PHYS/CSC 4110 / 6110 - Embedded Systems Lab Reports

Lab Reports

Each student is responsible for turning in a separate lab report.

I recommend that you keep a binder to store the lab assignments and your notes regarding the lab. You should take good notes, and use them as the basis for the "Work Log" below. You should type up your lab reports. When you include a graph or drawing with your lab, draw it using a computer.

Things to consider when writing your report:

• why are you writing? What is the overall goal of the experiment?
• Your lab report should document what you did. Include the code you write, and anything else that shows what you did.
• who is your audience?
• what kind of formatting is appropriate?
• what wording is appropriate? This is not a class in creative writing! Avoid things like "What I did", "I feel", "the wire leaped through the air and walked across the floor". Try to be technically precise.
• remember that we are looking for quality, not necessarily quantity.
• which piece of equipment did you use (for example, if you measured a voltage, did you use a voltmeter or an oscilloscope?)
• You may also want to see the "format for project reports" for additional ideas about information to include (such as references).

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Labs should include:

1. A title page with

• Your name
• the due date
• the class
• the experiment name and number
• Who you worked with (you may or may not be allowed to work with a partner. Ask if you are not sure.)
• When you did (or will) meet with the TA to demo the lab. The day and time is between you and the TA. You are responsible for setting up a time, if one needs to be established.

The title page should be on a page by itself. The items below do not need to be on a separate page - just use your best judgment.

2. A brief introduction (this should give a curious reader information about the experiment without bogging him/her down with details).

3. A list of parts/components used, including software: compiler(s), OS, etc. (e.g. an iPAQ model 3850 with Linux installed). Do not list the obvious (power cord to connect PC to electrical outlet, table to put the PC on, etc.)

4. Work Log
This a summary of the work that you did in the lab, followed by any relevant graphs or drawings. Include dates and times of when you worked on the lab. What did you do (briefly)? What worked? What did NOT work as you expected? This (and #5 below) make up the main body of the report.

Added March 5, 2017: Do keep electronic copies of any files, in case the TA or professor asks for it. Do NOT turn in excessive printouts. Instead, for a long print-out (like output from a program), you can show it with an ellipsis: print the first few lines, print an ellipsis (three periods in a row ("...") on a line by themselves), then print the next few lines of interest, print another ellipsis, repeat as needed, then show the last few lines. You can also put this in anytime you need; it conveys the idea that you are skipping something similar and non-note-worthy. You can also do this for code that someone else wrote, e.g. to show lines that you changed.

If relevant, include a screen-capture of any window (such as a simulator's screen, Arduino's serial interface screen, or other screen).

5. Questions and answers
Write the questions and your answers (along with any graphs).

6. Conclusions

• summarize the experiment
• what was the experiment about?
• what did you learn?
• comments

References
If you used any external material, you must cite it in the report, and put the reference information here. For example, suppose you find a book that mentions the screen size for the iPAQ. If you repeat that fact in your report, you need to follow it with a citation (i.e. [1]). Then in the reference section, you would have:
    [1] Author, Book name, Publisher, page.
This goes for all external materials, including graphics from websites, e-mail, personal communications, journals, conference proceedings, movies, TV shows, etc. If you did not use any references, then you do not need to have this section.

Appendix
The appendix should contain the code that you wrote for the lab. Include any other information for the reader's reference, such as additional graphs, tables, etc. Start the appendix on a new page.

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Grading Criteria

These are the minimum number of points that you can expect to lose if you leave a section out. More points may be deducted for other mistakes, or due to lateness, or failing to bind your pages together (i.e. staple).

• 5 - Cover page
• 5 - Introduction
• 5 - Parts / Components section
• 20 - Work Log
• 5 - Conclusions
• 20 - Questions Include the text of the question, as well as your answer. Your answer should be complete.
• 20 - Code listing Print code in a monospaced font, like Courier. Do not include code that I have given you (such as "Xwindow.h"), unless you make changes. If you change it, highlight the changes that you made.
  
  Added March 5, 2017: See the note above about including an abbreviated printout.
• 20 - Demonstration (to TA) You are responsible for meeting with the TA to demonstrate your project before the lab is due. The TA may schedule your demonstration for a time after you turn in the lab, but this is at the TA's discretion. On your lab, you must indicate when the demonstration was, or when it will be. Points may be deducted from the demonstration for things including (but not limited to) poor functionality, program crashing, the presenter not fully understanding the demonstration, and answers to questions.
• Any other requirements from the assignment. Carefully read the assignment to make sure you do everything it asks. If there is some conflict between these instructions and those given in the lab assignment, it is your responsibility to clarify it.