• Use of language . Don't just observe but  listen to what is being said, how is it being said, and the tone of conversations among participants.
• Behavior cycles . This refers to documenting when and who performs what behavior or task and how often they occur. Record at which stage this behavior is occurring within the setting.
• The order in which events unfold . Note sequential patterns of behavior or the moment when actions or events take place and their significance. Also, be prepared to note moments that diverge from these sequential patterns of behavior or actions.
• Physical characteristics of subjects. If relevant, document personal characteristics of individuals being observed. Note that, unless this data can be verified in interviews or from documentary evidence, you should only focus on characteristics that can be clearly observed [e.g., clothing, physical appearance, body language].
• Expressive body movements . This would include things like body posture or facial expressions. Note that it may be relevant to also assess whether expressive body movements support or contradict the language used in conversation [e.g., detecting sarcasm].

Brief notes about all of these examples contextualize your observations; however, your observation notes will be guided primarily by your theoretical framework, keeping in mind that your observations will feed into and potentially modify or alter these frameworks.

Sampling Techniques

Sampling refers to the process used to select a portion of the population for study . Qualitative research, of which observation is one method of data gathering, is generally based on non-probability and purposive sampling rather than probability or random approaches characteristic of quantitatively-driven studies. Sampling in observational research is flexible and often continues until no new themes emerge from the data, a point referred to as data saturation.

All sampling decisions are made for the explicit purpose of obtaining the richest possible source of information to answer the research questions. Decisions about sampling assumes you know what you want to observe, what behaviors are important to record, and what research problem you are addressing before you begin the study. These questions determine what sampling technique you should use, so be sure you have adequately answered them before selecting a sampling method.

Ways to sample when conducting an observation include:

• Ad Libitum Sampling -- this approach is not that different from what people do at the zoo; they observe whatever seems interesting at the moment. There is no organized system of recording the observations; you just note whatever seems relevant at the time. The advantage of this method is that you are often able to observe relatively rare or unusual behaviors that might be missed by more deliberately designed sampling methods. This method is also useful for obtaining preliminary observations that can be used to develop your final field study. Problems using this method include the possibility of inherent bias toward conspicuous behaviors or individuals, thereby missing mundane or repeated patterns of behavior, and that you may miss brief interactions in social settings.
• Behavior Sampling -- this involves watching the entire group of subjects and recording each occurrence of a specific behavior of interest and with reference to which individuals were involved. The method is useful in recording rare behaviors missed by other sampling methods and is often used in conjunction with focal or scan methods [see below]. However, sampling can be biased towards particular conspicuous behaviors.
• Continuous Recording -- provides a faithful record of behavior including frequencies, durations, and latencies [the time that elapses between a stimulus and the response to it]. This is a very demanding method because you are trying to record everything within the setting and, thus, measuring reliability may be sacrificed. In addition, durations and latencies are only reliable if subjects remain present throughout the collection of data. However, this method facilitates analyzing sequences of behaviors and ensures obtaining a wealth of data about the observation site and the people within it. The use of audio or video recording is most useful with this type of sampling.
• Focal Sampling -- this involves observing one individual for a specified amount of time and recording all instances of that individual's behavior. Usually you have a set of predetermined categories or types of behaviors that you are interested in observing [e.g., when a teacher walks around the classroom] and you keep track of the duration of those behaviors. This approach doesn't tend to bias one behavior over another and provides significant detail about a individual's behavior. However, with this method, you likely have to conduct a lot of focal samples before you have a good idea about how group members interact. It can also be difficult within certain settings to keep one individual in sight for the entire period of the observation without being intrusive.
• Instantaneous Sampling -- this is where observation sessions are divided into short intervals divided by sample points. At each sample point the observer records if predetermined behaviors of interest are taking place. This method is not effective for recording discrete events of short duration and, frequently, observers will want to record novel behaviors that occur slightly before or after the point of sampling, creating a sampling error. Though not exact, this method does give you an idea of durations and is relatively easy to do. It is also good for recording behavior patterns occurring at a specific instant, such as, movement or body positions.
• One-Zero Sampling -- this is very similar to instantaneous sampling, only the observer records if the behaviors of interest have occurred at any time during an interval instead of at the instant of the sampling point. The method is useful for capturing data on behavior patterns that start and stop repeatedly and rapidly, but that last only for a brief period of time. The disadvantage of this approach is that you get a dimensionless score for an entire recording session, so you only get one one data point for each recording session.
• Scan Sampling -- this method involves taking a census of the entire observed group at predetermined time periods and recording what each individual is doing at that moment. This is useful for obtaining group behavioral data and allows for data that are evenly representative across individuals and periods of time. On the other hand, this method may be biased towards more conspicuous behaviors and you may miss a lot of what is going on between observations, especially rare or unusual behaviors. It is also difficult to record more than a few individuals in a group setting without missing what each individual is doing at each predetermined moment in time [e.g., children sitting at a table during lunch at school]. The use of audio or video recording is useful with this type of sampling.

Alderks, Peter. Data Collection. Psychology 330 Course Documents. Animal Behavior Lab. University of Washington; Emerson, Robert M. Contemporary Field Research: Perspectives and Formulations . 2nd ed. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press, 2001; Emerson, Robert M. et al. “Participant Observation and Fieldnotes.” In Handbook of Ethnography . Paul Atkinson et al., eds. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2001), 352-368; Emerson, Robert M. et al. Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes . 2nd ed. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2011; Ethnography, Observational Research, and Narrative Inquiry. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Hazel, Spencer. "The Paradox from Within: Research Participants Doing-Being-Observed." Qualitative Research 16 (August 2016): 446-457; Pace, Tonio. Writing Field Reports. Scribd Online Library; Presser, Jon and Dona Schwartz. “Photographs within the Sociological Research Process.” In Image-based Research: A Sourcebook for Qualitative Researchers . Jon Prosser, editor (London: Falmer Press, 1998), pp. 115-130; Pyrczak, Fred and Randall R. Bruce. Writing Empirical Research Reports: A Basic Guide for Students of the Social and Behavioral Sciences . 5th ed. Glendale, CA: Pyrczak Publishing, 2005; Report Writing. UniLearning. University of Wollongong, Australia; Wolfinger, Nicholas H. "On Writing Fieldnotes: Collection Strategies and Background Expectancies.” Qualitative Research 2 (April 2002): 85-95; Writing Reports. Anonymous. The Higher Education Academy.

Structure and Writing Style

How you choose to format your field report is determined by the research problem, the theoretical framework that is driving your analysis, the observations that you make, and/or specific guidelines established by your professor. Since field reports do not have a standard format, it is worthwhile to determine from your professor what the preferred structure and organization should be before you begin to write. Note that field reports should be written in the past tense. With this in mind, most field reports in the social sciences include the following elements:

I.  Introduction The introduction should describe the research problem, the specific objectives of your research, and the important theories or concepts underpinning your field study. The introduction should describe the nature of the organization or setting where you are conducting the observation, what type of observations you have conducted, what your focus was, when you observed, and the methods you used for collecting the data. Collectively, this descriptive information should support reasons why you chose the observation site and the people or events within it. You should also include a review of pertinent literature related to the research problem, particularly if similar methods were used in prior studies. Conclude your introduction with a statement about how the rest of the paper is organized.

II.  Description of Activities

Your readers only knowledge and understanding of what happened will come from the description section of your report because they were not witnesses to the situation, people, or events that you are writing about. Given this, it is crucial that you provide sufficient details to place the analysis that will follow into proper context; don't make the mistake of providing a description without context. The description section of a field report is similar to a well written piece of journalism. Therefore, a useful approach to systematically describing the varying aspects of an observed situation is to answer the "Five W’s of Investigative Reporting." As Dubbels notes [p. 19], these are:

• What -- describe what you observed. Note the temporal, physical, and social boundaries you imposed to limit the observations you made. What were your general impressions of the situation you were observing. For example, as a student teacher, what is your impression of the application of iPads as a learning device in a history class; as a cultural anthropologist, what is your impression of women's participation in a Native American religious ritual?
• Where -- provide background information about the setting of your observation and, if necessary, note important material objects that are present that help contextualize the observation [e.g., arrangement of computers in relation to student engagement with the teacher].
• When -- record factual data about the day and the beginning and ending time of each observation. Note that it may also be necessary to include background information or key events which impact upon the situation you were observing [e.g., observing the ability of teachers to re-engage students after coming back from an unannounced fire drill].
• Who -- note background and demographic information about the individuals being observed e.g., age, gender, ethnicity, and/or any other variables relevant to your study]. Record who is doing what and saying what, as well as, who is not doing or saying what. If relevant, be sure to record who was missing from the observation.
• Why -- why were you doing this? Describe the reasons for selecting particular situations to observe. Note why something happened. Also note why you may have included or excluded certain information.

III.  Interpretation and Analysis

Always place the analysis and interpretations of your field observations within the larger context of the theoretical assumptions and issues you described in the introduction. Part of your responsibility in analyzing the data is to determine which observations are worthy of comment and interpretation, and which observations are more general in nature. It is your theoretical framework that allows you to make these decisions. You need to demonstrate to the reader that you are conducting the field work through the eyes of an informed viewer and from the perspective of a casual observer.

Here are some questions to ask yourself when analyzing your observations:

• What is the meaning of what you have observed?
• Why do you think what you observed happened? What evidence do you have for your reasoning?
• What events or behaviors were typical or widespread? If appropriate, what was unusual or out of the ordinary? How were they distributed among categories of people?
• Do you see any connections or patterns in what you observed?
• Why did the people you observed proceed with an action in the way that they did? What are the implications of this?
• Did the stated or implicit objectives of what you were observing match what was achieved?
• What were the relative merits of the behaviors you observed?
• What were the strengths and weaknesses of the observations you recorded?
• Do you see connections between what you observed and the findings of similar studies identified from your review of the literature?
• How do your observations fit into the larger context of professional practice? In what ways have your observations possibly changed or affirmed your perceptions of professional practice?
• Have you learned anything from what you observed?

NOTE:   Only base your interpretations on what you have actually observed. Do not speculate or manipulate your observational data to fit into your study's theoretical framework.

IV.  Conclusion and Recommendations

The conclusion should briefly recap of the entire study, reiterating the importance or significance of your observations. Avoid including any new information. You should also state any recommendations you may have based on the results of your study. Be sure to describe any unanticipated problems you encountered and note the limitations of your study. The conclusion should not be more than two or three paragraphs.

V.  Appendix

This is where you would place information that is not essential to explaining your findings, but that supports your analysis [especially repetitive or lengthy information], that validates your conclusions, or that contextualizes a related point that helps the reader understand the overall report. Examples of information that could be included in an appendix are figures/tables/charts/graphs of results, statistics, pictures, maps, drawings, or, if applicable, transcripts of interviews. There is no limit to what can be included in the appendix or its format [e.g., a DVD recording of the observation site], provided that it is relevant to the study's purpose and reference is made to it in the report. If information is placed in more than one appendix ["appendices"], the order in which they are organized is dictated by the order they were first mentioned in the text of the report.

VI.  References

List all sources that you consulted and obtained information from while writing your field report. Note that field reports generally do not include further readings or an extended bibliography. However, consult with your professor concerning what your list of sources should be included and be sure to write them in the preferred citation style of your discipline or is preferred by your professor [i.e., APA, Chicago, MLA, etc.].

Alderks, Peter. Data Collection. Psychology 330 Course Documents. Animal Behavior Lab. University of Washington; Dubbels, Brock R. Exploring the Cognitive, Social, Cultural, and Psychological Aspects of Gaming and Simulations . Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2018; Emerson, Robert M. Contemporary Field Research: Perspectives and Formulations . 2nd ed. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press, 2001; Emerson, Robert M. et al. “Participant Observation and Fieldnotes.” In Handbook of Ethnography . Paul Atkinson et al., eds. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2001), 352-368; Emerson, Robert M. et al. Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes . 2nd ed. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2011; Ethnography, Observational Research, and Narrative Inquiry. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Pace, Tonio. Writing Field Reports. Scribd Online Library; Pyrczak, Fred and Randall R. Bruce. Writing Empirical Research Reports: A Basic Guide for Students of the Social and Behavioral Sciences . 5th ed. Glendale, CA: Pyrczak Publishing, 2005; Report Writing. UniLearning. University of Wollongong, Australia; Wolfinger, Nicholas H. "On Writing Fieldnotes: Collection Strategies and Background Expectancies.” Qualitative Research 2 (April 2002): 85-95; Writing Reports. Anonymous. The Higher Education Academy.

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14 fascinating teacher interview questions for principals, tips for success if you have a master’s degree and can’t find a job, 14 ways young teachers can get that professional look, which teacher supplies are worth the splurge, 8 business books every teacher should read, conditional admission: everything you need to know, college majors: everything you need to know, 7 things principals can do to make a teacher observation valuable, 3 easy teacher outfits to tackle parent-teacher conferences, a guide to writing observation reports.

An observation report is a piece of document that contains comprehensive information about a child. This document can be used as the basis to assess a child’s overall development.  

How to Get Started

The process involves observing a child, making notes, and putting everything together in a report. In preparation for the observation, you have to determine the setting and the schedule of the planned observation .

