Writing a good lab report is an art as well as a science. Generally its a matter of detail and style. Resources below should help you get started and provide the details needed to polish that report. Check with your professor as the the appropriate style for your paper or lab report.
Other institutions have excellent materials that may help as you write your report. Remember to follow the guidelines provided by YOUR INSTRUCTOR as they may differ considerably from those shown below.
If you need a quick check on common reference styles, one of the following documents should help.
"Common knowledge" -- you don't need to cite where you found "common knowledge". But what is "common knowledge"? Guess what -- it varies. Here is a safe definition, because you don't want to be accused of plagiarism.
Did you know it without looking it up? If you are just learning about your field, you should err on the side of caution. Better to cite something that didn't need a citation, then to be accused of plagiarism.
Would other people in the class know this? Common knowledge is based, to some extent, on what the "general practitioner" in the field would know. And what would be general knowledge for a practicing electrical engineer MAY NOT be common knowledge for a freshman engineering student.
Do you find the information in many PUBLISHED (not web pages) resources? Some experts say if you find it in 3 reference tools, no need to cite. Others say 5. If you don't have time to check that the information has been used in many different places, cite it. Play it safe. The citation can be easily removed later and until the paper is in it's final version, you will know where to go back and verify the information.
