How to Write a Reflection in a Science Notebook

Throughout your academic career you are going to be introduced to numerous science cources. Each course is going to have different requirements. However, most classes will require you to keep a science notebook or a science journal, particularly when you are conducting field research or when you are completing a research project.

Science Journals

Science journals, also referred to as science notebooks, are data collection tools. They are used to collect notes, data and observations for specific research projects, field trips or experiments. However, they can also be used to document reflections and observations about a scientist's professional development.

Journal Entries

There are several different types of journal entries that you can make. The most basic journal entry is a data point entry. Data point entries are used to record specific pieces of information about an observation, such as temperature, dimensions or response.

The second type of journal entry that you can make is an observational journal entry. This entry will "describe" something according to your perspective of that object. Observational entries will describe things like colors, textures and positions of one or more objects.

The third type of journal entry that you can make is a reflection entry. A reflection entry is subjective to your experiences. These entries are used to document a field experience or to to document what you were thinking and feeling when working on a research project.

How to Write a Reflection Entry

There are several basic steps for writing a reflection entry. To start with you need to enter basic identification data. This includes the date of the entry, the time of the entry and a topic for the entry, also called the entry subject or title.

The next step is to create an explanation of why the entry is being made. You can start by explaining what you are doing and then move on to what prompted to you make a reflection entry in your science notebook. For example, you may have heard something on the news that explained certain contradictory data that you collected, or you may have witnessed extraordinary animal behavior in the field that relates to something that you are studying.

When writing a reflection entry you need to provide both facts and feelings. The facts will be used to open your entry, while your feelings and observations will be presented in the middle of your entry. Finally, you will conclude with your entry with some call to action. For example, you may make a note that you will need to test a new solution ratio or you may need to make adjustments to the temperatures of the test environment to see if it will produce the desired outcome.