Investigative Reports Overview

Investigative Reports

• Investigative reports encompass various types, including science lab reports, incident reports, trip reports, and forensic reports.

Science Lab Reports

• Audience: Scientists or professionals studying a field and educators evaluating student knowledge.
• Reasoning: Reports use both inductive (specific to general) and deductive (general to specific) reasoning, following the scientific method.
• Structure: Addresses the purpose, materials, procedure, results, and conclusions of the lab.
  • Follows organized sections like title, introduction, materials and equipment, method, results, discussion, and conclusion.
• Structure & Grammar: Correct use of grammar is fundamental. Audience and reasoning must be explicit.

Other Investigative Reports

• Incident Reports: Detailed accounts of unusual events or accidents, crucial for legal documentation.
• Trip Reports: Summarize business trips, highlighting significant details and insights valuable to the organization.
• Forensic Reports: Analyze evidence for legal purposes, compiled by experts and typically used in legal proceedings.

Science Lab Reports: Audience

• The science lab report serves to disseminate and analyze scientific findings.
• Primary audiences include researchers and teachers.

Science Lab Reports: Reasoning

• Scientists use inductive reasoning to form tentative hypotheses. Deductive reasoning then allows for testing the validity of these hypotheses.
• Lab reports document and record these processes.
• Reports must accurately demonstrate the scientific process's precision, objectivity, and carefully drawn conclusions supported by sufficient data.

Science Lab Reports: Structure

• Addresses the purpose, materials, procedure, results, and conclusions of the lab. These questions should be answered directly in the report.

Science Lab Reports: Structure- Title

• Titles should clearly and concisely describe the subject of the report. Titles should not be complete sentences, and articles (a, an, the) are typically omitted to keep the title concise.
• Correct capitalization is critical. Example titles are "Science Lab: Testing a Single-Bevel-Groove Weld" "Ruler Drop Experiment", and "Genetic Editing Test."

Introduction

• Purpose: The experiment's objective (e.g., to test...).
• Method: Use infinitive verbs (e.g., "to investigate").
• Subject: The experiment's overall focus.
• Verb: The action of the experiment.
• Object: The topic under investigation.

Method

• Provide all details for reproducibility.
• Report using past tense.
• Use passive voice (e.g., "The experiment was performed").
• Avoid using "I" or "we".
• Use precise measurements (e.g., "The tadpole measured 3.15 cm long").

Passive Voice Verbs

• Past tense is critical in recording procedures already performed
• Passive voice maintains objectivity and clarity when detailing methodologies.
• Example: "The experiment was performed over three weeks."

Results

• Observable facts are presented within the Results section.
• Use visual aids (tables, charts, diagrams) to present data effectively.
• Focus on reporting observations, not interpretation.

Discussion

• Explain the results using supporting reasoning.
• Compare findings to established theories and models.
• Evaluate the methodologies used and consider their strengths and limitations.
• Explain any unexpected results.
• Explain "why" results occurred.

Conclusion

• Relate results to the initial purpose/objective.
• Assess the experiment's success.
• Highlight any scientific discoveries.
• Summarize what was learned.
• Provide suggestions for further research.
• Consider the audience when writing the conclusion.

Other Types of Reports

• Incident Reports: Describe unusual events.
• Trip Reports: Details about business trips.
• Forensic Reports: Analyze evidence for legal purposes.

Forensic Reports

• Forensic reports analyze evidence for legal reasons.
• They are a specific type of science lab report typically compiled by experts.

Explore the various types of investigative reports, including science lab reports, incident reports, and trip reports. Learn about their structure, audience, and the reasoning techniques used in these reports. This quiz will help you understand the fundamental elements that make up effective investigative documentation.