research report margins

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

13.1 Formatting a Research Paper

Learning objectives.

• Identify the major components of a research paper written using American Psychological Association (APA) style.
• Apply general APA style and formatting conventions in a research paper.

In this chapter, you will learn how to use APA style , the documentation and formatting style followed by the American Psychological Association, as well as MLA style , from the Modern Language Association. There are a few major formatting styles used in academic texts, including AMA, Chicago, and Turabian:

• AMA (American Medical Association) for medicine, health, and biological sciences
• APA (American Psychological Association) for education, psychology, and the social sciences
• Chicago—a common style used in everyday publications like magazines, newspapers, and books
• MLA (Modern Language Association) for English, literature, arts, and humanities
• Turabian—another common style designed for its universal application across all subjects and disciplines

While all the formatting and citation styles have their own use and applications, in this chapter we focus our attention on the two styles you are most likely to use in your academic studies: APA and MLA.

If you find that the rules of proper source documentation are difficult to keep straight, you are not alone. Writing a good research paper is, in and of itself, a major intellectual challenge. Having to follow detailed citation and formatting guidelines as well may seem like just one more task to add to an already-too-long list of requirements.

Following these guidelines, however, serves several important purposes. First, it signals to your readers that your paper should be taken seriously as a student’s contribution to a given academic or professional field; it is the literary equivalent of wearing a tailored suit to a job interview. Second, it shows that you respect other people’s work enough to give them proper credit for it. Finally, it helps your reader find additional materials if he or she wishes to learn more about your topic.

Furthermore, producing a letter-perfect APA-style paper need not be burdensome. Yes, it requires careful attention to detail. However, you can simplify the process if you keep these broad guidelines in mind:

• Work ahead whenever you can. Chapter 11 “Writing from Research: What Will I Learn?” includes tips for keeping track of your sources early in the research process, which will save time later on.
• Get it right the first time. Apply APA guidelines as you write, so you will not have much to correct during the editing stage. Again, putting in a little extra time early on can save time later.
• Use the resources available to you. In addition to the guidelines provided in this chapter, you may wish to consult the APA website at http://www.apa.org or the Purdue University Online Writing lab at http://owl.english.purdue.edu , which regularly updates its online style guidelines.

General Formatting Guidelines

This chapter provides detailed guidelines for using the citation and formatting conventions developed by the American Psychological Association, or APA. Writers in disciplines as diverse as astrophysics, biology, psychology, and education follow APA style. The major components of a paper written in APA style are listed in the following box.

These are the major components of an APA-style paper:

Body, which includes the following:

• Headings and, if necessary, subheadings to organize the content
• In-text citations of research sources
• References page

All these components must be saved in one document, not as separate documents.

The title page of your paper includes the following information:

• Title of the paper
• Author’s name
• Name of the institution with which the author is affiliated
• Header at the top of the page with the paper title (in capital letters) and the page number (If the title is lengthy, you may use a shortened form of it in the header.)

List the first three elements in the order given in the previous list, centered about one third of the way down from the top of the page. Use the headers and footers tool of your word-processing program to add the header, with the title text at the left and the page number in the upper-right corner. Your title page should look like the following example.

The next page of your paper provides an abstract , or brief summary of your findings. An abstract does not need to be provided in every paper, but an abstract should be used in papers that include a hypothesis. A good abstract is concise—about one hundred fifty to two hundred fifty words—and is written in an objective, impersonal style. Your writing voice will not be as apparent here as in the body of your paper. When writing the abstract, take a just-the-facts approach, and summarize your research question and your findings in a few sentences.

In Chapter 12 “Writing a Research Paper” , you read a paper written by a student named Jorge, who researched the effectiveness of low-carbohydrate diets. Read Jorge’s abstract. Note how it sums up the major ideas in his paper without going into excessive detail.

Write an abstract summarizing your paper. Briefly introduce the topic, state your findings, and sum up what conclusions you can draw from your research. Use the word count feature of your word-processing program to make sure your abstract does not exceed one hundred fifty words.

Depending on your field of study, you may sometimes write research papers that present extensive primary research, such as your own experiment or survey. In your abstract, summarize your research question and your findings, and briefly indicate how your study relates to prior research in the field.

Margins, Pagination, and Headings

APA style requirements also address specific formatting concerns, such as margins, pagination, and heading styles, within the body of the paper. Review the following APA guidelines.

Use these general guidelines to format the paper:

• Set the top, bottom, and side margins of your paper at 1 inch.
• Use double-spaced text throughout your paper.
• Use a standard font, such as Times New Roman or Arial, in a legible size (10- to 12-point).
• Use continuous pagination throughout the paper, including the title page and the references section. Page numbers appear flush right within your header.
• Section headings and subsection headings within the body of your paper use different types of formatting depending on the level of information you are presenting. Additional details from Jorge’s paper are provided.

Begin formatting the final draft of your paper according to APA guidelines. You may work with an existing document or set up a new document if you choose. Include the following:

• Your title page
• The abstract you created in Note 13.8 “Exercise 1”
• Correct headers and page numbers for your title page and abstract

APA style uses section headings to organize information, making it easy for the reader to follow the writer’s train of thought and to know immediately what major topics are covered. Depending on the length and complexity of the paper, its major sections may also be divided into subsections, sub-subsections, and so on. These smaller sections, in turn, use different heading styles to indicate different levels of information. In essence, you are using headings to create a hierarchy of information.

The following heading styles used in APA formatting are listed in order of greatest to least importance:

• Section headings use centered, boldface type. Headings use title case, with important words in the heading capitalized.
• Subsection headings use left-aligned, boldface type. Headings use title case.
• The third level uses left-aligned, indented, boldface type. Headings use a capital letter only for the first word, and they end in a period.
• The fourth level follows the same style used for the previous level, but the headings are boldfaced and italicized.
• The fifth level follows the same style used for the previous level, but the headings are italicized and not boldfaced.

Visually, the hierarchy of information is organized as indicated in Table 13.1 “Section Headings” .

Table 13.1 Section Headings

A college research paper may not use all the heading levels shown in Table 13.1 “Section Headings” , but you are likely to encounter them in academic journal articles that use APA style. For a brief paper, you may find that level 1 headings suffice. Longer or more complex papers may need level 2 headings or other lower-level headings to organize information clearly. Use your outline to craft your major section headings and determine whether any subtopics are substantial enough to require additional levels of headings.

Working with the document you developed in Note 13.11 “Exercise 2” , begin setting up the heading structure of the final draft of your research paper according to APA guidelines. Include your title and at least two to three major section headings, and follow the formatting guidelines provided above. If your major sections should be broken into subsections, add those headings as well. Use your outline to help you.

Because Jorge used only level 1 headings, his Exercise 3 would look like the following:

Citation Guidelines

In-text citations.

Throughout the body of your paper, include a citation whenever you quote or paraphrase material from your research sources. As you learned in Chapter 11 “Writing from Research: What Will I Learn?” , the purpose of citations is twofold: to give credit to others for their ideas and to allow your reader to follow up and learn more about the topic if desired. Your in-text citations provide basic information about your source; each source you cite will have a longer entry in the references section that provides more detailed information.

In-text citations must provide the name of the author or authors and the year the source was published. (When a given source does not list an individual author, you may provide the source title or the name of the organization that published the material instead.) When directly quoting a source, it is also required that you include the page number where the quote appears in your citation.

This information may be included within the sentence or in a parenthetical reference at the end of the sentence, as in these examples.

Epstein (2010) points out that “junk food cannot be considered addictive in the same way that we think of psychoactive drugs as addictive” (p. 137).

Here, the writer names the source author when introducing the quote and provides the publication date in parentheses after the author’s name. The page number appears in parentheses after the closing quotation marks and before the period that ends the sentence.

