Final Report

Submission Deadline

The MSGC final report is due 2 weeks after the end of the awarded period. 

Expectations

Report writing plays a large role in academic development and is an important part of student research.  A well-written report establishes the next steps necessary to solve problems and accomplish research goals.  It also gives your mentor a tool for determining laboratory protocol improvements or additions.

Final reports should be clear, concise, and written for a broad STEM audience. Keep a formal academic tone within the final report.

Final reports for Apprentices and Interns are 2-4 pages in length, not counting the title page and references. Final reports for Graduate Fellows are longer. 

Report Components

Every report starts with a title page and a table of contents, after which come the main sections: the summary/abstract, introduction, methodology & results, discussion, and references. For MSGC final reports, we require an additional section: significance of funding. The following sections are:

The Title Page is the name of your project, your name, your research mentor's name, and date.

The Table of Contents will be comprised of the following sections.

The summary/abstract will help readers better understand the purpose, key points, and evidence you are going to present in the report. It provides a summary of the report.

• Include the purpose of your report.

• Include only the essential or most significant information to support your theories and conclusions.

• Keep the summary length to 10-15% of the complete report.

• Avoid including information that isn't covered in the report.

• The summary will communicate the message clearly and independently.

The introduction section:

• Briefly describe the background and context of your research.

• State the research question and the hypothesis. 
• Explain the limitations and any assumptions made to arrive at the conclusion.

The methodology & results section:

• Explains how you collected data, how you analyzed it, and a summary. Please include any graphs or charts (use labels and legends). If you're using outside data, describe where it came from and how it relates to your research question.
• Describe your experimental design protocol.

The discussion section includes:

• Interpretation the major findings, including stating your conclusions. 
  • If the research won't be completed by the end of your project, please report on what you found within the duration of your work. Include the procedures learned, knowledge gained, how that knowledge advances the project, and what you did that worked well and didn't work well.
  • As part of your conclusions, what recommendations do you give for future researchers who will take this project forward? 
• Statement of how the research contributes to the larger area of study.
• Identifying future follow-on research.

• Relating to the study objectives given in the introduction.

Significance of Funding:

• Finally, add a short paragraph reflecting on the personal significance of having your research funded. What impact did it have on you and your research? How has it helped you grow as a professional? Discuss the tangible skills and people skills you have gained. 

References:

• Cite all sources referenced in your report.

Additional Resources

• Tips for Strong Writing
• MSGC Networking and Final Report Webinar (35:08)
• Academic Tone for Formal Writing
• MSGC Logo Repository

Final Report Template