Identify what type of data you want to gather. If you want to observe a child’s socialization skills, schedule the observation while the child is at a playdate with friends. If you want to observe a child in the school setting, schedule the observation on a weekday when the child is in class.

Be mindful of the time and date of your observation. If a child is particularly slow to warm up, do not be surprised if the child does not immediately engage with his or her peers upon arrival at school. 

What Information to Include

Include as much information as you can during the time of observation. If you are observing a child in a classroom setting , don’t just focus on the child’s behavior; take note of the classroom, the environment, and the type of activity that they were doing that day. Any incidents that occur during the observation should be noted as well. It is highly likely that the behaviors exhibited by the child will be influenced by the events and environment on the day of the observation.

Tip: if you are worried that you might not take enough notes or write fast enough, you can use a voice recorder. Secure the permission of the people in the setting before you do this.

Create the Report

Compile all observation notes, organize them, and analyze the data. When reporting on a child’s behavior (e.g., a tantrum ), make sure to provide information about events that happened before, during, and after the behavior took place

A tip about note-taking: Keep your observation notes factual. Avoid making commentaries or making assumptions about how the child or others felt unless it was said explicitly.

Find the ideal format to present the information because the sheer amount of it can be overwhelming. Start with factual information like the date, time, and place of the observation. Proceed to write down all observations that you made. Keep these observations straightforward and clear. Make sure that it is organized and easy to understand. Put your analysis and recommendations towards the end of the report.   

Concluding Thoughts

Observation notes provide a wealth of information about a child. Observation notes can be used to assess a child’s behavior and development, which is why it’s important to create a report that is comprehensive and easy to understand. 

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Commercial – Construction site observation report

Construction site observation report: What's required (and a sample)

What is a site observation report used for in construction.

A site observation report is the report which documents the general and detailed observations a worker or inspector makes on site - on a particular day and at a particular time.

The idea behind conducting observations and creating observation reports is to step back and make a conscious and objective assessment of project progress, as well as general site activity, safety or environmental findings and evidence of anything out of the ordinary.

The 'reporting' part of the report is obviously the first step, with the point of reporting being that the findings will be made actionable, either by the observing party or other workers and teams.

A sample construction site observation report

The observing part of the observation is done by a human; either an inspector or select employee, while the reporting part is conduced with a site observation report template - which can be created with efficient commercial management software, word, excel or other paper and doc builders.

The site observation report template should serve as the observation framework, and should guide but not constrain the observers movements and actions.

Depending on the level of detail and purpose of the observation, the person conducting the report may document more or less findings. If your daily reporting processes and records are strong, the inspector may be looking for outlying details. If you daily reporting is hit and miss or non-existent, then the report should cover more of the general progress as well as those outlying details.

As you can see in the sample report below, there are a few requisite details which need to be on every report, as well as some template sections for unique findings. The necessary reporting fields include:

• The observation date and time
• The project or job being inspeted
• The conditions (weather etc.)
• Inspector signoff once the report is completed

Outside of these details, the report will cover any new or observed findings:

• Party, description of work completed and supporting photos
• Checkbox safety questions which will focus on the unique elements of your site and safety efforts
• Discussion notes from site which provide more context around what was found as well as what was already partially covered and known about on site

Obviously the more detail provided in the site activity table the better, with detailed descriptions and detailed photos providing a heap of value for other parties who did not do the walkaround, as well as context for looking back at the records later on down the road.

Use and customise this site observation report template for free.

Why are site observation reports important.

The site report serves as an important project document which helps companies and workers understand:

• What were the activities which took place on day 'X', and were these activities expected and in accordance with good work practices
• How things are going overall (are we on track, behind schedule etc.)
• In the day-to-day execution of work, have we been sloppy with safety or environmental actions
• Is there anything we have missed?

It also serves to help inform multiple stakeholders of progress. A site observation report may be shared with subcontractors and contractors scheduled for work to help them understand what's happening, and will certainly be shared internally to keep functions and teams on the same page.

While site diaries and daily progress report forms help keep commercial and production teams in the loop on progress, deliveries and other work related items, they don't typically look at the project holistically (from a birds eye view).

It's important to do both the daily reporting at job and execution level, as well as to maintain a solid and regular cadence of observations.

Together, these forms and practices create an accurate view of what's happening and help companies and people mitigate mistakes and make more informed decisions - which results in better outcomes overall.

The quality of your observation efforts and reports are also extremely important. These reports are the reports which which are sent to important project parties, and they should be created, completed and formatted to represent this fact.

Poorly structured and fuzzy reports create misunderstanding, unnecessary back and forth and can create wasted time and resentment between parties.

Projects get delayed and end up over budget because people don't have the information they need to make informed decisions. Good observation reports help fill this void with useful and timely information of what's actually happening on the ground.

Site Observation Report template

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About Lance Hodgson

Lance is VP of Marketing at Sitemate. His aim is to bring awareness to a brighter future for the Built World where industrial workers and companies work smarter.

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Classroom Observation Report

Teachers or substitute teachers would know that observing children and students in the classroom can be a difficult task. As each student has their own unique trait as well as their own attention capacity. For a teacher or a substitute teacher, they must find ways to encourage their students to interact, especially if they are handling children. An observation report is a good enough way to list all the details or the information they got from watching how their students interact in the classroom. To get an idea on what you can do with an observation report, check out the article below.

14+ Classroom Observation Report Examples

1. classroom observation report template.

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15. Printable Classroom Observation Report

What Is an Observation?

An observation is the act of seeing something that you have not seen before. The process of observing and watching. In addition to that, an observation is the act of seeing someone or something to gain information about it. An observation is the act of looking at something or someone in a curious or genuine manner. To get to know a person or a thing by watching them without making much judgement. To get any understanding and information by observing something or someone.

What Is a Report?

A report is a document that is written by someone who has something to say. It can be in the form of a complaint, an observation, a topic to be discussed, or even to simply want to inform someone about something. Reports are also considered an official document that describes incidents that may have happened. In addition to that it means to give full detail about something or someone. The information that is found in the report can be used for future information that may be useful for whatever purpose it was given. Lastly, a report can also be either in written form or presented orally.

What Is an Observation Report?

An observation report is a document that stores information about a child or about children and the way they interact with their peers. Observation reports are mostly done by teachers or health care professionals. As this document is mostly used for understanding the well being of the child. This document contains the general and sometimes specific information about a child’s overall development. It is also the process besides observing the child, you are also observing how they act in their own environment and how they perceive things. You are also going to be writing them down as well as putting all the observations into one report.

How Important Is a Classroom Observation Report?

The importance of writing a classroom observation report is to know and understand where your students may be struggling at. The areas in which a student has the opportunity to know where they can improve. A classroom observation report can also show the strengths and weaknesses of the students. In addition to that, it also helps by performing an investigation report that may be needed to check on the progress of your students. As well as if any incidents may arise, a classroom observation report is the best tool to use for gathering data or information about your students.

What Are the Tools?

• Questionnaire

How to Write a Classroom Evaluation Report?

• Do a thorough observation of your students
• Write your observations down
• Start doing your assessment and evaluation
• List the evaluations and results
• Pile them up to make a general evaluation report
• Make a copy of your own and send it to your superiors

What is a classroom evaluation report?

A classroom evaluation report is a type of report that is documented to know and understand how a student reacts and interacts in their surroundings. It is used mostly by teachers as a way to see and to use as an intervention report. In case of any incidents or accidents that may fall on the classroom, they are able to record it and find a solution.

How can a classroom evaluation report be useful for a teacher?

Classroom evaluation reports are a bundle of information made through observing your students. Their personalities, how they interact, their strengths and weaknesses all written down for your convenience. The evaluation report is useful when you have assessed and evaluated the problem and are able to find a solution for it. Just like any type of report, an evaluation report requires data or information to be able to find a solution. This is one way of using your classroom evaluation report.

Is there a format for writing your evaluation report?

Not necessarily. You may choose how you want to write your evaluation report. As long as you remember to treat this report as a legal document. You should also avoid using jargon that may not be as familiar to others who may read your report.

Do I need to write down all the observations I had inside my classroom?

In a general way, you may want to write all the observations in a paper. But when you want to write your evaluation report, stick to the most important information.

Anyone who may have taught or is currently teaching students, especially children would know that anything can really happen inside the classroom. That students differ from others and there is no such thing as two students with the same attitude or personality. These observations can be quite helpful especially if you are trying to resolve an issue concerning your students. By using a classroom evaluation report, you are surely able to find a solution to the problems that your students may be facing. As well as a good way of implementing rules based on the observation report you made.

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How to Respond to an Employee Evaluation

How to handle a disgruntled employee during an appraisal, methods of informal appraisals for the workplace.

• Four Types of Report Formats
• The Effect of Negative Performance Evaluations on Future Performance

If you’re asked to conduct an observation of an employee or you’re going to be observed by a manager, don’t panic. It’s not always a sign you’re doing something wrong. Businesses use employee evaluations to learn more about their positions and whether certain people need more support, training or a decreased workload. Reviewing some employee observation examples will help you create better reports or contribute to the one you’re receiving.

What Are Employee Observation Reports?

Employee observation isn’t a term that’s used widely – more often, these are called appraisals or reviews (if they’re performed after the fact). They might be called evaluations or shadowing if they include watching or monitoring an employee’s real-time progress.

In some cases, these procedures consist of a discussion led by a manager or questions asked by a performance expert. For example, the annual review you get might be classified as an employee observation, points out Bamboo HR . Another example might consist of an efficiency expert or continuous improvement consultant interviewing employees to talk about their jobs.

Some employee observations are specific, such as safety observations to see if staff members know, understand, and use safe workplace practices, explains Open Sourced Workplace . This article looks at a sample of an observation report that examines an employee’s real-time performance during a specific period rather than an end-of-year performance review.

Report Introduction

An observation report on an employee often starts with a half-page or so introduction that lays out the purpose of the exercise. It states why the company is observing an employee or employees, any problems the company is trying to solve, or if it’s looking for opportunities to improve. Workplace observation examples might include looking to decrease defects in the production department, decrease the length of customer service calls, or increase certain types of sales.

Laying Out the Methodology

The next part of the report explains the methodology the observer(s) used. This is a detailed explanation of who is doing the observing, who is being observed, the environment where the observations are being made (in the field or in the office), the dates of the project, and how data is being collected and reported. This allows management to see if the project might have been flawed due to bad data-collection methods or if it can be improved in the future.

Reporting the Observations

The main body of the report includes the observations made by the project owner or team and any data it collected. At this point, the report might not include any subjective comments or recommendations about what happened, just that certain things happened. Interpretation of the information comes later in the report’s summary. The data in this section is often accompanied by charts, tables, graphs, spreadsheets or other easily understandable formats.

Employee’s Feedback

An employee observation report should include feedback from the employee. This might include responding to the purpose of the report. It should also include the employee’s response to questions about why she performs her job a specific way, whether she lacks any tools, training or support, and her suggestions for improvements.

Making Conclusions and Recommendations

An observation report on an employee should end with an interpretation of the information and data collected and recommendations and suggestions by the report writer. For example, the report might recommend that the employee attend a workshop for more training, have part of her workload shifted to another employee or department, or that the employee should earn professional certification in her area. This information is then shared with management and any employees who were part of the observation to get recommendations from both sides.

• Open Sourced Workplace: What Is Workplace Observation?
• Bamboo HR: Performance Review

Steve Milano is a journalist and business executive/consultant. He has helped dozens of for-profit companies and nonprofits with their marketing and operations. Steve has written more than 8,000 articles during his career, focusing on small business, careers, personal finance and health and fitness. Steve also turned his tennis hobby into a career, coaching, writing, running nonprofits and conducting workshops around the globe.

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• 1 Purpose of Workplace Observation
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• 3 How to Make a Report Cover Letter
• 4 Advantages & Disadvantages of Top-Down Performance Reviews

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Methodology

• What Is an Observational Study? | Guide & Examples

What Is an Observational Study? | Guide & Examples

Published on March 31, 2022 by Tegan George . Revised on June 22, 2023.

An observational study is used to answer a research question based purely on what the researcher observes. There is no interference or manipulation of the research subjects, and no control and treatment groups .

These studies are often qualitative in nature and can be used for both exploratory and explanatory research purposes. While quantitative observational studies exist, they are less common.

Observational studies are generally used in hard science, medical, and social science fields. This is often due to ethical or practical concerns that prevent the researcher from conducting a traditional experiment . However, the lack of control and treatment groups means that forming inferences is difficult, and there is a risk of confounding variables and observer bias impacting your analysis.

Table of contents

Types of observation, types of observational studies, observational study example, advantages and disadvantages of observational studies, observational study vs. experiment, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions.

There are many types of observation, and it can be challenging to tell the difference between them. Here are some of the most common types to help you choose the best one for your observational study.

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There are three main types of observational studies: cohort studies, case–control studies, and cross-sectional studies .

Cohort studies

Cohort studies are more longitudinal in nature, as they follow a group of participants over a period of time. Members of the cohort are selected because of a shared characteristic, such as smoking, and they are often observed over a period of years.

Case–control studies

Case–control studies bring together two groups, a case study group and a control group . The case study group has a particular attribute while the control group does not. The two groups are then compared, to see if the case group exhibits a particular characteristic more than the control group.