Addiction researchers caution that “junk food cannot be considered addictive in the same way that we think of psychoactive drugs as addictive” (Epstein, 2010, p. 137).

Here, the writer provides a parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence that includes the author’s name, the year of publication, and the page number separated by commas. Again, the parenthetical citation is placed after the closing quotation marks and before the period at the end of the sentence.

As noted in the book Junk Food, Junk Science (Epstein, 2010, p. 137), “junk food cannot be considered addictive in the same way that we think of psychoactive drugs as addictive.”

Here, the writer chose to mention the source title in the sentence (an optional piece of information to include) and followed the title with a parenthetical citation. Note that the parenthetical citation is placed before the comma that signals the end of the introductory phrase.

David Epstein’s book Junk Food, Junk Science (2010) pointed out that “junk food cannot be considered addictive in the same way that we think of psychoactive drugs as addictive” (p. 137).

Another variation is to introduce the author and the source title in your sentence and include the publication date and page number in parentheses within the sentence or at the end of the sentence. As long as you have included the essential information, you can choose the option that works best for that particular sentence and source.

Citing a book with a single author is usually a straightforward task. Of course, your research may require that you cite many other types of sources, such as books or articles with more than one author or sources with no individual author listed. You may also need to cite sources available in both print and online and nonprint sources, such as websites and personal interviews. Chapter 13 “APA and MLA Documentation and Formatting” , Section 13.2 “Citing and Referencing Techniques” and Section 13.3 “Creating a References Section” provide extensive guidelines for citing a variety of source types.

Writing at Work

APA is just one of several different styles with its own guidelines for documentation, formatting, and language usage. Depending on your field of interest, you may be exposed to additional styles, such as the following:

• MLA style. Determined by the Modern Languages Association and used for papers in literature, languages, and other disciplines in the humanities.
• Chicago style. Outlined in the Chicago Manual of Style and sometimes used for papers in the humanities and the sciences; many professional organizations use this style for publications as well.
• Associated Press (AP) style. Used by professional journalists.

References List

The brief citations included in the body of your paper correspond to the more detailed citations provided at the end of the paper in the references section. In-text citations provide basic information—the author’s name, the publication date, and the page number if necessary—while the references section provides more extensive bibliographical information. Again, this information allows your reader to follow up on the sources you cited and do additional reading about the topic if desired.

The specific format of entries in the list of references varies slightly for different source types, but the entries generally include the following information:

• The name(s) of the author(s) or institution that wrote the source
• The year of publication and, where applicable, the exact date of publication
• The full title of the source
• For books, the city of publication
• For articles or essays, the name of the periodical or book in which the article or essay appears
• For magazine and journal articles, the volume number, issue number, and pages where the article appears
• For sources on the web, the URL where the source is located

The references page is double spaced and lists entries in alphabetical order by the author’s last name. If an entry continues for more than one line, the second line and each subsequent line are indented five spaces. Review the following example. ( Chapter 13 “APA and MLA Documentation and Formatting” , Section 13.3 “Creating a References Section” provides extensive guidelines for formatting reference entries for different types of sources.)

In APA style, book and article titles are formatted in sentence case, not title case. Sentence case means that only the first word is capitalized, along with any proper nouns.

Key Takeaways

• Following proper citation and formatting guidelines helps writers ensure that their work will be taken seriously, give proper credit to other authors for their work, and provide valuable information to readers.
• Working ahead and taking care to cite sources correctly the first time are ways writers can save time during the editing stage of writing a research paper.
• APA papers usually include an abstract that concisely summarizes the paper.
• APA papers use a specific headings structure to provide a clear hierarchy of information.
• In APA papers, in-text citations usually include the name(s) of the author(s) and the year of publication.
• In-text citations correspond to entries in the references section, which provide detailed bibliographical information about a source.

Writing for Success Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

APA 7th ed. Style Guide

• Formatting Your Paper
• In-text Citations
• Textual Works
• Data Sets, Software, Tests
• Audiovisual Media
• Online Media

Formatting guidelines and sample papers are found in chapter 2 of the APA 7th edition Publication Manual

Sample papers.

You can find sample papers from Purdue OWL's website, APA 7th edition Publication Manual, or APA style website.

• APA Style Student Paper with Annotations in the Comments A Word Document featuring an APA 7th edition Style Student Paper that includes annotations as comments.
• APA Style Professional Paper with Annotations in Comments A Word Document featuring an APA 7th edition Style Professional Paper that includes annotations as comments.
• Purdue OWL Sample Papers

General Formatting Guidelines

Follow these guidelines throughout your paper:

• Double space text
• Header for student and professional papers includes the page number in the upper right hand corner
• Single space after ending punctuation
• Font size and style: Times New Roman 12 pt, Arial 11 pt, Calibri 11 pt, or Georgia 11 pt
• Use the same font type and size throughout the paper (exceptions for figure images, computer code, and footnotes - see 2.19 in APA Manual)
• Margins: 1 inch on all sides
• Left align paragraphs and leave ragged (uneven) margins on the right
• Indention: use 0.5 inch indention for the first line of every paragraph (use tab key for consistency)

Formatting Title Page

The 7th edition Publication Manual for APA introduced the student and professional papers. The major difference between these two types of papers is found on the title page. Please, see the guidelines below for formatting the title page of your document. Also note, follow your professors' guidelines for formatting the title page.

General Title Page Guidelines:

• Double space
• The title should summarize the main idea and be focused/succinct (avoid unnecessary words)
• Title written in title case (the first letter of each word is capitalized), bold, centered, and positioned in the upper half of the title page
• Use the author(s) first name, middle initial, and last name as the author's byline

Student Papers:

• title of the paper
• name of the author(s)
• author affiliation (department and institution name)
• course number and name 
• instructor name
• assignment due date (i.e. November 4, 2020)
• page number (in the header)

Professional Papers:

• author affiliation
• author note
• running head (abbreviated title) - Flush with left margin and written in all capital letters

Formatting Headings

Follow this format for headings (see 2.27 of the Publication Manual for additional details):

Level 1 headings are written in bold title case and aligned to the center. The text begins as a new paragraph.

Level 2 headings are written in bold title case and aligned flush to the left. The text begins as a new paragraph.

Level 3 headings are written in bold, italicized title case, and aligned flush to the left. The text begins as a new paragraph.

Level 4 headings are written in bold title case, indented from the left, and end with a period. The text begins after the period and continues like a regular paragraph.

Level 5 headings are written in bold, italicized title case, indented from the left, and end with a period. The text begins after the period and continues like a regular paragraph.

Formatting Reference List

The following are guidelines for formatting your reference list:

• Start on a new page after the last page of text
• Label the page Reference(s) with a capitalized R, written in bold and centered
• Double space all entries
• Use hanging indent for reference entries (first line of the reference is flush with left margin, subsequent lines are indented 0.5 inches)
• Order alphabetically (see chapter 9 section 44-49 for additional instructions on entry order)
• << Previous: Home
• Next: In-text Citations >>
• Last Updated: Mar 20, 2024 11:48 AM
• URL: https://guides.uu.edu/APA7

Speech Communication

• Faculty & Staff Directory
• B.A. Degree Plan: 4 Year Graduation Guarantee
• B.S. Degree Plan: 4 year Graduation Guarantee
• Graduate Studies
• Speech Communication Minor
• Academic Advising
• Lambda Pi Eta Honor Society
• Forensics Team
• Scholarships
• COMM Internship Requirements (COMM 410)
• Alumni and Friends
• Mind Work/Brainstorming
• Constructing a Thesis
• Writing an Introduction
• Supporting a Thesis
• Developing Arguments
• Writing a Conclusion
• Punctuation
• Style and Organization
• What's the purpose of a style manual? How do I choose a style manual for my paper?
• How do I get started planning a research paper? How do I select a topic?
• How does research fit into my writing plan?
• When I write a research paper, what resources should I have on hand?
• Bibliographic Information
• Citation Information

Title Pages, Headings, Margins, Pagination, and Fonts

• Internet Links/Resources
• OSU Writing Center
• Communication Journals
• Tips on In-Class Writing
• Sample of a Professor's Remarks on a Student Paper

You are here

On this site, you will find general information about MLA and APA format styles with specific requirements regarding title pages, headings, margins, and pagination. Regardless of the style manual you follow, use only standard fonts for your paper. Do not enlarge the font to make your paper appear longer; do not make the font smaller so you can fit your paper into the prescribed number of pages. Do not use a cursive or decorative font.

