Biomedical Independent Research Project- Betancourt: Scientific Paper Format

Written Report Format
Reports need to be neat, organized, and word-processed. When reports are completed, someone should be able to read them and duplicate the results. Reports should be written in the third person with no pronouns. These reports should include the following components.

Title Page
In a list format, the title page should include:

• Title of project
• Names of student participants
• Course title
• Institution where work was done
• Date

Abstract
Summarize in a paragraph the objectives of the project and what was accomplished. Include specific information to support your point. This one-paragraph summary should be short and to the point with specific information.

Table of Contents
Include all sections of your report, listed in order with the corresponding page numbers needed to find the information. This may be a page or more in length.

Introduction
Include answers to the following questions in this brief explanation of the project or activities:

• What is the purpose of the activity?
• What are you going to learn and what are you going to do?

Background
Include the information and background research of the topic. Inform the reader about the information you gathered in order to accomplish the task. Describe what you found and studied of previous research and designs done by others. Explain why your work is different.

Materials
Bulleted list of all materials needed to do the project or activity.

Procedure
Present the details on how you did the lab, activity or project. Include your specific step-by-step process such as, sketches, schematics, equations, and photos. Specify what was learned at each step. This section may be broken into subsections.

Results
Discuss how well the objectives were accomplished. Include suggestions for improvement and the kinds of errors and problems that occurred during the process. Write a short paragraph projecting where this project could go in the future. Compare your results with your initial stated purpose.

Conclusion
Give a brief summary of what you learned and what the activity was all about.

Appendix
Include the following:

• Drawings

• Orthographic
• Isometric
• Assembly
• Exploded views

• Schematics
• Written programs
• Flow charts
• Tables of information
• Pertinent information to the report but too large to fit in the written documentation

Citations
Include all resources, such as books, magazines, journals, and Internet sources that were used to obtain and learn information. Since this is a technical report, the format should follow APA guidelines.