For example, if you compared smokers (the case study group) with non-smokers (the control group), you could observe whether the smokers had more instances of lung disease than the non-smokers.

Cross-sectional studies

Cross-sectional studies analyze a population of study at a specific point in time.

This often involves narrowing previously collected data to one point in time to test the prevalence of a theory—for example, analyzing how many people were diagnosed with lung disease in March of a given year. It can also be a one-time observation, such as spending one day in the lung disease wing of a hospital.

Observational studies are usually quite straightforward to design and conduct. Sometimes all you need is a notebook and pen! As you design your study, you can follow these steps.

Step 1: Identify your research topic and objectives

The first step is to determine what you’re interested in observing and why. Observational studies are a great fit if you are unable to do an experiment for practical or ethical reasons , or if your research topic hinges on natural behaviors.

Step 2: Choose your observation type and technique

In terms of technique, there are a few things to consider:

• Are you determining what you want to observe beforehand, or going in open-minded?
• Is there another research method that would make sense in tandem with an observational study?
• If yes, make sure you conduct a covert observation.
• If not, think about whether observing from afar or actively participating in your observation is a better fit.
• How can you preempt confounding variables that could impact your analysis?
• You could observe the children playing at the playground in a naturalistic observation.
• You could spend a month at a day care in your town conducting participant observation, immersing yourself in the day-to-day life of the children.
• You could conduct covert observation behind a wall or glass, where the children can’t see you.

Overall, it is crucial to stay organized. Devise a shorthand for your notes, or perhaps design templates that you can fill in. Since these observations occur in real time, you won’t get a second chance with the same data.

Step 3: Set up your observational study

Before conducting your observations, there are a few things to attend to:

• Plan ahead: If you’re interested in day cares, you’ll need to call a few in your area to plan a visit. They may not all allow observation, or consent from parents may be needed, so give yourself enough time to set everything up.
• Determine your note-taking method: Observational studies often rely on note-taking because other methods, like video or audio recording, run the risk of changing participant behavior.
• Get informed consent from your participants (or their parents) if you want to record:  Ultimately, even though it may make your analysis easier, the challenges posed by recording participants often make pen-and-paper a better choice.

Step 4: Conduct your observation

After you’ve chosen a type of observation, decided on your technique, and chosen a time and place, it’s time to conduct your observation.

Here, you can split them into case and control groups. The children with siblings have a characteristic you are interested in (siblings), while the children in the control group do not.

When conducting observational studies, be very careful of confounding or “lurking” variables. In the example above, you observed children as they were dropped off, gauging whether or not they were upset. However, there are a variety of other factors that could be at play here (e.g., illness).

Step 5: Analyze your data

After you finish your observation, immediately record your initial thoughts and impressions, as well as follow-up questions or any issues you perceived during the observation. If you audio- or video-recorded your observations, you can transcribe them.

Your analysis can take an inductive  or deductive approach :

• If you conducted your observations in a more open-ended way, an inductive approach allows your data to determine your themes.
• If you had specific hypotheses prior to conducting your observations, a deductive approach analyzes whether your data confirm those themes or ideas you had previously.

Next, you can conduct your thematic or content analysis . Due to the open-ended nature of observational studies, the best fit is likely thematic analysis .

Step 6: Discuss avenues for future research

Observational studies are generally exploratory in nature, and they often aren’t strong enough to yield standalone conclusions due to their very high susceptibility to observer bias and confounding variables. For this reason, observational studies can only show association, not causation .

If you are excited about the preliminary conclusions you’ve drawn and wish to proceed with your topic, you may need to change to a different research method , such as an experiment.

• Observational studies can provide information about difficult-to-analyze topics in a low-cost, efficient manner.
• They allow you to study subjects that cannot be randomized safely, efficiently, or ethically .
• They are often quite straightforward to conduct, since you just observe participant behavior as it happens or utilize preexisting data.
• They’re often invaluable in informing later, larger-scale clinical trials or experimental designs.

Disadvantages

• Observational studies struggle to stand on their own as a reliable research method. There is a high risk of observer bias and undetected confounding variables or omitted variables .
• They lack conclusive results, typically are not externally valid or generalizable, and can usually only form a basis for further research.
• They cannot make statements about the safety or efficacy of the intervention or treatment they study, only observe reactions to it. Therefore, they offer less satisfying results than other methods.

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The key difference between observational studies and experiments is that a properly conducted observational study will never attempt to influence responses, while experimental designs by definition have some sort of treatment condition applied to a portion of participants.

However, there may be times when it’s impossible, dangerous, or impractical to influence the behavior of your participants. This can be the case in medical studies, where it is unethical or cruel to withhold potentially life-saving intervention, or in longitudinal analyses where you don’t have the ability to follow your group over the course of their lifetime.

An observational study may be the right fit for your research if random assignment of participants to control and treatment groups is impossible or highly difficult. However, the issues observational studies raise in terms of validity , confounding variables, and conclusiveness can mean that an experiment is more reliable.

If you’re able to randomize your participants safely and your research question is definitely causal in nature, consider using an experiment.

If you want to know more about statistics , methodology , or research bias , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• Student’s  t -distribution
• Normal distribution
• Null and Alternative Hypotheses
• Chi square tests
• Confidence interval
• Quartiles & Quantiles
• Cluster sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Data cleansing
• Reproducibility vs Replicability
• Peer review
• Prospective cohort study

Research bias

• Implicit bias
• Cognitive bias
• Placebo effect
• Hawthorne effect
• Hindsight bias
• Affect heuristic
• Social desirability bias

An observational study is a great choice for you if your research question is based purely on observations. If there are ethical, logistical, or practical concerns that prevent you from conducting a traditional experiment , an observational study may be a good choice. In an observational study, there is no interference or manipulation of the research subjects, as well as no control or treatment groups .

The key difference between observational studies and experimental designs is that a well-done observational study does not influence the responses of participants, while experiments do have some sort of treatment condition applied to at least some participants by random assignment .

A quasi-experiment is a type of research design that attempts to establish a cause-and-effect relationship. The main difference with a true experiment is that the groups are not randomly assigned.

Exploratory research aims to explore the main aspects of an under-researched problem, while explanatory research aims to explain the causes and consequences of a well-defined problem.

Experimental design means planning a set of procedures to investigate a relationship between variables . To design a controlled experiment, you need:

• A testable hypothesis
• At least one independent variable that can be precisely manipulated
• At least one dependent variable that can be precisely measured

When designing the experiment, you decide:

• How you will manipulate the variable(s)
• How you will control for any potential confounding variables
• How many subjects or samples will be included in the study
• How subjects will be assigned to treatment levels

Experimental design is essential to the internal and external validity of your experiment.

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• 25 Writing Observation Reports

Start-Up Activity

Ask for a volunteer to read page 177 aloud. Then ask students to write a quick observation report based on the view from their desk. More specifically, for 5 minutes they should record what they see, hear, and feel around them without worrying about getting everything perfect in their sentences. Their goal is to record as many sensory details as they can. (Consider writing along with the students.) Afterward, ask for volunteers to share their reports for discussion. Note the different sensory details included.

Writing observation reports gives you an opportunity to teach the continuous form of the present tense ( is running, are sitting, etc.) English Language Learners often have difficulties with the continuous tense.

Think About It

“Writing is not apart from living. Writing is a kind of double living.”

—Catherine Drinker Bowen

State Standards Covered in This Chapter

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.2
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.2
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.2

LAFS Covered in This Chapter

Lafs.6.w.1.2, lafs.7.w.1.2, lafs.8.w.1.2, teks covered in this chapter, 110.22.b.10, 110.22.b.11.b, 110.23.b.10, 110.23.b.11.b, 110.24.b.10, 110.24.b.11.b, page 178 from all write, sample observation report.

Ask for a volunteer to read the sample aloud. Then discuss the text, using the side notes as a basic guide. During your discussion, have students identify any sensory details that the writer included.

Writing a "Showing" Paragraph

Help students show instead of tell.

Related Resource Tags

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Page 179 from All Write

Writing guidelines: observation report.

Help students think of possible topics for their reports, or select a site for everyone to observe at the same time. Then model the use of a five senses organizer in case students want to use it. (Consider requiring students to address at least three different senses.)

When students are ready to write, point out that they can simply share details in the order they listed them or they can organize them with a beginning, middle, and ending. The model on page 178 features these three parts.

Writing Descriptions That "Show" Instead of "Tell"

Teach students to use sensory details.

Page 180 from All Write

Sample science observation report.

Be sure that science teachers know that All Write contains a sample science-related observation report. Consider teaming up with a science teacher to assign this type of report, with the details for the report being gathered in the science classroom and the writing carried out in your classroom.

• 01 A Basic Writing Guide
• 02 One Writer's Process
• 03 Traits of Effective Writing
• 04 Prewriting
• 05 Writing and Revising
• 06 Group Advising
• 08 Publishing
• 09 Writing Basic Sentences
• 10 Combining Sentences
• 11 Building Paragraphs
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Tip #1: think about what the observer is looking for during the observation, tip #2: plan your lesson accordingly and in sequence, tip #3: remember the teaching standards you have, tip #4: always have a backup plan, tip #5: emphasize the lesson objectives, tip #6: get in the mindset, share this post on your network, file formats, word templates, google docs templates, excel templates, powerpoint templates, google sheets templates, google slides templates, pdf templates, publisher templates, psd templates, indesign templates, illustrator templates, pages templates, keynote templates, numbers templates, outlook templates, you may also like these articles, 12+ sample construction daily report in ms word | pdf.

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A guide to writing an observation paper for child development in apa format, rachel r.n..

• February 23, 2024
• How to Guides

What You'll Learn

Observation papers focusing on child development serve as invaluable tools for gaining deep insights into a child’s behavior, cognitive abilities, and social interactions. Crafting such papers in American Psychological Association (APA) format ensures a standardized and professional presentation of your findings. This comprehensive guide will provide an in-depth exploration of the steps involved in writing an observation paper for child development in APA style.(A Guide to Writing an Observation Paper for Child Development in APA Format)

Preparing for the Observation

•  Selecting the Child

Consider Developmental Stage: Choose a child whose age and developmental stage align with the objectives of your observation. A preschooler, for example, may exhibit different behaviors than an elementary school child.

Parental Consent: Obtain explicit permission from parents or guardians to observe and document the child’s behavior, ensuring ethical considerations are met.

2. Identifying the Setting:

• Relevance of Setting: Determine the appropriate setting for observation, such as a home, school, or daycare center. Ensure it is conducive to observing the specific behaviors of interest.
• Time and Duration: Consider the time and duration of the observation, allowing for a comprehensive view of the child’s behavior across various activities and situations.(A Guide to Writing an Observation Paper for Child Development in APA Format)

3. Conducting the Observation:

Establishing Objectives:

Define Clear Goals: Clearly define the goals and objectives of the observation, specifying the aspects of child development you intend to study, whether it be language development , social interactions, or emotional regulation.

Structured Plan: Develop a structured observation plan, outlining the specific behaviors and interactions you aim to observe. This plan will serve as a roadmap during the observation.

4. Note-Taking and Recording:

• Real-time Documentation: Utilize a notebook or electronic device for real-time note-taking during the observation, capturing details, quotes, and any notable behaviors.
• Event Sequencing: Record specific behaviors, interactions, and any significant events in a chronological sequence, providing a nuanced understanding of the child’s actions.(A Guide to Writing an Observation Paper for Child Development in APA Format)

5. Maintaining Objectivity:

• Neutral Tone: Maintain a neutral and objective tone throughout your notes, avoiding personal biases and interpretations that are not supported by observed behaviors.
• Avoid Assumptions: Refrain from making assumptions or interpretations that may cloud the objectivity of your observations. Stick to observable facts.

Structuring the Observation Paper in APA Format

A. Title Page

Follow APA guidelines for the title page, including the title of the paper, your name, institutional affiliation, and date. Include a running head and page number for consistency.

B. Abstract:

Write a concise abstract (150-250 words) summarizing the purpose, methods, and key findings of the observation, providing a snapshot of your study.

C. Introduction:

Provide detailed background information on the child, setting, and purpose of the observation, highlighting the significance of studying the particular developmental aspects.

Clearly state the objectives of the study, emphasizing how the observation contributes to the broader understanding of child development.(A Guide to Writing an Observation Paper for Child Development in APA Format)

D. Methodology :

Provide a detailed description of the observation methods, including the setting, duration, and any instruments used (e.g., video camera, audio recorder).

Describe ethical considerations and consent procedures, ensuring transparency in the ethical conduct of your study.

E. Results :

Organize your findings logically, using headings and subheadings to delineate different aspects of the child’s behavior and interactions.

Present observed behaviors with supporting examples, providing context and depth to your observations.

F. Discussion:

Analyze and interpret observed behaviors within the context of relevant child development theories, discussing how your findings align or diverge from existing literature.(A Guide to Writing an Observation Paper for Child Development in APA Format)

Discuss the implications of your findings on the child’s overall development, considering potential influences and factors.(A Guide to Writing an Observation Paper for Child Development in APA Format)

G. Conclusion :

Summarize the key findings of your observation, emphasizing their significance in the context of child development.

Suggest potential areas for further research or intervention based on your observations and findings.