This site offers only examples of the more common citations students use. For a wider range of topics, you need to consult the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers or the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. Both style books are available in the bookstore and at the library.

MLA Formats:

General format and title page: Your research paper needs to be typed and double-spaced on standard-sized paper (8.5 X 11 inches). Use one-inch margins on all four sides of each page. Unless your professor specifically calls for one, a title page is unnecessary. In place of a title page, MLA style requires a heading on the first page of your paper. The heading appears in the top, left corner of the first page, double-spaced. The heading includes your name, your professor's name, the course you are taking, and the date. Center your title one line below the heading. Double-space the title if it extends past the first line. Write your title in capital and lower-case letters. Do not underline your title or put it in quotation marks. The page number preceded by your last name should appear in the upper right corner one-half inch from the top. Do not use a hyphen, period, or any other punctuation with the page number. Use this example as a guide:

Headings: If your paper is long you may divide it into sections (for example, "Literature Review," "Research Method and Results," and "Discussion"). In some cases, you may divide one or more of those sections into other sections (for example, you might divide the second section listed above into "Participants," "Interview Protocol," and "Caveats"). Your purpose would be to improve clarity. Divisions might help a reader better follow a discussion that extends for twenty-five written pages. Consistently using the same style of heading for each level informs the reader whether the upcoming topic is a subtopic of the previous discussion or another central issue. Select a form for each level of division (for example, you might write Level 1 centered, caps and lower case; Level 2 flush left, lower case only, etc.); use the same form for the same level your paper. Regardless of the system you choose, the title on the title page should conform to MLA standards.

Margins and spacing: All margins should measure one inch. Page numbers will appear within the top margin, but no other text should extend past the one-inch margins. Indent five spaces to begin paragraphs. Double-space the text of your paper.

Pagination: Number all pages of your paper in the upper right corner, one-half inch from the top. Do not write -2- or p. 2. The number should appear by itself with no punctuation.

APA Formats

General format and title page: Your research paper needs to be typed, double-spaced on standard-sized paper (8.5 X 11 inches). Use one to one-and-a-half inch margins on all four sides of each page. APA (American Psychological Association) calls for a title page. A running head on this page is not necessary unless you are submitting your paper for publication. At the top of your title page, flush right and one-half inch from the top edge of the paper (inside your top margin), you will write what is called a "manuscript header." A manuscript header consists of one or two key words from you title followed by the page number (see example). Your title will appear centered on this page, written in capital and lower-case letters. If your title extends past one line, double-space between lines. Your name will appear centered and in capital and lower-case letters one double-spaced line below your title. Your university name (Oregon State University) will be placed one double-spaced line below your name. If you are a communication major, you also will include below the institution's name the title of your department. For example:

The pages of your manuscript should be numbered consecutively, beginning with the title page, as part of the manuscript header in the upper right corner of each page. Your references should begin on a separate page from the text of the paper under the label "References" (with no quotation marks, underlining, etc.), centered at the top of the page. Appendices and notes should be formatted similarly.

Headings: APA style prescribes five heading levels, but they vary according to the length of your paper. If you are writing a formal piece to be submitted to an undergraduate conference, closely consult the APA style book. For class papers, ask for your professor's preference. If no preference is given, follow the suggestions written in this section under MLA.

Margins and spacing: Leave margins of at least one inch on all sides of your paper. Page numbers will appear within the top margin, but no other text should extend into the margins. Indent five to seven spaces to begin paragraphs. Double-space the text of your paper.

Pagination: Page numbers should be placed in the top margin one inch from the right side of the paper. The number should appear by itself with no punctuation.

Contact Info

Email: [email protected]

College of Liberal Arts Student Services 214 Bexell Hall 541-737-0561

Deans Office 200 Bexell Hall 541-737-4582

Corvallis, OR 97331-8600

liberalartsosu liberalartsosu liberalartsosu liberalartsosu CLA LinkedIn

School of Communication

E-Mail:  School of Communication Contact Form Phone:  541-737-6592 Hours of Operation:  8 a.m. - 5 p.m.  Monday - Friday

Pasco-Hernando State College

APA Page Format

• Finding and Evaluating Sources (Critical Analysis)
• Synthesizing Information from Sources
• MLA Documentation
• APA In-Text Citations
• Writing a Research Paper
• APA Handout
• Acceptable fonts and sizes: Size 12-point Times New Roman;11-point Arial, Calibri, and Georgia; or 10-point Lucida.
• Body of paper is aligned left
• Running head (by instructor preference) in header, left aligned
• Page number in header right aligned
• Line Spacing – double throughout
• Tab in the first line of a paragraph ½” or .5
• Title is bolded, centered with proper capitalization
• Level 1 heading on 2nd page of paper, centered and bolded and is usually the title of the paper, never the word Introduction.
• References is the last page of the paper
• 1” margins – top, bottom, left, right.
• Word margins are set in Layout or in File/Page Setup/Margins.
• Acceptable fonts and sizes: Size 12-point Times New Roman; 11-point Arial, Calibri, and Georgia;10-point Lucida; or other legible font as approved by instructor.
• Font and font size are important for readability.
• Do not use bold except for section headings if section headings are used.
• Do not use all caps except for the title of the paper in the Header or an acronym (NATO, AIDS).
• Do not use italics or underlining unless there is a rule that says to use them.
• Left align – this is the usual default setting.
• Do not block or justify where the right margin is uneven.
• Alignment can be set in the Paragraph box if the icon is not visible.

Line Spacing

• Double space –throughout the entire document.
• Check default settings in the Paragraph box and reset per instructions under Paragraph setting (see below).

Paragraph Settings

Some programs such as Word 2007 and later have defaults in the Paragraph box which interferes with proper double spacing. The settings in the Paragraph dialogue box should be as follows to have proper double spacing.

• Indentation (on top) should be set at 0 left and 0 right.
• Spacing (on the lower left) should be set to 0 Before and 0 After.
• Line Spacing (on the lower right) should be set to double.
• Check the box that says “Don’t add space between paragraphs of the same style.”
• Click Default (at the bottom) and select Yes to change defaults.

In Google docs , you can change Paragraph settings under Spacing to 0 next to Before and 0 next to After by going into the double spacing tool and clicking Custom Settings.  You will have to select (highlight) the entire paper including the heading in the upper left before making the change once the paper is typed.

In Pages , you can change the Paragraph settings by clicking on Format on the top navigation bar and then Paragraph. Remember that you have to highlight (select) the entire paper including the heading in the upper left before making change in Paragraph once the paper is typed.

First Line of a Paragraph

• Indent the first word of a paragraph 1/2” or .5 from the left margin.
• The Tab default is usually at this setting.  If not, reset defaults.

Spacing after a Period or Other End Punctuation

In the 7th edition of APA, only one space is used after the end of a sentence.

Page Number and Running Head

• In Word, click on the Insert tab and then click on Page Number in the menu bar. It will give you the option of where to insert the page number.
• Choose to insert the page number at the top of the page, right aligned.
• The page number appears on every page of the document, including the title page.
• Place the cursor left of the number and type in the running head.
• Total length of the running head is 50 characters and spaces.
• The running head is in all caps.
• After you typed click tab until the running head is left aligned in the header.
• Use a plain header format.
• Do not use bold, underlining, quotation marks, or a different font or color for the title.
• Do not use the word page or any abbreviation of the word page such as pg. or p. between the running head and the actual page number.

