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Keeping a Field or Lab Notebook

You will need to record your data in a field notebook, and that notebook may be examined for grading. Since the lab reports provide much of the information normally included in a lab notebook (e.g. Purpose, Procedures, etc), you can omit those from your field notebook. Please include a table of contents (updated each week), a brief introduction for each lab (date, conditions, topic) and measurements made (usually recorded in tabular form, see lecture notes for examples). We will discuss this topic during the first class meeting. The following World-Wide-Web resources can help you in learning how to write a suitable notebook:

* Rice University Biology Lab Program Guide
Very detailed!

See the grading criteria for what is expected in your notebook. The general idea is that you write a good enough description that you can exactly duplicate the exercise given only your notebook, or explain to someone (like a lawyer) exactly what you did. In addition, we expect a lucid discussion of your and other's results based on the general principles involved (e.g. conservation of water mass in the stream gauging. Note in the ``real world'' this type of analysis is normally done in a final report, rather than in the field notebook.

* Why a Notebook?
The purpose of your Field Note Book is to record your observations of the Field Area AND to record the Measurements we will be taking in the FIELD.

* The Basis for Your Lab Report
The measurements and observations recorded in your Field Note Book are required for the writing of your FIELD REPORT. So, make sure you record your data clearly and systematically.

* Progress Checks
The T.A. may check your FIELD NOTEBOOKS after each lab.


next up previous contents
Next: Streamflow/Stream Gauging Up: Course Organization Previous: Grading
GEOS 3110 Professor's Notes, Summer 2007
Dr. T. Brikowski, U. Texas-Dallas. All rights reserved.