IV. Citations and References:

A. Citations:

Cite sources using APA in-text citation guidelines, providing specific details such as author, year, and page when referencing literature or theories.

B. References:

Compile a list of references in alphabetical order, adhering to APA guidelines for formatting and citing various sources.(A Guide to Writing an Observation Paper for Child Development in APA Format)

A. Proofreading:

Review your paper for grammatical errors, clarity, and consistency, ensuring that your writing is precise and articulate.(A Guide to Writing an Observation Paper for Child Development in APA Format)

Verify that your paper adheres to APA formatting guidelines, including font size, margins, and overall presentation.

B. Submission :

Submit your observation paper in accordance with the requirements provided by your instructor or institution.

Include any necessary supporting materials, such as consent forms or additional documentation, to strengthen the credibility of your study.

In conclusion, writing an observation paper for child development in APA format is a meticulous process that requires careful planning, detailed observation, and strict adherence to APA guidelines. By following this comprehensive guide, you can craft a well-structured, professional paper that contributes valuable insights to the field of child development. This approach ensures your work is not only academically rigorous but also ethically sound, promoting a holistic understanding of a child’s developmental journey.(A Guide to Writing an Observation Paper for Child Development in APA Format)

Trawick-Smith, J. (2022).  Early childhood development: A multicultural perspective . Pearson. One Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED633607

Whitebread, D., & Neale, D. (2020). Metacognition in early child development.  Translational Issues in Psychological Science ,  6 (1), 8. https://psycnet.apa.org/journals/tps/6/1/8/

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Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper: Writing a Field Report

• Purpose of Guide
• Design Flaws to Avoid
• Independent and Dependent Variables
• Glossary of Research Terms
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The purpose of a field report in the social sciences is to describe the observation of people, places, and/or events and to analyze that observation data in order to identify and categorize common themes in relation to the research problem underpinning the study. The content represents the researcher's interpretation of meaning found in data that has been gathered during one or more observational events.

Flick, Uwe The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Data Collection . London: SAGE Publications, 2018.

How to Approach Writing a Field Report

How to Begin

Field reports are most often assigned in disciplines of the applied social sciences [e.g., social work, anthropology, gerontology, criminal justice, education, law, the health care professions] where it is important to build a bridge of relevancy between the theoretical concepts learned in the classroom and the practice of actually doing the work you are being taught to do. Field reports are also common in certain science disciplines [e.g., geology] but these reports are organized differently and serve a different purpose than what is described below.

Professors will assign a field report with the intention of improving your understanding of key theoretical concepts through a method of careful and structured observation of, and reflection about, people, places, or phenomena existing in their natural settings. Field reports facilitate the development of data collection techniques and observation skills and they help you to understand how theory applies to real world situations. Field reports are also an opportunity to obtain evidence through methods of observing professional practice that contribute to or challenge existing theories.

We are all observers of people, their interactions, places, and events; however, your responsibility when writing a field report is to create a research study based on data generated by the act of designing a specific study, deliberate observation, a synthesis of key findings, and an interpretation of their meaning. When writing a field report you need to:

• Systematically observe and accurately record the varying aspects of a situation . Always approach your field study with a detailed protocol about what you will observe, where you should conduct your observations, and the method by which you will collect and record your data.
• Continuously analyze your observations . Always look for the meaning underlying the actions you observe. Ask yourself: What's going on here? What does this observed activity mean? What else does this relate to? Note that this is an on-going process of reflection and analysis taking place for the duration of your field research.
• Keep the report’s aims in mind while you are observing . Recording what you observe should not be done randomly or haphazardly; you must be focused and pay attention to details. Enter the observation site [i.e., "field"] with a clear plan about what you are intending to observe and record while, at the same time, being prepared to adapt to changing circumstances as they may arise.
• Consciously observe, record, and analyze what you hear and see in the context of a theoretical framework . This is what separates data gatherings from simple reporting. The theoretical framework guiding your field research should determine what, when, and how you observe and act as the foundation from which you interpret your findings.

Techniques to Record Your Observations Although there is no limit to the type of data gathering technique you can use, these are the most frequently used methods:

Note Taking This is the most commonly used and easiest method of recording your observations. Tips for taking notes include: organizing some shorthand symbols beforehand so that recording basic or repeated actions does not impede your ability to observe, using many small paragraphs, which reflect changes in activities, who is talking, etc., and, leaving space on the page so you can write down additional thoughts and ideas about what’s being observed, any theoretical insights, and notes to yourself that are set aside for further investigation. See drop-down tab for additional information about note-taking.

Photography With the advent of smart phones, high quality photographs can be taken of the objects, events, and people observed during a field study. Photographs can help capture an important moment in time as well as document details about the space where your observation takes place. Taking a photograph can save you time in documenting the details of a space that would otherwise require extensive note taking. However, be aware that flash photography could undermine your ability to observe unobtrusively so assess the lighting in your observation space; if it's too dark, you may need to rely on taking notes. Also, you should reject the idea that photographs are some sort of "window into the world" because this assumption creates the risk of over-interpreting what they show. As with any product of data gathering, you are the sole instrument of interpretation and meaning-making, not the object itself. Video and Audio Recordings Video or audio recording your observations has the positive effect of giving you an unfiltered record of the observation event. It also facilitates repeated analysis of your observations. This can be particularly helpful as you gather additional information or insights during your research. However, these techniques have the negative effect of increasing how intrusive you are as an observer and will often not be practical or even allowed under certain circumstances [e.g., interaction between a doctor and a patient] and in certain organizational settings [e.g., a courtroom]. Illustrations/Drawings This does not refer to an artistic endeavor but, rather, refers to the possible need, for example, to draw a map of the observation setting or illustrating objects in relation to people's behavior. This can also take the form of rough tables or graphs documenting the frequency and type of activities observed. These can be subsequently placed in a more readable format when you write your field report. To save time, draft a table [i.e., columns and rows] on a separate piece of paper before an observation if you know you will be entering data in that way.

NOTE:   You may consider using a laptop or other electronic device to record your notes as you observe, but keep in mind the possibility that the clicking of keys while you type or noises from your device can be obtrusive, whereas writing your notes on paper is relatively quiet and unobtrusive. Always assess your presence in the setting where you're gathering the data so as to minimize your impact on the subject or phenomenon being studied.

ANOTHER NOTE :  Techniques of observation and data gathering are not innate skills; they are skills that must be learned and practiced in order to achieve proficiency. Before your first observation, practice the technique you plan to use in a setting similar to your study site [e.g., take notes about how people choose to enter checkout lines at a grocery store if your research involves examining the choice patterns of unrelated people forced to queue in busy social settings]. When the act of data gathering counts, you'll be glad you practiced beforehand.

Examples of Things to Document While Observing

• Physical setting . The characteristics of an occupied space and the human use of the place where the observation(s) are being conducted.
• Objects and material culture . This refers to the presence, placement, and arrangement of objects that impact the behavior or actions of those being observed. If applicable, describe the cultural artifacts representing the beliefs--values, ideas, attitudes, and assumptions--used by the individuals you are observing.
• Use of language . Don't just observe but  listen to what is being said, how is it being said, and, the tone of conversation among participants.
• Behavior cycles . This refers to documenting when and who performs what behavior or task and how often they occur. Record at which stage is this behavior occurring within the setting.
• The order in which events unfold . Note sequential patterns of behavior or the moment when actions or events take place and their significance.
• Physical characteristics of subjects. If relevant, note age, gender, clothing, etc. of individuals being observed.
• Expressive body movements . This would include things like body posture or facial expressions. Note that it may be relevant to also assess whether expressive body movements support or contradict the language used in conversation [e.g., detecting sarcasm].

Brief notes about all of these examples contextualize your observations; however, your observation notes will be guided primarily by your theoretical framework, keeping in mind that your observations will feed into and potentially modify or alter these frameworks.

Sampling Techniques

Sampling refers to the process used to select a portion of the population for study . Qualitative research, of which observation is one method of data gathering, is generally based on non-probability and purposive sampling rather than probability or random approaches characteristic of quantitatively-driven studies. Sampling in observational research is flexible and often continues until no new themes emerge from the data, a point referred to as data saturation.

All sampling decisions are made for the explicit purpose of obtaining the richest possible source of information to answer the research questions. Decisions about sampling assumes you know what you want to observe, what behaviors are important to record, and what research problem you are addressing before you begin the study. These questions determine what sampling technique you should use, so be sure you have adequately answered them before selecting a sampling method.

Ways to sample when conducting an observation include:

Ad Libitum Sampling -- this approach is not that different from what people do at the zoo--observing whatever seems interesting at the moment. There is no organized system of recording the observations; you just note whatever seems relevant at the time. The advantage of this method is that you are often able to observe relatively rare or unusual behaviors that might be missed by more deliberate sampling methods. This method is also useful for obtaining preliminary observations that can be used to develop your final field study. Problems using this method include the possibility of inherent bias toward conspicuous behaviors or individuals and that you may miss brief interactions in social settings.

Behavior Sampling -- this involves watching the entire group of subjects and recording each occurrence of a specific behavior of interest and with reference to which individuals were involved. The method is useful in recording rare behaviors missed by other sampling methods and is often used in conjunction with focal or scan methods. However, sampling can be biased towards particular conspicuous behaviors.

Continuous Recording -- provides a faithful record of behavior including frequencies, durations, and latencies [the time that elapses between a stimulus and the response to it]. This is a very demanding method because you are trying to record everything within the setting and, thus, measuring reliability may be sacrificed. In addition, durations and latencies are only reliable if subjects remain present throughout the collection of data. However, this method facilitates analyzing sequences of behaviors and ensures obtaining a wealth of data about the observation site and the people within it. The use of audio or video recording is most useful with this type of sampling.

Focal Sampling -- this involves observing one individual for a specified amount of time and recording all instances of that individual's behavior. Usually you have a set of predetermined categories or types of behaviors that you are interested in observing [e.g., when a teacher walks around the classroom] and you keep track of the duration of those behaviors. This approach doesn't tend to bias one behavior over another and provides significant detail about a individual's behavior. However, with this method, you likely have to conduct a lot of focal samples before you have a good idea about how group members interact. It can also be difficult within certain settings to keep one individual in sight for the entire period of the observation.

Instantaneous Sampling -- this is where observation sessions are divided into short intervals divided by sample points. At each sample point the observer records if predetermined behaviors of interest are taking place. This method is not effective for recording discrete events of short duration and, frequently, observers will want to record novel behaviors that occur slightly before or after the point of sampling, creating a sampling error. Though not exact, this method does give you an idea of durations and is relatively easy to do. It is also good for recording behavior patterns occurring at a specific instant, such as, movement or body positions.

One-Zero Sampling -- this is very similar to instantaneous sampling, only the observer records if the behaviors of interest have occurred at any time during an interval instead of at the instant of the sampling point. The method is useful for capturing data on behavior patterns that start and stop repeatedly and rapidly, but that last only for a brief period of time. The disadvantage of this approach is that you get a dimensionless score for an entire recording session, so you only get one one data point for each recording session.

Scan Sampling -- this method involves taking a census of the entire observed group at predetermined time periods and recording what each individual is doing at that moment. This is useful for obtaining group behavioral data and allows for data that are evenly representative across individuals and periods of time. On the other hand, this method may be biased towards more conspicuous behaviors and you may miss a lot of what is going on between observations, especially rare or unusual behaviors. It is also difficult to record more than a few individuals in a group setting without missing what each individual is doing at each predetermined moment in time [e.g., children sitting at a table during lunch at school].

Alderks, Peter. Data Collection . Psychology 330 Course Documents. Animal Behavior Lab. University of Washington; Emerson, Robert M. Contemporary Field Research: Perspectives and Formulations . 2nd ed. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press, 2001; Emerson, Robert M. et al. “Participant Observation and Fieldnotes.” In Handbook of Ethnography . Paul Atkinson et al., eds. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2001), 352-368; Emerson, Robert M. et al. Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes . 2nd ed. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2011; Ethnography, Observational Research, and Narrative Inquiry . Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Hazel, Spencer. "The Paradox from Within: Research Participants Doing-Being-Observed." Qualitative Research 16 (August 2016): 446-457; Pace, Tonio. Writing Field Reports . Scribd Online Library; Presser, Jon and Dona Schwartz. “Photographs within the Sociological Research Process.” In Image-based Research: A Sourcebook for Qualitative Researchers . Jon Prosser, editor (London: Falmer Press, 1998), pp. 115-130; Pyrczak, Fred and Randall R. Bruce. Writing Empirical Research Reports: A Basic Guide for Students of the Social and Behavioral Sciences . 5th ed. Glendale, CA: Pyrczak Publishing, 2005; Report Writing . UniLearning. University of Wollongong, Australia; Wolfinger, Nicholas H. "On Writing Fieldnotes: Collection Strategies and Background Expectancies.” Qualitative Research 2 (April 2002): 85-95; Writing Reports . Anonymous. The Higher Education Academy.