Heading Levels

There are five possible heading levels in APA style.

• Level 1 headings are used for top-level or main sections – they are bolded and in the center of the page.
• Level 2 and Level 3 headings are subsections of Level 1 – they are also bolded, but they are left aligned.
• Levels 4 and 5 headings are bolded, italicized, indented, and followed by a period.

APA does not use the word Introduction. The Level 1 heading at the beginning of an APA paper is the bolded and centered title of the paper, typed on the first page of the paper after the title page.

See pages 47 - 49 in the APA Publication Manual for more detailed information.

The student paper must include a title page. The following items are included on the student title page unless otherwise indicated by the instructor:

• The running head is an abbreviation of the title, written in all-caps, left aligned in the header up to 50 character and spaces long (if less than 50 character and spaces long then the entire title can be in the header)
• Page number is right aligned in the header
• The running head and page numbers appear on every page of the paper.
• All the text on the title page is centered and double spaced with proper capitalization (except for the header)
• Title is a maximum of three to four spaces below the header
• Directly below the title is the student author’s first and last name
• On the next line is the college/institution’s name, fully spelled out with proper capitalization
• Below the institution name is the course number and course name, ex:  COU 1234: Introduction to APA Usage
• On the next line is the instructor name, ex: Prof. I. Knowalot
• On the last line is the assignment due date, ex: February 29, 2028

If you are asked to prepare an abstract for your research paper, click Insert/Page Break to get to the top of a new page, and center the word Abstract in bold on the first line. Abstracts are typically no more than 250 words. They are usually a single paragraph with no indentation at the start of the paragraph. Otherwise, they follow the same formatting rules including double spacing.

Reference Page

• After the last section of your paper insert a page break.
• Type the word References, bolded, centered with proper capitalization
• The References page is double spaced.
• Each reference entry is left-aligned and formatted with a hanging indent.
• To create the hanging indent, highlight the reference entries and go into the Paragraph box.
• Under Special, select Hanging from the drop down menu. Once selected, the default under By should be .5’.
• Remember that your list has to be alphabetized by author. If there is no author or group author, use the title.
• There are no extra spaces in between entries.
• Printer-friendly version

• Graduate School
• Current Students
• Dissertation & Thesis Preparation

Formatting Requirements

Page layout, margins and numbering.

Your scholarly approach may call for a different presentational method. These are the requirements and recommendations for text-based theses.

For a text-based thesis, or the text portions of a thesis, the page size must be 8.5" x 11", and the text must be in a single, page-wide column. Do not use two or more columns in your thesis.

The text of the thesis is written in paragraph form.

• the first line of each paragraph should be indented, OR
• there should be a larger space between paragraphs than there is between lines.

Each chapter should generally start at the top of a new page.

Left: 1.25 inches (32 mm) is recommended if you intend to bind copies of your thesis; 1 inch minimum.

Right, top, and bottom: 1 inch recommended; 0.75 inches (19 mm) minimum

Page Numbering

Preliminary pages:.

• must be numbered in lower case Roman numerals (ii, iii, iv, etc.)
• the title page is "i" but this number must not appear on the page
• numbering begins at "ii" on the committee page
• the first page of the abstract is page iii

Body of thesis:

• must be numbered in Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.)
• the first page of the text is "1"
• subsequent pages are numbered continuously throughout, including pages with tables and figures, bibliographies, appendices, and index

Whole thesis:

• every page except the title page must have a number on it
• there must be no blank pages in the thesis.

Page numberS:

• must be placed at least .5 inches (12 mm) from the edge of the page
• may be either in the lower centre or on the top or lower right of the page, when the page is viewed in portrait view. Lower right is preferred.

Landscape Pages

Landscape pages must be orientated in your PDF so that they are readable without rotation. You do not need to change the location or orientation of the page number, but may if you wish.

Facing Pages

Facing pages are not acceptable; you must use one-sided layout and pagination. If the caption for a figure, table, etc., cannot appear on the same page as its accompanying illustration, place the illustration on a separate page after the caption.

• Why Grad School at UBC?
• Graduate Degree Programs
• Application & Admission
• Info Sessions
• Research Supervisors
• Research Projects
• Indigenous Students
• International Students
• Tuition, Fees & Cost of Living
• Newly Admitted
• Student Status & Classification
• Student Responsibilities
• Supervision & Advising
• Managing your Program
• Health, Wellbeing and Safety
• Professional Development
• Final Doctoral Exam
• Final Dissertation & Thesis Submission
• Life in Vancouver
• Vancouver Campus
• Graduate Student Spaces
• Graduate Life Centre
• Life as a Grad Student
• Graduate Student Ambassadors
• Meet our Students
• Award Opportunities
• Award Guidelines
• Minimum Funding Policy for PhD Students
• Killam Awards & Fellowships
• Policies & Procedures
• Information for Supervisors
• Dean's Message
• Leadership Team
• Strategic Plan & Priorities
• Vision & Mission
• Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
• Initiatives, Plans & Reports
• Graduate Education Analysis & Research
• Media Enquiries
• Newsletters
• Giving to Graduate Studies

Strategic Priorities

• Strategic Plan 2019-2024
• Improving Student Funding
• Promoting Excellence in Graduate Programs
• Enhancing Graduate Supervision
• Advancing Indigenous Inclusion
• Supporting Student Development and Success
• Reimagining Graduate Education
• Enriching the Student Experience

Initiatives

• Public Scholars Initiative
• 3 Minute Thesis (3MT)
• PhD Career Outcomes
• Great Supervisor Week

• Langson Library
• Science Library
• Grunigen Medical Library
• Law Library
• Connect From Off-Campus
• Accessibility
• Gateway Study Center

Email this link

Thesis / dissertation formatting manual (2024).

• Filing Fees and Student Status
• Submission Process Overview
• Electronic Thesis Submission
• Paper Thesis Submission
• Formatting Overview
• Fonts/Typeface
• Pagination, Margins, Spacing
• Paper Thesis Formatting
• Preliminary Pages Overview
• Copyright Page
• Dedication Page
• Table of Contents
• List of Figures (etc.)
• Acknowledgements
• Text and References Overview
• Figures and Illustrations
• Using Your Own Previously Published Materials
• Using Copyrighted Materials by Another Author
• Open Access and Embargoes
• Copyright and Creative Commons
• Ordering Print (Bound) Copies
• Tutorials and Assistance
• FAQ This link opens in a new window

Every page in your manuscript (except the Title and Copyright pages) must be numbered.

All page numbers should be centered at the bottom of each manuscript page.

See specific Pagination guidelines for the Preliminary Pages and the Text and Reference (Body) Pages .

Page Size and Margins

The final version of your thesis/dissertation must be on an  8.5" x 11" (letter size)  page.

All manuscript text, excluding manuscript page numbers, must fit within these specified margin requirements:

Minimum 1-inch margins  from the top, left, right, and bottom edges of each page

Tables, figures, graphs, photographs, and appendices are also included in these margin requirements. Materials may be reduced or enlarged, if necessary, to fit within the required margins. Pages may be rotated to landscape orientation to accommodate tables or illustrations .

Your manuscript must be  double-spaced,  with the exception of footnotes/endnotes, bibliographic entries, long quotations, data in lists and tables, lists in appendices and figure/table captions, all of which should be single-spaced.

• << Previous: Fonts/Typeface
• Next: Paper Thesis Formatting >>
• Last Updated: Feb 20, 2024 2:09 PM
• URL: https://guides.lib.uci.edu/gradmanual

Off-campus? Please use the Software VPN and choose the group UCIFull to access licensed content. For more information, please Click here

Software VPN is not available for guests, so they may not have access to some content when connecting from off-campus.

