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Writing a Scholarly Report

Templates for Scholarly Reports

General Overview

Every Pathways student writes a report on their scholarly project work. Here you will find information on deadlines, review process, and report formats and content.

Read the instructions carefully and choose the report format below that fits your particular situation. Students preparing a creative arts product or a Master's report will also find instructions and formats below.

Deadlines

  • By February 1 of your graduating year: Submit your report to your mentor for review
  • By March 1 of your graduating year: Submit the following to scholarsinmedicine@hms.harvard.edu:
    • Your mentor’s approval of your scholarly report (emailed approval is appropriate to forward)
    • A pdf of your scholarly report
  • Master’s student report submission deadlines can be found below in the Scholarly Report Format section under Master’s Degree Report

Formatting 

  • 1.5 space between lines
  • 1 inch margins
  • 11-12 point font
  • Insert page numbers, starting with title page
  • Save report in pdf format


Report Content (including instructions based on publication status):

In the preparation of all papers and other written work, students should always take great care to distinguish their own ideas and knowledge from information derived from other sources. The term “sources” includes not only published primary and secondary material, but also information and opinions gained directly from other people. (See Harvard Guide to Using Sources.)

Scholarly Report Formats (Choose One)

Not Published

If you have not yet pursued/do not plan to pursue publication, include:
 

Title Page, Abstract, Table of Contents, Glossary of Abbreviations

*Note: The Introduction, Student Role, Methods, and Results sections should collectively be no more than 5000 words.

Introduction

Background including a statement of the scholarly project question, the rationale, and its significance as well as a review of the relevant literature that places your work in the context of the field. 

Student role and role of any collaborators

 

Methods (include sample size estimate and power calculation)

 

Results (observations, data analysis)

 

Discussion, Limitations, Conclusions, and Suggestions for Future Work

 

Acknowledgements

 

List of References (annotated in text in NLM (PubMed) format)

 

Tables and Figures

 

Appendices (as necessary)

Not First Author

If you are not first author, but you have published/submitted/written a paper/manuscript on your project, include:
 

Title Page, Abstract, Table of Contents, Glossary of Abbreviations
 

Student Role: Description of your contribution to the work (3+ pages)

  • State your scholarly project question
  • Describe the role you played in design, execution, analysis, and writing
  • Identify the sections of the manuscript you wrote
  • If a collaborative project, identify both your role and the roles of the contributors

Elaborate on how your work fits into the field:

  • Include a more detailed introduction, rationale, and background than typically found in a published paper
  • Address gaps that your paper helps to fill
  • Describe clinical, research, and policy implications of your work (any that are applicable)

Appendix

  • If published, include your entire published work (include a link to where it is published and a citation)
  • If not yet published, include the entire manuscript

First Author

If you are first author and have published/submitted/written a paper/manuscript on your project, include:
 

Title Page, Abstract, Table of Contents, Glossary of Abbreviations
 

Student Role: Description of your contribution to the work (one page)

  • State your scholarly project question
  • Describe the role you played in design, execution, analysis, and writing
  • If a collaborative project, identify both your role and the roles of the contributors

Appendix

  • If published, include your entire published work and include a link to where it is published
  • If not yet published, include the entire manuscript

Creative Arts Report

The Creative Arts Product

Students should contact their reviewer to schedule a time for the reviewer to see your creative arts product. You are welcome to invite additional audience members to the performance/display of your product, if appropriate.

The Creative Arts Scholarly Report

Students write a report at the end of their experience as the scholarly component of their scholarly project.

Students may choose to write:

  • a critical analysis of your topic
  • a report that frames your project in its historical context
  • a social/economic/political/cultural/religious analysis of your chosen topic area
  • or some other intellectual context for the creative work that you carry out

The report should include the following sections:


Title Page, Abstract, Table of Contents, Glossary of Abbreviations


Introduction

Background including a statement of the scholarly project question, the rationale, and its significance as well as a review of the relevant literature that places your work in the context of the field.

Student Role


Methods

Creative arts projects will focus on how you created your work or the process you went through to achieve it.

Results (observations, data analysis)

The result is your product: collection of writing, a video, etc. You should describe your product. You will not need any other narrative for this section.

Discussion, Limitations, Conclusions, and Suggestions for Future Work.

As suggested above, you should reflect on the creative process or experience here. You should describe how your project furthers your own development as a physician, and how it may contribute to the development of other physicians (if physicians are the intended audience), the experience of health care or the perception of one’s body or health (if patients are the intended audience), or to the larger understanding of health or health care delivery (if society at large is the intended audience). You should also discuss how the product of your project may serve to inspire further work or projects by yourself or others.

Acknowledgements


List of references annotated in text in NLM (PubMed) format


Tables and Figures


Appendices (as necessary)

If your creative product is written, attach it here. If you can take a photo of it, include it here. Note any web link to your creative work here.

Master's Degree Report

Submission

No later than March 1 of your graduating year
(If your master’s degree deadline for your required project is later than March 1, students should confirm with the OSE staff an appropriate deadline to submit your scholarly report)

Sections to Include:
 

Title Page, Abstract, Table of Contents, Glossary of Abbreviations


Student Role: Description of your contribution to the work (two pages)

  • State your scholarly project question
  • Describe the role you played in design, execution, analysis, and writing
  • If a collaborative project, identify both your role and the roles of the contributors
  • Sufficient information describing your project so that the reviewer can understand what you did

Appendix: Your presentation, report, and/or other required product for your master’s degree program

Sections Needed in All Reports

Include these elements at the beginning of your scholarly report:


Title Page:

“Scholarly Report submitted in partial fulfillment of the MD Degree at Harvard Medical School”
Date: (use Day Month Year format, ex. 1 March 2024)
Student Name: (include any previous obtained degrees after your name)
Scholarly Report Title: (use initial capitals)
Mentor Name(s) and Affiliation(s): (ex. Mary P. Smith, MD, MPH, Dept of Emergency Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital)
Collaborator(s) and Affiliation(s): (if applicable; see mentor example above for formatting example)
Citation(s): (for any publications that you wrote on your scholarly project including links;  this is not your references)

    Abstract:

    Length is <400 words

    • Title
    • Author(s)
    • Purpose
    • Methods
    • Results
    • Conclusions

    Table of Contents
     

    Glossary of Abbreviations
     

    Note: Now choose one of the formats in the Scholarly Report Formats section to write the rest of your report. Formats vary based upon what type of report you are submitting.