Structure and Writing Style

How you choose to format your field report is determined by the research problem, the theoretical perspective that is driving your analysis, the observations that you make, and/or specific guidelines established by your professor. Since field reports do not have a standard format, it is worthwhile to determine from your professor what the preferred organization should be before you begin to write. Note that field reports should be written in the past tense. With this in mind, most field reports in the social sciences include the following elements:

I.  Introduction The introduction should describe the research problem, the specific objectives of your research, and the important theories or concepts underpinning your field study. The introduction should describe the nature of the organization or setting where you are conducting the observation, what type of observations you have conducted, what your focus was, when you observed, and the methods you used for collecting the data. You should also include a review of pertinent literature related to the research problem, particularly if similar methods were used in prior studies. Conclude your introduction with a statement about how the rest of the paper is organized.

II.  Description of Activities

Your readers only knowledge and understanding of what happened will come from the description section of your report because they have not been witness to the situation, people, or events that you are writing about. Given this, it is crucial that you provide sufficient details to place the analysis that will follow into proper context; don't make the mistake of providing a description without context. The description section of a field report is similar to a well written piece of journalism. Therefore, a helpful approach to systematically describing the varying aspects of an observed situation is to answer the "Five W’s of Investigative Reporting." These are:

• What -- describe what you observed. Note the temporal, physical, and social boundaries you imposed to limit the observations you made. What were your general impressions of the situation you were observing. For example, as a student teacher, what is your impression of the application of iPads as a learning device in a history class; as a cultural anthropologist, what is your impression of women's participation in a Native American religious ritual?
• Where -- provide background information about the setting of your observation and, if necessary, note important material objects that are present that help contextualize the observation [e.g., arrangement of computers in relation to student engagement with the teacher].
• When -- record factual data about the day and the beginning and ending time of each observation. Note that it may also be necessary to include background information or key events which impact upon the situation you were observing [e.g., observing the ability of teachers to re-engage students after coming back from an unannounced fire drill].
• Who -- note background and demographic information about the individuals being observed e.g., age, gender, ethnicity, and/or any other variables relevant to your study]. Record who is doing what and saying what, as well as, who is not doing or saying what. If relevant, be sure to record who was missing from the observation.
• Why -- why were you doing this? Describe the reasons for selecting particular situations to observe. Note why something happened. Also note why you may have included or excluded certain information.

III.  Interpretation and Analysis

Always place the analysis and interpretations of your field observations within the larger context of the theories and issues you described in the introduction. Part of your responsibility in analyzing the data is to determine which observations are worthy of comment and interpretation, and which observations are more general in nature. It is your theoretical framework that allows you to make these decisions. You need to demonstrate to the reader that you are looking at the situation through the eyes of an informed viewer, not as a lay person.

Here are some questions to ask yourself when analyzing your observations:

• What is the meaning of what you have observed?
• Why do you think what you observed happened? What evidence do you have for your reasoning?
• What events or behaviors were typical or widespread? If appropriate, what was unusual or out of ordinary? How were they distributed among categories of people?
• Do you see any connections or patterns in what you observed?
• Why did the people you observed proceed with an action in the way that they did? What are the implications of this?
• Did the stated or implicit objectives of what you were observing match what was achieved?
• What were the relative merits of the behaviors you observed?
• What were the strengths and weaknesses of the observations you recorded?
• Do you see connections between what you observed and the findings of similar studies identified from your review of the literature?
• How do your observations fit into the larger context of professional practice? In what ways have your observations possibly changed or affirmed your perceptions of professional practice?
• Have you learned anything from what you observed?

NOTE:   Only base your interpretations on what you have actually observed. Do not speculate or manipulate your observational data to fit into your study's theoretical framework.

IV.  Conclusion and Recommendations

The conclusion should briefly recap of the entire study, reiterating the importance or significance of your observations. Avoid including any new information. You should also state any recommendations you may have. Be sure to describe any unanticipated problems you encountered and note the limitations of your study. The conclusion should not be more than two or three paragraphs.

V.  Appendix

This is where you would place information that is not essential to explaining your findings, but that supports your analysis [especially repetitive or lengthy information], that validates your conclusions, or that contextualizes a related point that helps the reader understand the overall report. Examples of information that could be included in an appendix are figures/tables/charts/graphs of results, statistics, pictures, maps, drawings, or, if applicable, transcripts of interviews. There is no limit to what can be included in the appendix or its format [e.g., a DVD recording of the observation site], provided that it is relevant to the study's purpose and reference is made to it in the report. If information is placed in more than one appendix ["appendices"], the order in which they are organized is dictated by the order they were first mentioned in the text of the report.

VI.  References

List all sources that you consulted and obtained information from while writing your field report. Note that field reports generally do not include further readings or an extended bibliography. However, consult with your professor concerning what your list of sources should be included. Be sure to write them in the preferred citation style of your discipline [i.e., APA, Chicago, MLA, etc.].

Alderks, Peter. Data Collection . Psychology 330 Course Documents. Animal Behavior Lab. University of Washington; Emerson, Robert M. Contemporary Field Research: Perspectives and Formulations . 2nd ed. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press, 2001; Emerson, Robert M. et al. “Participant Observation and Fieldnotes.” In Handbook of Ethnography . Paul Atkinson et al., eds. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2001), 352-368; Emerson, Robert M. et al. Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes . 2nd ed. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2011; Ethnography, Observational Research, and Narrative Inquiry . Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Pace, Tonio. Writing Field Reports . Scribd Online Library; Pyrczak, Fred and Randall R. Bruce. Writing Empirical Research Reports: A Basic Guide for Students of the Social and Behavioral Sciences . 5th ed. Glendale, CA: Pyrczak Publishing, 2005; Report Writing . UniLearning. University of Wollongong, Australia; Wolfinger, Nicholas H. "On Writing Fieldnotes: Collection Strategies and Background Expectancies.” Qualitative Research 2 (April 2002): 85-95; Writing Reports . Anonymous. The Higher Education Academy.

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A Daily HSE Observation Report Sample

Daily HSE (Health, Safety, and Environment) observation reports are crucial tools for identifying and addressing potential hazards in the workplace.

These reports provide a structured and organized way to record observations, assess risks, and recommend corrective actions. By consistently using daily HSE observation reports, organizations can proactively prevent accidents and injuries, ensuring a safer and healthier work environment for all employees. Here’s a sample of one of these reports.

Key Components of a Daily HSE Observation Report

A well-designed daily HSE observation report should encompass the following key components:

Date: Clearly indicate the date of the observation.

Observer Information: Identify the observer, including their name, department, and title. This ensures accountability and allows for follow-up discussions or clarifications.

Observation Location: Specify the location where the observation took place. This provides context for the observation and helps to identify potential hazards specific to that area.

Observation Details: Provide a detailed description of the observed safety , health, or environmental practices or potential hazards. This may include specific behaviors, conditions, or equipment usage.

Immediate Action: If necessary, outline any immediate actions taken to address the observed hazard or unsafe practice. This demonstrates a proactive approach to risk mitigation.

Root Cause Analysis : If possible, identify the underlying cause of the observed hazard or unsafe practice. This understanding helps to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.

Preventive Measures: Suggest preventive measures to eliminate or control the observed hazard or unsafe practice. This may involve changes to procedures, training, or equipment.

Recommendations: Summarize the key recommendations for addressing the observed hazard or unsafe practice. This provides clear guidance for corrective actions.

Sample Daily HSE Observation Report

To illustrate the practical application of daily HSE observation reports, consider the following sample:

Date: 2023-11-27

Observer Information:

• Observer Name: John Smith
• Department: Manufacturing
• Title: Safety Officer

Observation Location:

Observation Details:

• I observed a worker using a forklift to move pallets of materials without wearing the proper personal protective equipment (PPE) , such as safety glasses and gloves.

Immediate Action:

• I instructed the worker to immediately cease using the forklift and put on the appropriate PPE.

Root Cause Analysis:

• The worker was not wearing PPE due to a lack of awareness and enforcement of PPE policies.

Preventive Measures:

• Implement a regular PPE inspection and enforcement program to ensure consistent use of PPE.
• Provide additional training to all employees on the importance of PPE and the specific PPE requirements for different tasks.

Recommendations:

• Develop a standardized safety observation form that all employees can use to document their observations.
• Provide regular training to employees on how to complete safety observation forms and how to identify potential hazards.
• Implement a process for reviewing and addressing safety observation findings promptly.
• Recognize and reward employees for their participation in identifying and addressing safety hazards.

The Last Word on Daily HSE Observation Reporting

Daily HSE observation reports serve as valuable tools for proactive hazard identification, risk mitigation, and continuous safety improvement . By consistently utilizing these reports, organizations can foster a culture of safety, prevent accidents, and protect the well-being of their employees.

Catherine Tims

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16+ Classroom Observation Report Samples [PDF & WORD]

Sample classroom observation reports are provided here on this page for you. If you are a teacher or related to teaching or coaching in any way, you must know about the classroom observation report. Additionally, the outside evaluators or observers appointed for observing a classroom can also use these free class observation report samples.

We have collected all these free samples for you so that our users don’t have to waste their time finding suitable templates for their personal use. This amazingly helpful collection of free class observation report templates will help you in drafting seamless observation reports when observing a particular class. A variety of different samples for different types of classrooms or classes are readily available here on this page.

Our users can take full advantage of these free samples whenever they require to create their very own observation reports. Even if you are a school or a college teacher, or an expert observer or evaluator, you can take full advantage of these ready-made classroom observation report templates. We have also explained the contents of every template separately so that you can download only the template that fulfills your particular requirements.

All you have to do is to click the ‘download’ button given adjacent to the preview of every sample and save the suitable sample on your computer. Some of these classroom observation report samples are available in PDF format and some are also available in customizable word format.

Check the Classroom Observation Report Samples Here

Open ended classroom observation report sample.

This particular classroom observation report sample includes open-ended questions that can be used to complete the observation of a classroom. This free printable template works perfectly when you are an expert hired to present the classroom observation report. With the help of this simple template, you can present a perfect observation report of a classroom with minimal effort. You can also consider changing the questions as per your own situation. Go ahead, and download this sample observation report of a classroom to understand more about the document.

File Size: 16 KB

Simple Classroom Observation Report Form Template PDF

The given below standard classroom observation report is actually a pre-formatted fillable form that you can easily fill out while drafting a class observation report. This observation report form sample is for a college classroom in which you have to fill out different details like college name, academic year, course name, etc. Download this template and explore it to use it for your own purposes.

File Size: 129 KB

Faculty Classroom Observation Report by Peer

This classroom observation report sample is designed to present the report of faculty by peer which means it is a detailed formal report and the observer is actually the peer. This sample observation report is divided into multiple smaller segments to make it easily readable and understandable for the users. This particular template is one of its kind and we have provided it here for you if you, being a peer, have to present a classroom observation report of faculty members. In this observation report sample, a rating scale of 1 to 5 is also provided which improves the quality of the information provided by that particular report.

File Size: 38 KB

Detailed Classroom Observation Report Sample PDF

A detailed sample of a classroom observation report that can be used by expert observers. By using this free printable classroom observation report, you can use different columns to evaluate every aspect of the classroom and rate it as per the given categories which include ‘unacceptable’, ‘acceptable’, or ‘target’. Different aspects like the physical environment of the classroom, health and safety measures, and school records are tested and in the same way, users can also evaluate several other aspects of the classroom as well.

File Size: 70 KB

Pre-Student Teaching Observation Report Sample

This blank sample is the pre-student teaching observation report in which teachers’ behaviors are evaluated and reported. Being an evaluator, you can simply categorize every trait of a teacher candidate into two segments, one being ‘strengths’ and the other being ‘areas for improvement’. Typically, this type of observation report sample is used when evaluating teacher candidates for teaching jobs at the university level.

File Size: 09 KB

Formal Classroom Observation Report Template

This one is a proper formal classroom observation report template in which you fill out different details like the department’s name. semester, observer’s name, and name of the faculty member being observed. This template is simple in nature and includes the instruction for the observation and the procedures being used to make the observation report. Of course, you can add other details and segments to it as well depending on your requirements and situation.

File Size: 788 KB

Standard Classroom Observation Report Example

In this 2 columnar classroom observation report sample, the traits of a candidate are properly listed in a separate column and the performance of competency is rated against every trait in a separate column. You can add as many traits and questions as possible but a short list of such traits and questions suits this particular type of format. So, click the download button given adjacent to the preview image of the sample and check this classroom observation sample for yourself.

File Size: 212 KB

University Classroom Observation Report Sample

This one is another classroom observation report at the university level and this sample is more detailed. You can look at the preview image or download the complete document by clicking the ‘download’ button given below. In this particular classroom observation report template, you have to mention the purpose of the observation report and the producers you will use for preparing the report. Similar to many other reports, a scale of 0 to 5 is also used in this sample to evaluate different traits or questions.

File Size: 207 KB

Free Customizable Classroom Observation Report Template

This free editable classroom observation report template is in Word format which means you can download the sample for free (just like all the other samples and templates on this page) and make modifications to it as per your own requirements. In particular, this sample report includes the observation of an assistant professor of a particular discipline. So, if you are someone who is about to present a classroom observation report of an assistant professor, you should definitely check out this template.