Margin (Composition Format) Definition

• An Introduction to Punctuation
• Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
• M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
• B.A., English, State University of New York

The part of a page that's outside the main body of text  is a margin .  Word processors let us set margins so that they're either aligned ( justified ) or ragged ( unjustified ). For most school or college writing assignments (including articles , essays , and reports ), only the left-hand margin should be justified. (This glossary entry, for instance, is left justified only.)

As a general rule, margins of at least one inch should appear on all four sides of a hard copy. The specific guidelines below have been drawn from the most commonly used style guides . Also, see:

• Block Quotation
• Indentation
• Justification

From the Latin, "border"

• APA Guidelines on Margins "Leave uniform margins of at least 1 in. (2.54 cm) at the top, bottom, left, and right of every page. Combined with a uniform typeface and font size, uniform margins enhance readability and provide a consistent gauge for estimating article length." ( Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , 6th ed. APA. 2010)
• MLA Guidelines on Margins "Except for page numbers, leave margins  of one inch at the top and bottom and on both sides of the text. . . . If you lack 8½-by-11-inch paper and use a larger size, do not print the text in an area greater than 6½ by 9 inches. Indent the first word of a paragraph one-half inch from the left margin. Indent set-off quotations one inch from the left margin." ( MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers , 7th ed. The Modern Language Association of America, 2009)
• Turabian's Chicago-Style Guidelines on Margins "Nearly all papers in the United States are produced on standard pages of 8½ x 11 inches. Leave a margin of at least one inch on all four edges of the page. For a thesis or dissertation intended to be bound, you may need to leave a bigger margin on the left side--usually 1½ inches. "Be sure that any material placed in headers or footers, including page numbers and other identifiers . . ., falls within the margins specified in your local guidelines." (Kate L. Turabian et al., A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers , 8th ed. University of Chicago Press, 2013)
• Guidelines on Margins in Business Letters and Reports "Use a 2-inch top margin for the first page of a business letter printed on letterhead stationery. Any second and succeeding pages of a business letter have 1-inch top margins. Use left justification. "Select the side margins according to the number of words in the letter and the size of the font used to prepare the letter. Set the margins after keying the letter and using the word count feature of your word processing program. . . . " Reports and manuscripts may be prepared with either 1.25-inch left and right margins or 1-inch left and right margins, depending upon the preference of the originator. If the report or manuscript is to be bound on the left, allow an additional 0.25 inch for the left margin. "The first page of major parts (title page, table of contents, bibliography, etc.) and the opening page of sections or chapters require a 2-inch top margin, 2.25 inches for top-bound documents." (James L. Clark and Lyn R. Clark, How 10: A Handbook for Office Workers , 10th ed. Thomson/South-Western, 2003)
• The New Typography "In the New Typography margins often almost entirely disappear. Of course, type cannot in most cases be set right up to the edge of the paper, which would hinder legibility. In small items of printed matter, 12 to 24 points are the minimum margin required; in posters 48 points. On the other hand, borders of solid red or black can be taken right up to the edge, since unlike type they do not require a white margin to achieve their best effect." (Jan Tschichold, "The Principles of the New Typography," in Texts on Type: Critical Writings on Typography , ed. by Steven Heller and Philip B. Meggs. Allworth Communications, 2001)

Pronunciation: MAR-jen

• Justification (Typesetting and Composition)
• How to Use Block Quotations in Writing
• What Is Justification in Page Layout and Typography?
• Formatting Papers in Chicago Style
• 140 Key Copyediting Terms and What They Mean
• MLA Sample Pages
• Title Page Examples and Formats
• Using Links to Create Vertical Navigation Menus
• What is a Printer-Friendly Web Page?
• Trim Area and Live Area in Page Layout
• Definition of Appendix in a Book or Written Work
• What Is a Style Guide and Which One Do You Need?
• What Is an Indentation?
• What Is a Citation?
• Page Layout Measurements in Points and Picas
• Forced Justification for Aligning Text

• Mission & Vision
• Academic Calendar
• Doctoral Exam Schedule
• Graduate Programs
• Financial Support
• Priority Deadlines
• New Graduate Student Orientation
• Signature Events
• Degree Planning
• Embedded Counseling
• International Students
• Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD)
• Graduate Peer Mentoring
• Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)
• Catalog and Handbook
• Graduate Assistantships Overview
• Graduate Student Support Plan
• Tuition, Fees and Other Resources
• Fellowships and Grants
• Goodnight Doctoral Fellowship
• Professional Development
• Five Competencies
• Teaching Programs
• Wellness Program
• Career Readiness Program for Non-Academic Careers
• Writing Program
• Leadership Program
• Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA)
• Faculty & Staff
• Forms and Data
• GSC Resources
• ABGS Resources
• Resources for Student Funding
• Curriculum Development
• Program Assessment
• Recruiting Resources
• Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP)
• Give Now 

Headers, Page Margins, and Spacing

These three elements of formatting are all intertwined and crucial for presenting your work in an organized, easy-to-read manner.

Required Headers

• Headers for all required pages must be consistently formatted; they should be the same size, font, and style, and located in the same position on each page, in the center of the page. They must start at the very top of the page, on the first line below the 1-inch margin.
• Headers for all required pages should be bold, all caps, and black.

Chapter Headers

• Chapter headers are the only headers that can start lower on the page and be stylized in any manner, as long as they are consistent on each chapter title page.

Section Headers

• It is common for a chapter to have multiple levels of section headers. These can be formatted differently than required or chapter headers, as long as there is a consistent style from chapter to chapter.

Running Headers

• Your document should not have a running header that appears at the top of each page.

Page Margins

Page margins should be consistent throughout the text.

Required Margins:

• The top, bottom, and right margins are required to be 1 inch, but the left margin can either be 1 inch or 1.25 inches.
• All body text, tables, figures, appendices content, and any copies of published chapters must fit within the required 1-inch margins on all sides. Tables or images may have to be re-sized to fit within the margin. See the Tables and Figures page for more info.

Throughout your ETD, all text must start at the very top of the page . It is common for students to have trouble maintaining this consistency — often thanks to difficulty with Microsoft Word. The below instructions should help to specify the relevant settings in Microsoft Word and offer some helpful tips to maintaining consistency throughout your document.

• Check that your  top  margin is set to 1 inch.
• Check the page margin layout settings .  On the “Layout” tab, in the “Margins” menu (found on the far left of the navigation bar), click “Custom Margins.” A “Page Setup” menu will appear. Under the “Layout” tab of this pop-up menu, make sure “Vertical alignment” is set to “Top.”
• Make sure you don’t have  extra space in the  header . Double-click on the header and  hit the down arrow. If there are extra lines in the  header , below the page number, delete them.
• Make sure there isn’t extra space between your text and the  top  of the page. All text must start on the first line at the very  top  of the page, just after the 1 inch margin line.

To more easily identify spacing inconsistencies as you scan your document, enable the “Gridlines” view :

If you are having trouble moving your text to the top of the page, check the “ Header from Top” and “Footer from Bottom” settings.

• Double-click within the header or footer to edit them.
• Click the “Design” tab.
• See the below screenshot:

Spacing and Indentation

Spacing must be consistent throughout the document. This includes:

• The amount of space between headers and body text.
• Line spacing of your body text (starting on your abstract page).
• Regardless of your text spacing, you should at least have a space between each entry on your table of contents, list of tables, list of figures, list of abbreviations, and reference pages.
• There should be a minimum amount of space separating body text from tables and figures.
• Indents should be set to .05 inches throughout entire document.

