Guide to Field Experimentation: Reporting

• Abstract or Summary - Briefly summarize the project, usually in half a page or less. Highlight results or progress to date, including any significant deviations from the original objectives.
• Background and Objectives - Explain the need for the project and state its purpose.
• Methods - Outline the project design and any significant details of the procedures used. Provide enough detail so others could repeat your experiment if desired.
• Results - For final reports, describe the project results. For interim reports, summarize the work completed to date. Be objective when reporting your results; don't try to make them fit a preconceived conclusion. Measurements (e.g., yields, weight gains, weed populations, etc.) should be included. Results may be presented in tables or graphs. An example of a table is shown below.
• Conclusions - State whether or not the project's objectives were met. State any factors that contributed to the project outcome. Describe any formal or informal evaluations of the awareness phase of the project, assess this phase and summarize ideas for improving future projects.

Table 1 Crop yields by rotation and tillage type, 1989

		Crop Yield
Rotation	Tillage Type	(kg/ha)	(bu/ac)	Statistical Significance*
Continuously Cropped	Conventional Tillage	944	14	a
Continuously Cropped	Minimum Tillage	1062	16	a
Continuously Cropped	Zero Tillage	1550	23	b
Crop-Fallow	Conventional Tillage	2735	41	c
Crop-Fallow	Minimum Tillage	2501	38	c
Crop-Fallow	Zero Tillage	2739	41	c

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