File Size: 12 KB

Exclusive Classroom Observation Report Form Sample PDF

This exclusive printable sample of a classroom observation report is user-friendly and if you are an evaluator, this type of sample classroom observation report is perfect for you. Again, in this sample, the traits of a candidate are also divided into three main categories ‘strong’ , ‘needs improvement’ , and ‘not applicable’ , with blank boxes available for each trait to mark. If you are an observer or evaluator, you can mark every trait as per your observation and then present your findings at the end of the report. Most evaluators simply love this type of observation report as it is easy to use and comprehensive. So, we have added this handy classroom observation report sample for our users so that they don’t have to surf the internet for finding this perfect observation report sample.

File Size: 43 KB

Blank Classroom Observation Report PDF Sample

This elegant sample of a classroom observation report is seamless and perfect for those who want to get a detailed classroom observation report. Using this particular sample, you can simply write a trait, write down your observations, and then provide recommendations, it’s just that simple! So, download this detailed classroom observation report PDF sample and practice writing an observation report for the classroom.

File Size: 125 KB

School Classroom Observation Report Format

A basic format for writing a simple observation report of a school’s classroom. Our users can also use this simple template to practice writing the perfect classroom observation reports. The observers or evaluators of performances at the school level can make use of this template in which you have to present your observations on a student’s behavior and things that require immediate attention of parents and teachers. Check out this free classroom observation report template by downloading it onto your computer.

File Size: 102 KB

Long Form Classroom Observation Report Sample

This particular classroom observation report sample is a long-form report in which classrooms are evaluated and observed in great depth. Then you have to write down all the observations, evaluations, and discussions in your observation report. Users can check this template to get an in-depth understanding of a long-form classroom observation report.

File Size: 204 KB

Simple Classroom Observation Report Worksheet Sample

This classroom observation report worksheet sample is perfect when you are observing a classroom with a lot of students. This sample can act as the best guide for our users to prepare observation reports with great details. As you can see in the preview image of the sample, a rating from 0 to 5 is used and each number represents a specific comment that the evaluator has to give in response to a specific question related to observations of the class. Explore this free classroom observation sample more by downloading it to your computer.

File Size: 25 KB

General Classroom Observation Report Form Template

This specific classroom observation report form is another fillable sample used at the college level. This printable form allows you to create a classroom observation report with minimal effort. You have to fill in your details and in some places, you have to check applicable boxes. The most important part is that this sample does not only rely on the information provided by check boxes but you are also required to write down your comments for every segment. Go ahead, and download this observation report form so you can explore the other key information provided in it.

File Size: 200 KB

Free Editable Classroom Observation Report Template Word

This customizable classroom observation report template is provided in Microsoft Word format which means you can easily edit its contents as per your requirements. Actually, this report is the observation of the teachings of a class teacher. This sample can be used when you have to evaluate the teaching standards, methods, or teaching techniques of a teacher, or simply, if you have to observe the ‘teachings’ of a particular expert. When you are required to prepare an observation report for anything like that, given below free sample can be quite handy for you.

File Size: 132 KB

Model Classroom Observation Template PDF

The given below classroom observation report template provides a clear outline for writing a perfect observation report when evaluating a university-level teacher. Our users can follow this particular format when writing this type of classroom observation report. When you click the ‘download’ button, this class observation report template will be saved to your computer. So, go ahead and check out this effective observation report template.

File Size: 95 KB

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Scientific Reports

What this handout is about.

This handout provides a general guide to writing reports about scientific research you’ve performed. In addition to describing the conventional rules about the format and content of a lab report, we’ll also attempt to convey why these rules exist, so you’ll get a clearer, more dependable idea of how to approach this writing situation. Readers of this handout may also find our handout on writing in the sciences useful.

Background and pre-writing

Why do we write research reports.

You did an experiment or study for your science class, and now you have to write it up for your teacher to review. You feel that you understood the background sufficiently, designed and completed the study effectively, obtained useful data, and can use those data to draw conclusions about a scientific process or principle. But how exactly do you write all that? What is your teacher expecting to see?

To take some of the guesswork out of answering these questions, try to think beyond the classroom setting. In fact, you and your teacher are both part of a scientific community, and the people who participate in this community tend to share the same values. As long as you understand and respect these values, your writing will likely meet the expectations of your audience—including your teacher.

So why are you writing this research report? The practical answer is “Because the teacher assigned it,” but that’s classroom thinking. Generally speaking, people investigating some scientific hypothesis have a responsibility to the rest of the scientific world to report their findings, particularly if these findings add to or contradict previous ideas. The people reading such reports have two primary goals:

• They want to gather the information presented.
• They want to know that the findings are legitimate.

Your job as a writer, then, is to fulfill these two goals.

How do I do that?

Good question. Here is the basic format scientists have designed for research reports:

• Introduction

Methods and Materials

This format, sometimes called “IMRAD,” may take slightly different shapes depending on the discipline or audience; some ask you to include an abstract or separate section for the hypothesis, or call the Discussion section “Conclusions,” or change the order of the sections (some professional and academic journals require the Methods section to appear last). Overall, however, the IMRAD format was devised to represent a textual version of the scientific method.

The scientific method, you’ll probably recall, involves developing a hypothesis, testing it, and deciding whether your findings support the hypothesis. In essence, the format for a research report in the sciences mirrors the scientific method but fleshes out the process a little. Below, you’ll find a table that shows how each written section fits into the scientific method and what additional information it offers the reader.

Thinking of your research report as based on the scientific method, but elaborated in the ways described above, may help you to meet your audience’s expectations successfully. We’re going to proceed by explicitly connecting each section of the lab report to the scientific method, then explaining why and how you need to elaborate that section.

Although this handout takes each section in the order in which it should be presented in the final report, you may for practical reasons decide to compose sections in another order. For example, many writers find that composing their Methods and Results before the other sections helps to clarify their idea of the experiment or study as a whole. You might consider using each assignment to practice different approaches to drafting the report, to find the order that works best for you.

What should I do before drafting the lab report?

The best way to prepare to write the lab report is to make sure that you fully understand everything you need to about the experiment. Obviously, if you don’t quite know what went on during the lab, you’re going to find it difficult to explain the lab satisfactorily to someone else. To make sure you know enough to write the report, complete the following steps:

• What are we going to do in this lab? (That is, what’s the procedure?)
• Why are we going to do it that way?
• What are we hoping to learn from this experiment?
• Why would we benefit from this knowledge?
• Consult your lab supervisor as you perform the lab. If you don’t know how to answer one of the questions above, for example, your lab supervisor will probably be able to explain it to you (or, at least, help you figure it out).
• Plan the steps of the experiment carefully with your lab partners. The less you rush, the more likely it is that you’ll perform the experiment correctly and record your findings accurately. Also, take some time to think about the best way to organize the data before you have to start putting numbers down. If you can design a table to account for the data, that will tend to work much better than jotting results down hurriedly on a scrap piece of paper.
• Record the data carefully so you get them right. You won’t be able to trust your conclusions if you have the wrong data, and your readers will know you messed up if the other three people in your group have “97 degrees” and you have “87.”
• Consult with your lab partners about everything you do. Lab groups often make one of two mistakes: two people do all the work while two have a nice chat, or everybody works together until the group finishes gathering the raw data, then scrams outta there. Collaborate with your partners, even when the experiment is “over.” What trends did you observe? Was the hypothesis supported? Did you all get the same results? What kind of figure should you use to represent your findings? The whole group can work together to answer these questions.
• Consider your audience. You may believe that audience is a non-issue: it’s your lab TA, right? Well, yes—but again, think beyond the classroom. If you write with only your lab instructor in mind, you may omit material that is crucial to a complete understanding of your experiment, because you assume the instructor knows all that stuff already. As a result, you may receive a lower grade, since your TA won’t be sure that you understand all the principles at work. Try to write towards a student in the same course but a different lab section. That student will have a fair degree of scientific expertise but won’t know much about your experiment particularly. Alternatively, you could envision yourself five years from now, after the reading and lectures for this course have faded a bit. What would you remember, and what would you need explained more clearly (as a refresher)?

Once you’ve completed these steps as you perform the experiment, you’ll be in a good position to draft an effective lab report.

Introductions

How do i write a strong introduction.

For the purposes of this handout, we’ll consider the Introduction to contain four basic elements: the purpose, the scientific literature relevant to the subject, the hypothesis, and the reasons you believed your hypothesis viable. Let’s start by going through each element of the Introduction to clarify what it covers and why it’s important. Then we can formulate a logical organizational strategy for the section.

The inclusion of the purpose (sometimes called the objective) of the experiment often confuses writers. The biggest misconception is that the purpose is the same as the hypothesis. Not quite. We’ll get to hypotheses in a minute, but basically they provide some indication of what you expect the experiment to show. The purpose is broader, and deals more with what you expect to gain through the experiment. In a professional setting, the hypothesis might have something to do with how cells react to a certain kind of genetic manipulation, but the purpose of the experiment is to learn more about potential cancer treatments. Undergraduate reports don’t often have this wide-ranging a goal, but you should still try to maintain the distinction between your hypothesis and your purpose. In a solubility experiment, for example, your hypothesis might talk about the relationship between temperature and the rate of solubility, but the purpose is probably to learn more about some specific scientific principle underlying the process of solubility.

For starters, most people say that you should write out your working hypothesis before you perform the experiment or study. Many beginning science students neglect to do so and find themselves struggling to remember precisely which variables were involved in the process or in what way the researchers felt that they were related. Write your hypothesis down as you develop it—you’ll be glad you did.

As for the form a hypothesis should take, it’s best not to be too fancy or complicated; an inventive style isn’t nearly so important as clarity here. There’s nothing wrong with beginning your hypothesis with the phrase, “It was hypothesized that . . .” Be as specific as you can about the relationship between the different objects of your study. In other words, explain that when term A changes, term B changes in this particular way. Readers of scientific writing are rarely content with the idea that a relationship between two terms exists—they want to know what that relationship entails.

Not a hypothesis:

“It was hypothesized that there is a significant relationship between the temperature of a solvent and the rate at which a solute dissolves.”

Hypothesis:

“It was hypothesized that as the temperature of a solvent increases, the rate at which a solute will dissolve in that solvent increases.”

Put more technically, most hypotheses contain both an independent and a dependent variable. The independent variable is what you manipulate to test the reaction; the dependent variable is what changes as a result of your manipulation. In the example above, the independent variable is the temperature of the solvent, and the dependent variable is the rate of solubility. Be sure that your hypothesis includes both variables.

Justify your hypothesis

You need to do more than tell your readers what your hypothesis is; you also need to assure them that this hypothesis was reasonable, given the circumstances. In other words, use the Introduction to explain that you didn’t just pluck your hypothesis out of thin air. (If you did pluck it out of thin air, your problems with your report will probably extend beyond using the appropriate format.) If you posit that a particular relationship exists between the independent and the dependent variable, what led you to believe your “guess” might be supported by evidence?

Scientists often refer to this type of justification as “motivating” the hypothesis, in the sense that something propelled them to make that prediction. Often, motivation includes what we already know—or rather, what scientists generally accept as true (see “Background/previous research” below). But you can also motivate your hypothesis by relying on logic or on your own observations. If you’re trying to decide which solutes will dissolve more rapidly in a solvent at increased temperatures, you might remember that some solids are meant to dissolve in hot water (e.g., bouillon cubes) and some are used for a function precisely because they withstand higher temperatures (they make saucepans out of something). Or you can think about whether you’ve noticed sugar dissolving more rapidly in your glass of iced tea or in your cup of coffee. Even such basic, outside-the-lab observations can help you justify your hypothesis as reasonable.

Background/previous research

This part of the Introduction demonstrates to the reader your awareness of how you’re building on other scientists’ work. If you think of the scientific community as engaging in a series of conversations about various topics, then you’ll recognize that the relevant background material will alert the reader to which conversation you want to enter.

Generally speaking, authors writing journal articles use the background for slightly different purposes than do students completing assignments. Because readers of academic journals tend to be professionals in the field, authors explain the background in order to permit readers to evaluate the study’s pertinence for their own work. You, on the other hand, write toward a much narrower audience—your peers in the course or your lab instructor—and so you must demonstrate that you understand the context for the (presumably assigned) experiment or study you’ve completed. For example, if your professor has been talking about polarity during lectures, and you’re doing a solubility experiment, you might try to connect the polarity of a solid to its relative solubility in certain solvents. In any event, both professional researchers and undergraduates need to connect the background material overtly to their own work.

Organization of this section

Most of the time, writers begin by stating the purpose or objectives of their own work, which establishes for the reader’s benefit the “nature and scope of the problem investigated” (Day 1994). Once you have expressed your purpose, you should then find it easier to move from the general purpose, to relevant material on the subject, to your hypothesis. In abbreviated form, an Introduction section might look like this:

“The purpose of the experiment was to test conventional ideas about solubility in the laboratory [purpose] . . . According to Whitecoat and Labrat (1999), at higher temperatures the molecules of solvents move more quickly . . . We know from the class lecture that molecules moving at higher rates of speed collide with one another more often and thus break down more easily [background material/motivation] . . . Thus, it was hypothesized that as the temperature of a solvent increases, the rate at which a solute will dissolve in that solvent increases [hypothesis].”

Again—these are guidelines, not commandments. Some writers and readers prefer different structures for the Introduction. The one above merely illustrates a common approach to organizing material.

How do I write a strong Materials and Methods section?