• Search This Site All UCSD Sites Faculty/Staff Search Term
• Contact & Directions
• Climate Statement
• Cognitive Behavioral Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Adjunct Faculty
• Non-Senate Instructors
• Researchers
• Psychology Grads
• Affiliated Grads
• New and Prospective Students
• Honors Program
• Experiential Learning
• Programs & Events
• Psi Chi / Psychology Club
• Prospective PhD Students
• Current PhD Students
• Area Brown Bags
• Colloquium Series
• Anderson Distinguished Lecture Series
• Speaker Videos
• Undergraduate Program
• Academic and Writing Resources

Writing Research Papers

• Formatting Research Papers

Research papers written in APA style should follow the formatting rules specified in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association .  Most research papers that are written for psychology courses at UCSD, including the B.S. Degree Research Paper and the Honors Thesis, have to follow APA format.  Here we discuss the formatting of research papers according to APA style.

How to Format a Research Paper in APA Style

For the most accurate and comprehensive information on formatting papers in APA style, we recommend referring directly to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. Reputable online sources (e.g., the official APA Style website and the Purdue University Online Writing Lab’s guide to APA style) are also recommended. 

According to the Publication Manual, the major sections and components of APA style research papers should adhere to the following guidelines.  Note that how closely these guidelines are followed may vary depending on the course and instructor.  

General Formatting Rules

• Papers should have at least 1-in. margins on all sides. 1
• All text should be double spaced . 1
• Times New Roman, 12 point font is preferred. 1
• All lines of text should be flush-left and should not be justified, except where noted in the Manual. 1
• The first line of every paragraph should be indented. Exceptions to the indenting rule are the Abstract, quotations, titles and headings, as well as Tables and Figures. 1
• Pages should be numbered at the top right, with the title page numbered page 1, the Abstract numbered page 2, and the text starting on page 3. 1
• An abbreviated title called the Running Head should be placed at the top of each page, flush-left in uppercase letters. 1
• Two spaces should be used after punctuation marks at the end of each sentence (in other words, there should be two spaces after the period that ends each sentence). 2

Formatting the Title Page

• The title should be typed in the upper half of the title page, centered, and with the first letters of all but minor words capitalized. 3
• The name(s) of the author(s) should be typed below the title and followed with the institutional affiliation(s) of the author(s). 3
• An Author Note should appear below the aforementioned items. The Author Note can have up to four paragraphs.  These respectively describe the author(s)’ departmental and institutional affiliation, any changes in affiliation, acknowledgments, and contact information. 3

Formatting the Abstract

• The Abstract typically should not exceed 250 words. 4
• The Abstract should be placed on a separate page, with the label Abstract appearing at the top center of that page and followed by the text of the Abstract. 4
• The Abstract should not be indented. 4

Formatting the Main Body of Text

• The main body of text should begin on a separate page after the Abstract. 5
• It should begin with the Introduction section. 5
• The Introduction section should be titled with the title of the research paper and not the word “Introduction.” The title should appear at the top of the page, centered, and should not be bolded. 5
• The remainder of the text should be flush-left, with each new paragraph indented except where noted above (see General Formatting Rules ). 5
• Each of the subsequent sections of the paper should be prefaced with a heading. APA guidelines specify different heading formats (for more information on Levels of Headings , see below). 5

Formatting References

• The references section should begin on a separate page after the main body of text. 6
• It should begin with the word “References” placed at the top of the page and centered. 6
• All references should be listed in alphabetical order by the last name of the first author of each reference. 6
• All references should be double-spaced and should use a hanging indent format wherein the first line of each reference is flush-left and all subsequent lines of that reference are indented (with that pattern repeating for each reference). 6
• All references should use the appropriate APA reference format (for more information, please see the Citing References section of this website). 6

Levels of Headings in APA Style

As of the sixth edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (released in 2010), the five possible levels of heading in APA-formatted manuscripts are: 7

• Level 1: centered, bold, on a separate line, and the first letters of all but minor words capitalized.
• Level 2: flush-left, bold, on a separate line, and the first letters of all but minor words capitalized.
• Level 3: indented, bold, as a paragraph heading (the first part of a paragraph; regular text follows on the same line), and in lowercase letters ending with a period.
• Level 4: indented, bold, italicized, as a paragraph heading (the first part of a paragraph; regular text follows on the same line), and in lowercase letters ending with a period.
• Level 5: indented, not bold, italicized, as a paragraph heading (the first part of a paragraph; regular text follows on the same line), and in lowercase letters ending with a period.

Depending on the structure of your research paper, some or all of the five levels of headings may be used.  The headings have a “hierarchical nested structure” where Level 1 is the highest and Level 5 is the lowest.  For example, you may have a research paper which uses all five levels of heading as follows:

Downloadable Resources

• How to Write APA Style Research Papers (a comprehensive guide) [ PDF ]
• Tips for Writing APA Style Research Papers (a brief summary) [ PDF ]
• Example APA Style Research Paper (for B.S. Degree – empirical research) [ PDF ]
• Example APA Style Research Paper (for B.S. Degree – literature review) [ PDF ]

Further Resources

How-To Videos     

• Writing Research Paper Videos

External Resources

• APA Style Guide from the Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
• APA Tutorial on the Basics of APA Style
• EasyBib Guide to Writing and Citing in APA Format
• Sample APA Formatted Paper
• Sample APA Formatted Paper with Comments
• Tips for Writing a Paper in APA Style

1 VandenBos, G. R. (Ed). (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.) (pp. 228-229).  Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

2 vandenbos, g. r. (ed). (2010). (pp. 87-88). , 3 vandenbos, g. r. (ed). (2010). (pp. 23-25). , 4 vandenbos, g. r. (ed). (2010). (pp. 25-27)., 5 vandenbos, g. r. (ed). (2010). (pp. 41-49). , 6 vandenbos, g. r. (ed). (2010). (pp. 37-38, 49-51). , 7 vandenbos, g. r. (ed). (2010). (p. 62). .

Back to top

• Research Paper Structure
• Using Databases and Finding References
• What Types of References Are Appropriate?
• Evaluating References and Taking Notes
• Citing References
• Writing a Literature Review
• Writing Process and Revising
• Improving Scientific Writing
• Academic Integrity and Avoiding Plagiarism
• Writing Research Papers Videos

APA 7th Edition Style Guide: Formatting Your Paper

• About In-text Citations
• In-Text Examples
• What to Include
• Volume/Issue
• Bracketed Descriptions
• URLs and DOIs
• Book with Editor(s)
• Book with No Author
• Book with Organization as Author
• Book with Personal Author(s)
• Chapters and Parts of Books
• Classical Works
• Course Materials
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Multi-Volume Works
• Newspaper Article
• Patents & Laws
• Personal Communication
• Physicians' Desk Reference
• Social Media
• Unpublished Manuscripts/Informal Publications (i.e. course packets and dissertations)
• Formatting Your Paper
• Formatting Your References
• Annotated Bibliography
• Headings in APA
• APA Quick Guide
• NEW!* Submit your Paper for APA Review

APA recommends using the same font throughout your paper. IRSC Librarians recommend using 12-point Times New Roman font. If not using Times New Roman, then another serif  or  sans serif typeface should be used for its readability. Only use different typeface in figure descriptions, in that case, use a font between 8 and 14 points.

Line Spacing & Margins

Use double-spacing throughout the entire paper.To add double-spacing in Microsoft Word, highlight all the text you want double-spaced, then click on Page Layout . Next to the word Paragraph click on the arrow. Under Spacing , Line Spacing , select Double and then click OK .

Leave 1 in. margins from top to bottom and side to side. Microsoft Word usually is set to 1 in. margins. You can check this by clicking on Page Layout , then click on Margins. The margin you are using is highlighted, select Normal if it is not already selected. 

Number of Spaces after a Period

APA style recommends placing one space  after a period

• that ends a sentence, 
• when the period separates parts of a reference entry, 
• and after author name abbreviations (i.e. Lander, F. K.).

