Guide to Scientific WritingMethods
The methods section is often the easiest part to write, and is a good place to start if you’re having “writer’s block”. Your methods section should contain enough detail for a reader unfamiliar with this experiment to repeat every aspect of the study. At the same time, there should not be so many details that the reader gets lost. Most importantly, describe in prose – do not use bullets or recipe-style writing. This section should be written in the active voice.
Dos and Don’ts of the Methods Section
Dos:
- Do report all important information. For example, the time spent in a water bath, the temperature of the bath, and whether or not the bath was shaking; What chemical was used, how much chemical was used, and the purpose of the chemical.
- Do explain the method of data collection. Were the data gathered individually or pooled with those of fellow researchers? Were samples chosen systematically, randomly, or haphazardly?
- Include a brief description of data analysis and any statistical procedures that you used. Do not include formulas or descriptions of how to do the tests.
- Use complete sentences.
Remember to cite your lab manual as well as any other sources. You did not pull the procedures out of thin air!
Don'ts:
- Don’t write this section as a cookbook. In other words, this section should not be written with a series of numbered steps.
- Don't simply rewrite the methods from your manual (that would be plagarism) This should be a distilled version of the methods.
- Don't include common equipment in this section. Don't write that you mixed chemicals in a 25mL beaker, just that the chemicals were mixed. You may assume that your reader has knowledge of common laboratory procedures and you need not discuss them in detail. Other common equipment includes: microscopes, spectrophotometers, balances, hemacytometers and pipettors. Just state that you used them and what purpose they were used for.
Check out a dissected example of a Methods section