As with any piece of writing, your Methods section will succeed only if it fulfills its readers’ expectations, so you need to be clear in your own mind about the purpose of this section. Let’s review the purpose as we described it above: in this section, you want to describe in detail how you tested the hypothesis you developed and also to clarify the rationale for your procedure. In science, it’s not sufficient merely to design and carry out an experiment. Ultimately, others must be able to verify your findings, so your experiment must be reproducible, to the extent that other researchers can follow the same procedure and obtain the same (or similar) results.

Here’s a real-world example of the importance of reproducibility. In 1989, physicists Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischman announced that they had discovered “cold fusion,” a way of producing excess heat and power without the nuclear radiation that accompanies “hot fusion.” Such a discovery could have great ramifications for the industrial production of energy, so these findings created a great deal of interest. When other scientists tried to duplicate the experiment, however, they didn’t achieve the same results, and as a result many wrote off the conclusions as unjustified (or worse, a hoax). To this day, the viability of cold fusion is debated within the scientific community, even though an increasing number of researchers believe it possible. So when you write your Methods section, keep in mind that you need to describe your experiment well enough to allow others to replicate it exactly.

With these goals in mind, let’s consider how to write an effective Methods section in terms of content, structure, and style.

Sometimes the hardest thing about writing this section isn’t what you should talk about, but what you shouldn’t talk about. Writers often want to include the results of their experiment, because they measured and recorded the results during the course of the experiment. But such data should be reserved for the Results section. In the Methods section, you can write that you recorded the results, or how you recorded the results (e.g., in a table), but you shouldn’t write what the results were—not yet. Here, you’re merely stating exactly how you went about testing your hypothesis. As you draft your Methods section, ask yourself the following questions:

• How much detail? Be precise in providing details, but stay relevant. Ask yourself, “Would it make any difference if this piece were a different size or made from a different material?” If not, you probably don’t need to get too specific. If so, you should give as many details as necessary to prevent this experiment from going awry if someone else tries to carry it out. Probably the most crucial detail is measurement; you should always quantify anything you can, such as time elapsed, temperature, mass, volume, etc.
• Rationale: Be sure that as you’re relating your actions during the experiment, you explain your rationale for the protocol you developed. If you capped a test tube immediately after adding a solute to a solvent, why did you do that? (That’s really two questions: why did you cap it, and why did you cap it immediately?) In a professional setting, writers provide their rationale as a way to explain their thinking to potential critics. On one hand, of course, that’s your motivation for talking about protocol, too. On the other hand, since in practical terms you’re also writing to your teacher (who’s seeking to evaluate how well you comprehend the principles of the experiment), explaining the rationale indicates that you understand the reasons for conducting the experiment in that way, and that you’re not just following orders. Critical thinking is crucial—robots don’t make good scientists.
• Control: Most experiments will include a control, which is a means of comparing experimental results. (Sometimes you’ll need to have more than one control, depending on the number of hypotheses you want to test.) The control is exactly the same as the other items you’re testing, except that you don’t manipulate the independent variable-the condition you’re altering to check the effect on the dependent variable. For example, if you’re testing solubility rates at increased temperatures, your control would be a solution that you didn’t heat at all; that way, you’ll see how quickly the solute dissolves “naturally” (i.e., without manipulation), and you’ll have a point of reference against which to compare the solutions you did heat.

Describe the control in the Methods section. Two things are especially important in writing about the control: identify the control as a control, and explain what you’re controlling for. Here is an example:

“As a control for the temperature change, we placed the same amount of solute in the same amount of solvent, and let the solution stand for five minutes without heating it.”

Structure and style

Organization is especially important in the Methods section of a lab report because readers must understand your experimental procedure completely. Many writers are surprised by the difficulty of conveying what they did during the experiment, since after all they’re only reporting an event, but it’s often tricky to present this information in a coherent way. There’s a fairly standard structure you can use to guide you, and following the conventions for style can help clarify your points.

• Subsections: Occasionally, researchers use subsections to report their procedure when the following circumstances apply: 1) if they’ve used a great many materials; 2) if the procedure is unusually complicated; 3) if they’ve developed a procedure that won’t be familiar to many of their readers. Because these conditions rarely apply to the experiments you’ll perform in class, most undergraduate lab reports won’t require you to use subsections. In fact, many guides to writing lab reports suggest that you try to limit your Methods section to a single paragraph.
• Narrative structure: Think of this section as telling a story about a group of people and the experiment they performed. Describe what you did in the order in which you did it. You may have heard the old joke centered on the line, “Disconnect the red wire, but only after disconnecting the green wire,” where the person reading the directions blows everything to kingdom come because the directions weren’t in order. We’re used to reading about events chronologically, and so your readers will generally understand what you did if you present that information in the same way. Also, since the Methods section does generally appear as a narrative (story), you want to avoid the “recipe” approach: “First, take a clean, dry 100 ml test tube from the rack. Next, add 50 ml of distilled water.” You should be reporting what did happen, not telling the reader how to perform the experiment: “50 ml of distilled water was poured into a clean, dry 100 ml test tube.” Hint: most of the time, the recipe approach comes from copying down the steps of the procedure from your lab manual, so you may want to draft the Methods section initially without consulting your manual. Later, of course, you can go back and fill in any part of the procedure you inadvertently overlooked.
• Past tense: Remember that you’re describing what happened, so you should use past tense to refer to everything you did during the experiment. Writers are often tempted to use the imperative (“Add 5 g of the solid to the solution”) because that’s how their lab manuals are worded; less frequently, they use present tense (“5 g of the solid are added to the solution”). Instead, remember that you’re talking about an event which happened at a particular time in the past, and which has already ended by the time you start writing, so simple past tense will be appropriate in this section (“5 g of the solid were added to the solution” or “We added 5 g of the solid to the solution”).
• Active: We heated the solution to 80°C. (The subject, “we,” performs the action, heating.)
• Passive: The solution was heated to 80°C. (The subject, “solution,” doesn’t do the heating–it is acted upon, not acting.)

Increasingly, especially in the social sciences, using first person and active voice is acceptable in scientific reports. Most readers find that this style of writing conveys information more clearly and concisely. This rhetorical choice thus brings two scientific values into conflict: objectivity versus clarity. Since the scientific community hasn’t reached a consensus about which style it prefers, you may want to ask your lab instructor.

How do I write a strong Results section?

Here’s a paradox for you. The Results section is often both the shortest (yay!) and most important (uh-oh!) part of your report. Your Materials and Methods section shows how you obtained the results, and your Discussion section explores the significance of the results, so clearly the Results section forms the backbone of the lab report. This section provides the most critical information about your experiment: the data that allow you to discuss how your hypothesis was or wasn’t supported. But it doesn’t provide anything else, which explains why this section is generally shorter than the others.

Before you write this section, look at all the data you collected to figure out what relates significantly to your hypothesis. You’ll want to highlight this material in your Results section. Resist the urge to include every bit of data you collected, since perhaps not all are relevant. Also, don’t try to draw conclusions about the results—save them for the Discussion section. In this section, you’re reporting facts. Nothing your readers can dispute should appear in the Results section.

Most Results sections feature three distinct parts: text, tables, and figures. Let’s consider each part one at a time.

This should be a short paragraph, generally just a few lines, that describes the results you obtained from your experiment. In a relatively simple experiment, one that doesn’t produce a lot of data for you to repeat, the text can represent the entire Results section. Don’t feel that you need to include lots of extraneous detail to compensate for a short (but effective) text; your readers appreciate discrimination more than your ability to recite facts. In a more complex experiment, you may want to use tables and/or figures to help guide your readers toward the most important information you gathered. In that event, you’ll need to refer to each table or figure directly, where appropriate:

“Table 1 lists the rates of solubility for each substance”

“Solubility increased as the temperature of the solution increased (see Figure 1).”

If you do use tables or figures, make sure that you don’t present the same material in both the text and the tables/figures, since in essence you’ll just repeat yourself, probably annoying your readers with the redundancy of your statements.

Feel free to describe trends that emerge as you examine the data. Although identifying trends requires some judgment on your part and so may not feel like factual reporting, no one can deny that these trends do exist, and so they properly belong in the Results section. Example:

“Heating the solution increased the rate of solubility of polar solids by 45% but had no effect on the rate of solubility in solutions containing non-polar solids.”

This point isn’t debatable—you’re just pointing out what the data show.

As in the Materials and Methods section, you want to refer to your data in the past tense, because the events you recorded have already occurred and have finished occurring. In the example above, note the use of “increased” and “had,” rather than “increases” and “has.” (You don’t know from your experiment that heating always increases the solubility of polar solids, but it did that time.)

You shouldn’t put information in the table that also appears in the text. You also shouldn’t use a table to present irrelevant data, just to show you did collect these data during the experiment. Tables are good for some purposes and situations, but not others, so whether and how you’ll use tables depends upon what you need them to accomplish.

Tables are useful ways to show variation in data, but not to present a great deal of unchanging measurements. If you’re dealing with a scientific phenomenon that occurs only within a certain range of temperatures, for example, you don’t need to use a table to show that the phenomenon didn’t occur at any of the other temperatures. How useful is this table?

As you can probably see, no solubility was observed until the trial temperature reached 50°C, a fact that the text part of the Results section could easily convey. The table could then be limited to what happened at 50°C and higher, thus better illustrating the differences in solubility rates when solubility did occur.

As a rule, try not to use a table to describe any experimental event you can cover in one sentence of text. Here’s an example of an unnecessary table from How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper , by Robert A. Day:

As Day notes, all the information in this table can be summarized in one sentence: “S. griseus, S. coelicolor, S. everycolor, and S. rainbowenski grew under aerobic conditions, whereas S. nocolor and S. greenicus required anaerobic conditions.” Most readers won’t find the table clearer than that one sentence.

When you do have reason to tabulate material, pay attention to the clarity and readability of the format you use. Here are a few tips:

• Number your table. Then, when you refer to the table in the text, use that number to tell your readers which table they can review to clarify the material.
• Give your table a title. This title should be descriptive enough to communicate the contents of the table, but not so long that it becomes difficult to follow. The titles in the sample tables above are acceptable.
• Arrange your table so that readers read vertically, not horizontally. For the most part, this rule means that you should construct your table so that like elements read down, not across. Think about what you want your readers to compare, and put that information in the column (up and down) rather than in the row (across). Usually, the point of comparison will be the numerical data you collect, so especially make sure you have columns of numbers, not rows.Here’s an example of how drastically this decision affects the readability of your table (from A Short Guide to Writing about Chemistry , by Herbert Beall and John Trimbur). Look at this table, which presents the relevant data in horizontal rows:

It’s a little tough to see the trends that the author presumably wants to present in this table. Compare this table, in which the data appear vertically:

The second table shows how putting like elements in a vertical column makes for easier reading. In this case, the like elements are the measurements of length and height, over five trials–not, as in the first table, the length and height measurements for each trial.

• Make sure to include units of measurement in the tables. Readers might be able to guess that you measured something in millimeters, but don’t make them try.
• Don’t use vertical lines as part of the format for your table. This convention exists because journals prefer not to have to reproduce these lines because the tables then become more expensive to print. Even though it’s fairly unlikely that you’ll be sending your Biology 11 lab report to Science for publication, your readers still have this expectation. Consequently, if you use the table-drawing option in your word-processing software, choose the option that doesn’t rely on a “grid” format (which includes vertical lines).

How do I include figures in my report?

Although tables can be useful ways of showing trends in the results you obtained, figures (i.e., illustrations) can do an even better job of emphasizing such trends. Lab report writers often use graphic representations of the data they collected to provide their readers with a literal picture of how the experiment went.

When should you use a figure?

Remember the circumstances under which you don’t need a table: when you don’t have a great deal of data or when the data you have don’t vary a lot. Under the same conditions, you would probably forgo the figure as well, since the figure would be unlikely to provide your readers with an additional perspective. Scientists really don’t like their time wasted, so they tend not to respond favorably to redundancy.

If you’re trying to decide between using a table and creating a figure to present your material, consider the following a rule of thumb. The strength of a table lies in its ability to supply large amounts of exact data, whereas the strength of a figure is its dramatic illustration of important trends within the experiment. If you feel that your readers won’t get the full impact of the results you obtained just by looking at the numbers, then a figure might be appropriate.

Of course, an undergraduate class may expect you to create a figure for your lab experiment, if only to make sure that you can do so effectively. If this is the case, then don’t worry about whether to use figures or not—concentrate instead on how best to accomplish your task.

Figures can include maps, photographs, pen-and-ink drawings, flow charts, bar graphs, and section graphs (“pie charts”). But the most common figure by far, especially for undergraduates, is the line graph, so we’ll focus on that type in this handout.

At the undergraduate level, you can often draw and label your graphs by hand, provided that the result is clear, legible, and drawn to scale. Computer technology has, however, made creating line graphs a lot easier. Most word-processing software has a number of functions for transferring data into graph form; many scientists have found Microsoft Excel, for example, a helpful tool in graphing results. If you plan on pursuing a career in the sciences, it may be well worth your while to learn to use a similar program.