Do not put a space after a period

• for internal abbreviations (i.e., U.S., p.m.).

Video How-To Set-Up an APA Paper for a Mac

APA Research Paper Template

• APA Research Paper Template for Word 2016 This template was created and saved as a Word template for Microsoft Word 2016.

You can save this template in Microsoft Word (IRSC students, download Office for free, see a librarian if you need help). Above is a template you can use every time you need to set-up a research paper using APA style format. Simply open the template and type your own information every time you need to write an APA style research paper. 

• APA Research Paper Template with an Abstract

The newest edition of APA, 7th edition does not require the use of an abstract for student papers; however, your instructor may wish you to include one. This template has the abstract included.

Sample Paper

The new APA 7th edition has a format for writing a professional paper as well as one for a student paper. These directions are a set-up for student papers. In the header, on the right, is the page number, starting with 1. Centered on the page is the full title of the paper in boldface type. Place one extra space after the title of the paper. Following is the author (or authors if this is a group paper), the department and institution to which the paper is affiliated, the course number and course name, the professor's name, and the due date of the paper.

The text of your paper begins on the second page. The full title starts it off at the top center of a new page, in boldface font. For the rest of the paper, you only need page numbers in the header. Remember to cite!

Your References start on its own page and goes at the end of your paper. Title it References, centered, and bold-faced at the top. The references are alphabetized and have a hanging indent.

• << Previous: Websites
• Next: Formatting Your References >>
• Last Updated: Feb 13, 2024 6:21 PM
• URL: https://irsc.libguides.com/APA

MLA 9th Edition : Research Paper Formatting

• Create Citation
• Research Paper Formatting
• In-Text Citations
• Works Cited Page
• ChatGPT & other AI tools
• Avoiding Plagiarism
• Evaluating Sources This link opens in a new window

About Research Paper Formatting in MLA 9th ed.

The Gateway Libraries recommend that students consult their course syllabus and assignment details for any course specifics and additional faculty requirements.  

Gateway Libraries

Library home, about the library.

• Hours & Locations
• Library Staff Directory
• Mission and Vision

Find Books & Videos

• Library Catalogs
• OverDrive eBooks
• ProQuest eBook Central

Find Articles

• Database A-Z List
• Databases by Subject

Citing Sources

• ZoteroBib (For APA & MLA)

Subject Guides

Resources for faculty & staff, help & tutorials, research paper format: summary of notable mla 9th ed. changes.

What has changed from the 8th ed. to the new MLA 9th ed? Not much! The good news is that the  format for both in-text and Works Cited citations remains the same through this update.  The 9th ed. includes expanded lists of examples, more in-depth guidance on using the MLA template, and recommendations for using inclusive language in your research papers. 

MLA 9 Research Paper Formatting

The basics for an MLA 9th ed. formatted research paper are:

• Margins: 1-inch margins on all sides
• Font: use an easily readable font (Times New Roman for example) between 11-13 point font. Always follow instructor guidelines. 
• Spacing: double-spacing throughout
• Running Header: Surname and page number, right justified 
• Names and class information: on just the top of the first page, left justified, type your first and last name, the instructor's name, the course name and number, and the date on separate double-spaced lines.
• Title: place the title of the paper below the date, centered, in upper and lower case letters, unbolded. 
• Body: indent the first line of each paragraph half an inch from the left margin.
• Use only one space after a period in the body of the paper.
• MLA 9th ed. Research Paper Format

Details for formatting your paper in MLA Style (9th Edition). 

Additional information:

MLA 9 Templates & Guide

• MLA 9th ed. Word Template Save this template to your desktop or flash drive and then adapt it for your paper. Margins, font, spacing, header with page numbers, title page, and works cited page are preset to meet MLA 9th edition.
• MLA 9th ed. Google Docs Template MAKE SURE YOU ARE LOGGED INTO GOOGLE DOCS (OR GMAIL) before accessing this link. Select the link, select "Use Template," and then adapt it for your paper. Margins, font, spacing, headers, page numbers, title page, and works cited page are preset to meet MLA 9 specifications.

Sample MLA 9th ed. Papers

• MLA Style Sample Papers (9th ed.) Several sample papers from the Modern Language Association (MLA).
• MLA Style Student Research Paper Sample
• << Previous: Create Citation
• Next: In-Text Citations >>
• Last Updated: Jan 4, 2024 2:30 PM
• URL: https://libguides.gtc.edu/mla

Writing up a Research Report

• First Online: 04 January 2024

Cite this chapter

• Stefan Hunziker 3 &
• Michael Blankenagel 3  

382 Accesses

A research report is one big argument about how and why you came up with your conclusions. To make it a convincing argument, a typical guiding structure has developed. In the different chapters, there are distinct issues that need to be addressed to explain to the reader why your conclusions are valid. The governing principle for writing the report is full disclosure: to explain everything and ensure replicability by another researcher.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

• Available as EPUB and PDF
• Read on any device
• Instant download
• Own it forever
• Compact, lightweight edition
• Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
• Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Barros, L. O. (2016). The only academic phrasebook you’ll ever need . Createspace Independent Publishing Platform.

Google Scholar  

Field, A. (2016). An adventure in statistics. The reality enigma . SAGE.

Field, A. (2020). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics (5th ed.). SAGE.

Früh, M., Keimer, I., & Blankenagel, M. (2019). The impact of Balanced Scorecard excellence on shareholder returns. IFZ Working Paper No. 0003/2019. https://zenodo.org/record/2571603#.YMDUafkzZaQ . Accessed: 9 June 2021.

Pearl, J., & Mackenzie, D. (2018). The book of why: The new science of cause and effect. Basic Books.

Yin, R. K. (2013). Case study research: Design and methods (5th ed.). SAGE.

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Wirtschaft/IFZ, Campus Zug-Rotkreuz, Hochschule Luzern, Zug-Rotkreuz, Zug, Switzerland

Stefan Hunziker & Michael Blankenagel

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stefan Hunziker .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2024 Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature

About this chapter

Hunziker, S., Blankenagel, M. (2024). Writing up a Research Report. In: Research Design in Business and Management. Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-42739-9_4

Download citation

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-42739-9_4

Published : 04 January 2024

Publisher Name : Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden

Print ISBN : 978-3-658-42738-2

Online ISBN : 978-3-658-42739-9

eBook Packages : Business and Management Business and Management (R0)

Share this chapter

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Publish with us

Policies and ethics

• Find a journal
• Track your research

Turabian Style

• Cite: Why? When?
• Books or Ebooks
• Theses and Manuscripts
• Reference and Sacred Works
• Audio/Visual
• Government Documents
• Music Resources
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools

Format Your Paper

• Shortened Notes

Turabian Paper Examples

• Turabian Paper Example
• Turabian Annotated Bibliography Example
• Chicago Paper Example (Purdue Owl)

Formatting Guidelines

Margins (a.1.1).

• Paper size - 8 1/2 x 11 inches
• 1 inch at top, bottom, and both sides

Font (A.1.2)

• Use easy to read font, such as Times New Roman
• 12-point font size

Spacing and Indentation (A.1.3)

• Block quotations
• Table elements (titles and captions)
• Lists in appendixes
• Footnotes/endnotes and bibliography lists are single-spaced but with a blank line between items.