Computers can’t, however, decide for you how your graph really works; you have to know how to design your graph to meet your readers’ expectations. Here are some of these expectations:

• Keep it as simple as possible. You may be tempted to signal the complexity of the information you gathered by trying to design a graph that accounts for that complexity. But remember the purpose of your graph: to dramatize your results in a manner that’s easy to see and grasp. Try not to make the reader stare at the graph for a half hour to find the important line among the mass of other lines. For maximum effectiveness, limit yourself to three to five lines per graph; if you have more data to demonstrate, use a set of graphs to account for it, rather than trying to cram it all into a single figure.
• Plot the independent variable on the horizontal (x) axis and the dependent variable on the vertical (y) axis. Remember that the independent variable is the condition that you manipulated during the experiment and the dependent variable is the condition that you measured to see if it changed along with the independent variable. Placing the variables along their respective axes is mostly just a convention, but since your readers are accustomed to viewing graphs in this way, you’re better off not challenging the convention in your report.
• Label each axis carefully, and be especially careful to include units of measure. You need to make sure that your readers understand perfectly well what your graph indicates.
• Number and title your graphs. As with tables, the title of the graph should be informative but concise, and you should refer to your graph by number in the text (e.g., “Figure 1 shows the increase in the solubility rate as a function of temperature”).
• Many editors of professional scientific journals prefer that writers distinguish the lines in their graphs by attaching a symbol to them, usually a geometric shape (triangle, square, etc.), and using that symbol throughout the curve of the line. Generally, readers have a hard time distinguishing dotted lines from dot-dash lines from straight lines, so you should consider staying away from this system. Editors don’t usually like different-colored lines within a graph because colors are difficult and expensive to reproduce; colors may, however, be great for your purposes, as long as you’re not planning to submit your paper to Nature. Use your discretion—try to employ whichever technique dramatizes the results most effectively.
• Try to gather data at regular intervals, so the plot points on your graph aren’t too far apart. You can’t be sure of the arc you should draw between the plot points if the points are located at the far corners of the graph; over a fifteen-minute interval, perhaps the change occurred in the first or last thirty seconds of that period (in which case your straight-line connection between the points is misleading).
• If you’re worried that you didn’t collect data at sufficiently regular intervals during your experiment, go ahead and connect the points with a straight line, but you may want to examine this problem as part of your Discussion section.
• Make your graph large enough so that everything is legible and clearly demarcated, but not so large that it either overwhelms the rest of the Results section or provides a far greater range than you need to illustrate your point. If, for example, the seedlings of your plant grew only 15 mm during the trial, you don’t need to construct a graph that accounts for 100 mm of growth. The lines in your graph should more or less fill the space created by the axes; if you see that your data is confined to the lower left portion of the graph, you should probably re-adjust your scale.
• If you create a set of graphs, make them the same size and format, including all the verbal and visual codes (captions, symbols, scale, etc.). You want to be as consistent as possible in your illustrations, so that your readers can easily make the comparisons you’re trying to get them to see.

How do I write a strong Discussion section?

The discussion section is probably the least formalized part of the report, in that you can’t really apply the same structure to every type of experiment. In simple terms, here you tell your readers what to make of the Results you obtained. If you have done the Results part well, your readers should already recognize the trends in the data and have a fairly clear idea of whether your hypothesis was supported. Because the Results can seem so self-explanatory, many students find it difficult to know what material to add in this last section.

Basically, the Discussion contains several parts, in no particular order, but roughly moving from specific (i.e., related to your experiment only) to general (how your findings fit in the larger scientific community). In this section, you will, as a rule, need to:

Explain whether the data support your hypothesis

• Acknowledge any anomalous data or deviations from what you expected

Derive conclusions, based on your findings, about the process you’re studying

• Relate your findings to earlier work in the same area (if you can)

Explore the theoretical and/or practical implications of your findings

Let’s look at some dos and don’ts for each of these objectives.

This statement is usually a good way to begin the Discussion, since you can’t effectively speak about the larger scientific value of your study until you’ve figured out the particulars of this experiment. You might begin this part of the Discussion by explicitly stating the relationships or correlations your data indicate between the independent and dependent variables. Then you can show more clearly why you believe your hypothesis was or was not supported. For example, if you tested solubility at various temperatures, you could start this section by noting that the rates of solubility increased as the temperature increased. If your initial hypothesis surmised that temperature change would not affect solubility, you would then say something like,

“The hypothesis that temperature change would not affect solubility was not supported by the data.”

Note: Students tend to view labs as practical tests of undeniable scientific truths. As a result, you may want to say that the hypothesis was “proved” or “disproved” or that it was “correct” or “incorrect.” These terms, however, reflect a degree of certainty that you as a scientist aren’t supposed to have. Remember, you’re testing a theory with a procedure that lasts only a few hours and relies on only a few trials, which severely compromises your ability to be sure about the “truth” you see. Words like “supported,” “indicated,” and “suggested” are more acceptable ways to evaluate your hypothesis.

Also, recognize that saying whether the data supported your hypothesis or not involves making a claim to be defended. As such, you need to show the readers that this claim is warranted by the evidence. Make sure that you’re very explicit about the relationship between the evidence and the conclusions you draw from it. This process is difficult for many writers because we don’t often justify conclusions in our regular lives. For example, you might nudge your friend at a party and whisper, “That guy’s drunk,” and once your friend lays eyes on the person in question, she might readily agree. In a scientific paper, by contrast, you would need to defend your claim more thoroughly by pointing to data such as slurred words, unsteady gait, and the lampshade-as-hat. In addition to pointing out these details, you would also need to show how (according to previous studies) these signs are consistent with inebriation, especially if they occur in conjunction with one another. To put it another way, tell your readers exactly how you got from point A (was the hypothesis supported?) to point B (yes/no).

Acknowledge any anomalous data, or deviations from what you expected

You need to take these exceptions and divergences into account, so that you qualify your conclusions sufficiently. For obvious reasons, your readers will doubt your authority if you (deliberately or inadvertently) overlook a key piece of data that doesn’t square with your perspective on what occurred. In a more philosophical sense, once you’ve ignored evidence that contradicts your claims, you’ve departed from the scientific method. The urge to “tidy up” the experiment is often strong, but if you give in to it you’re no longer performing good science.

Sometimes after you’ve performed a study or experiment, you realize that some part of the methods you used to test your hypothesis was flawed. In that case, it’s OK to suggest that if you had the chance to conduct your test again, you might change the design in this or that specific way in order to avoid such and such a problem. The key to making this approach work, though, is to be very precise about the weakness in your experiment, why and how you think that weakness might have affected your data, and how you would alter your protocol to eliminate—or limit the effects of—that weakness. Often, inexperienced researchers and writers feel the need to account for “wrong” data (remember, there’s no such animal), and so they speculate wildly about what might have screwed things up. These speculations include such factors as the unusually hot temperature in the room, or the possibility that their lab partners read the meters wrong, or the potentially defective equipment. These explanations are what scientists call “cop-outs,” or “lame”; don’t indicate that the experiment had a weakness unless you’re fairly certain that a) it really occurred and b) you can explain reasonably well how that weakness affected your results.

If, for example, your hypothesis dealt with the changes in solubility at different temperatures, then try to figure out what you can rationally say about the process of solubility more generally. If you’re doing an undergraduate lab, chances are that the lab will connect in some way to the material you’ve been covering either in lecture or in your reading, so you might choose to return to these resources as a way to help you think clearly about the process as a whole.

This part of the Discussion section is another place where you need to make sure that you’re not overreaching. Again, nothing you’ve found in one study would remotely allow you to claim that you now “know” something, or that something isn’t “true,” or that your experiment “confirmed” some principle or other. Hesitate before you go out on a limb—it’s dangerous! Use less absolutely conclusive language, including such words as “suggest,” “indicate,” “correspond,” “possibly,” “challenge,” etc.

Relate your findings to previous work in the field (if possible)

We’ve been talking about how to show that you belong in a particular community (such as biologists or anthropologists) by writing within conventions that they recognize and accept. Another is to try to identify a conversation going on among members of that community, and use your work to contribute to that conversation. In a larger philosophical sense, scientists can’t fully understand the value of their research unless they have some sense of the context that provoked and nourished it. That is, you have to recognize what’s new about your project (potentially, anyway) and how it benefits the wider body of scientific knowledge. On a more pragmatic level, especially for undergraduates, connecting your lab work to previous research will demonstrate to the TA that you see the big picture. You have an opportunity, in the Discussion section, to distinguish yourself from the students in your class who aren’t thinking beyond the barest facts of the study. Capitalize on this opportunity by putting your own work in context.

If you’re just beginning to work in the natural sciences (as a first-year biology or chemistry student, say), most likely the work you’ll be doing has already been performed and re-performed to a satisfactory degree. Hence, you could probably point to a similar experiment or study and compare/contrast your results and conclusions. More advanced work may deal with an issue that is somewhat less “resolved,” and so previous research may take the form of an ongoing debate, and you can use your own work to weigh in on that debate. If, for example, researchers are hotly disputing the value of herbal remedies for the common cold, and the results of your study suggest that Echinacea diminishes the symptoms but not the actual presence of the cold, then you might want to take some time in the Discussion section to recapitulate the specifics of the dispute as it relates to Echinacea as an herbal remedy. (Consider that you have probably already written in the Introduction about this debate as background research.)

This information is often the best way to end your Discussion (and, for all intents and purposes, the report). In argumentative writing generally, you want to use your closing words to convey the main point of your writing. This main point can be primarily theoretical (“Now that you understand this information, you’re in a better position to understand this larger issue”) or primarily practical (“You can use this information to take such and such an action”). In either case, the concluding statements help the reader to comprehend the significance of your project and your decision to write about it.

Since a lab report is argumentative—after all, you’re investigating a claim, and judging the legitimacy of that claim by generating and collecting evidence—it’s often a good idea to end your report with the same technique for establishing your main point. If you want to go the theoretical route, you might talk about the consequences your study has for the field or phenomenon you’re investigating. To return to the examples regarding solubility, you could end by reflecting on what your work on solubility as a function of temperature tells us (potentially) about solubility in general. (Some folks consider this type of exploration “pure” as opposed to “applied” science, although these labels can be problematic.) If you want to go the practical route, you could end by speculating about the medical, institutional, or commercial implications of your findings—in other words, answer the question, “What can this study help people to do?” In either case, you’re going to make your readers’ experience more satisfying, by helping them see why they spent their time learning what you had to teach them.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

American Psychological Association. 2010. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association . 6th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Beall, Herbert, and John Trimbur. 2001. A Short Guide to Writing About Chemistry , 2nd ed. New York: Longman.

Blum, Deborah, and Mary Knudson. 1997. A Field Guide for Science Writers: The Official Guide of the National Association of Science Writers . New York: Oxford University Press.

Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, Joseph M. Williams, Joseph Bizup, and William T. FitzGerald. 2016. The Craft of Research , 4th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Briscoe, Mary Helen. 1996. Preparing Scientific Illustrations: A Guide to Better Posters, Presentations, and Publications , 2nd ed. New York: Springer-Verlag.

Council of Science Editors. 2014. Scientific Style and Format: The CSE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers , 8th ed. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press.

Davis, Martha. 2012. Scientific Papers and Presentations , 3rd ed. London: Academic Press.

Day, Robert A. 1994. How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper , 4th ed. Phoenix: Oryx Press.

Porush, David. 1995. A Short Guide to Writing About Science . New York: Longman.

Williams, Joseph, and Joseph Bizup. 2017. Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace , 12th ed. Boston: Pearson.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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An audit observation report speaks about the final product of long stretches of audits, investigations, meetings, and dialogues. An audit observation is conducted to give significant data to the board on the region you investigated. Also, more critically, it gives subtleties to the executives on huge issues that should be tended to. How well you convey that data is basic to getting the board’s acknowledgment of your discoveries and their concurrence with your suggestions. What’s more, at last, this shows the worth you add to the organization and improves your odds for advancements and more prominent pay increments.

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• It is accustomed to draw noteworthy issues out into the open that should be tended to.
• How well you convey that data is basic to affecting the perusers and getting the outcomes you are looking for.
• An elegantly composed review perception will catch the perusers’ consideration and spotlight them on the significant issues in the report that should be tended to.

Regular Review Perceptions on Various Kinds of Audit Observation Reports like:

Absence of reconciliation procedures, lacking segregation of duties.

• One individual ought not to be able to arrange, get, endorse for installment, and check charges to the month to month bookkeeping report.
• One individual ought not to be able to get installments through the mail, set up the stores, accommodate the bank articulations, and post installments to the receivable framework.

Absence of Written Departmental Procedures

• All parts of an office’s tasks ought to be unmistakably reported in the forward-thinking techniques manual.
• The absence of complete composed strategies builds the danger of loss of assets, robbery of University resources, and disturbance of the activity.
• The composed methodology is likewise advantageous for the preparation of presentations and new representatives, and are a significant asset if a worker leaves the division.
• The methods ought to incorporate adequate data to allow a person who is new to the tasks to play out the vital money related exercises.

Nonappearance of Adequate Supporting Documentation

• All exchanges ought to be upheld by satisfactory documentation. This documentation ought to incorporate legitimate approval and enough detail to give a path to future surveys/reviews.
• Rebelliousness with State, System, University, or Departmental Policies and Procedures.
• All representatives ought to be comfortable with pertinent arrangements, systems and laws, and so forth., and ought to endeavor to lead University business as per them.

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