Pagination  (A.1.4)

• Do not number the title page
• Page numbers start on the first page of the text using arabic numbers
• Can be placed in the center or right side of top or bottom of the paper

Title Page (A.1.5)

• Center all elements on the page
• Font size can increase slightly for the title.
• Preferred format is  boldface  for  title          
• Title placed approximately 1/3 down page.
• Two-thirds down page place name, class title, and date

Text  (A.2.2)

• Align the text to the left with a 1/2-inch left indent
• Double-space
• Include sections:  introduction, chapters/sections , and conclusion
• Spell out long organization names and add the abbreviation in parenthesis, then just use the abbreviation
• Write out numbers up to nine and use a number for 10 or more
• Use a number for units of measurement, in tables, to represent statistical or math functions, and dates or times
• Capitalize major words in the titles of books and articles

Bibliography  (A.2.3.5)

Begins on a new page following the text of your paper and includes complete citations for the resources you've used in your writing.

• Center "Bibliography" at the top of the new page, leaving two spaces between title and first entry
• Single-space and use hanging indents (where the first line is on the left margin and the following lines are indented a half inch from the left)
• List authors' last name first followed by the first and middle initials (ex. Skinner, B.F.) t
• Alphabetize the list by the first author's last name of of each citation, hen alphabetically by title if you list multiple works by one author. 
• Add full-sentence annotations on a new line indented from the left margin.
• << Previous: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools
• Next: Shortened Notes >>
• Last Updated: May 10, 2024 12:58 PM
• URL: https://libguides.uww.edu/turabian

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

MLA General Format 

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

MLA Style specifies guidelines for formatting manuscripts and citing research in writing. MLA Style also provides writers with a system for referencing their sources through parenthetical citation in their essays and Works Cited pages. 

Writers who properly use MLA also build their credibility by demonstrating accountability to their source material. Most importantly, the use of MLA style can protect writers from accusations of plagiarism, which is the purposeful or accidental uncredited use of source material produced by other writers. 

If you are asked to use MLA format, be sure to consult the  MLA Handbook  (9th edition). Publishing scholars and graduate students should also consult the  MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing  (3rd edition). The  MLA Handbook  is available in most writing centers and reference libraries. It is also widely available in bookstores, libraries, and at the MLA web site. See the Additional Resources section of this page for a list of helpful books and sites about using MLA Style.

Paper Format

The preparation of papers and manuscripts in MLA Style is covered in part four of the  MLA Style Manual . Below are some basic guidelines for formatting a paper in  MLA Style :

General Guidelines

• Type your paper on a computer and print it out on standard, white 8.5 x 11-inch paper.
• Double-space the text of your paper and use a legible font (e.g. Times New Roman). Whatever font you choose, MLA recommends that the regular and italics type styles contrast enough that they are each distinct from one another. The font size should be 12 pt.
• Leave only one space after periods or other punctuation marks (unless otherwise prompted by your instructor).
• Set the margins of your document to 1 inch on all sides.
• Indent the first line of each paragraph one half-inch from the left margin. MLA recommends that you use the “Tab” key as opposed to pushing the space bar five times.
• Create a header that numbers all pages consecutively in the upper right-hand corner, one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin. (Note: Your instructor may ask that you omit the number on your first page. Always follow your instructor's guidelines.)
• Use italics throughout your essay to indicate the titles of longer works and, only when absolutely necessary, provide emphasis.
• If you have any endnotes, include them on a separate page before your Works Cited page. Entitle the section Notes (centered, unformatted).

Formatting the First Page of Your Paper

• Do not make a title page for your paper unless specifically requested or the paper is assigned as a group project. In the case of a group project, list all names of the contributors, giving each name its own line in the header, followed by the remaining MLA header requirements as described below. Format the remainder of the page as requested by the instructor.
• In the upper left-hand corner of the first page, list your name, your instructor's name, the course, and the date. Again, be sure to use double-spaced text.
• Double space again and center the title. Do not underline, italicize, or place your title in quotation marks. Write the title in Title Case (standard capitalization), not in all capital letters.
• Use quotation marks and/or italics when referring to other works in your title, just as you would in your text. For example:  Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas  as Morality Play; Human Weariness in "After Apple Picking"
• Double space between the title and the first line of the text.
• Create a header in the upper right-hand corner that includes your last name, followed by a space with a page number. Number all pages consecutively with Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.), one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin. (Note: Your instructor or other readers may ask that you omit the last name/page number header on your first page. Always follow instructor guidelines.)

Here is a sample of the first page of a paper in MLA style:

The First Page of an MLA Paper

Section Headings

Writers sometimes use section headings to improve a document’s readability. These sections may include individual chapters or other named parts of a book or essay.

MLA recommends that when dividing an essay into sections you number those sections with an Arabic number and a period followed by a space and the section name.

MLA does not have a prescribed system of headings for books (for more information on headings, please see page 146 in the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing , 3rd edition). If you are only using one level of headings, meaning that all of the sections are distinct and parallel and have no additional sections that fit within them, MLA recommends that these sections resemble one another grammatically. For instance, if your headings are typically short phrases, make all of the headings short phrases (and not, for example, full sentences). Otherwise, the formatting is up to you. It should, however, be consistent throughout the document.

If you employ multiple levels of headings (some of your sections have sections within sections), you may want to provide a key of your chosen level headings and their formatting to your instructor or editor.

Sample Section Headings

The following sample headings are meant to be used only as a reference. You may employ whatever system of formatting that works best for you so long as it remains consistent throughout the document.

Formatted, unnumbered:

Level 1 Heading: bold, flush left

Level 2 Heading: italics, flush left

Level 3 Heading: centered, bold

Level 4 Heading: centered, italics

Level 5 Heading: underlined, flush left

• Tilray-stock
• News for Tilray

Buy Rating Affirmed for Tilray Amidst Strong EBITDA Growth and Margin Improvement Prospects

Tilray ( TLRY – Research Report ), the Healthcare sector company, was revisited by a Wall Street analyst today. Analyst Robert Moskow from TD Cowen maintained a Buy rating on the stock and has a $2.50 price target.

Robert Moskow has given his Buy rating due to a combination of factors including Tilray’s potential to revitalize the ABI brands they acquired, and the company’s underappreciated EBITDA growth prospects. The U.S. craft beer market, despite being pressured, presents Tilray with opportunities to enhance sales and margins via more robust marketing efforts and the internalization of production processes. Moskow believes that the market has not yet fully recognized the potential EBITDA increase and the positive impact this could have on the stock value.

Moskow also highlights the significant margin benefits Tilray could realize from moving production in-house, noting that gross margins could rise substantially from their current levels. The strategic moves to optimize production, improve the product mix, and implement new marketing initiatives are expected to increase Tilray’s gross profits significantly within the Beverages division. This shift toward beverages is viewed as a positive for the company’s valuation, reducing risk and leading to a more stable cash flow, which underpins the Buy rating and the target stock price.

Moskow covers the Consumer Defensive sector, focusing on stocks such as Keurig Dr Pepper, Lamb Weston Holdings, and Conagra Brands. According to TipRanks , Moskow has an average return of 5.6% and a 51.71% success rate on recommended stocks.

TipRanks tracks over 100,000 company insiders, identifying the select few who excel in timing their transactions. By upgrading to TipRanks Premium, you will gain access to this exclusive data and discover crucial insights to guide your investment decisions. Begin your TipRanks Premium journey today.

Tilray (TLRY) Company Description:

Tilray, Inc. engages in the research, cultivation, production, and distribution of medical cannabis and cannabinoids. The Company is focused on medical cannabis research, cultivation, processing and distribution of cannabis products worldwide. Its products include dried cannabis and cannabis extracts. It also supplies cannabis products to patients in a number of countries spanning five continents through its subsidiaries in Australia, Canada and Germany and it produces medical cannabis in Canada and Europe. The company was founded on January 24, 2018 and is headquartered in Nanaimo, Canada.

Read More on TLRY:

• Rising High: Exclusive talk with Dazed Cannabis
• Tilray (TSE:TLRY) Recovers after Revealing New Mexican-Style Brew
• Largest borrow rate increases among liquid names
• Tilray’s 10 Barrel Brewing introduces Pub Cerveza
• 10 Barrel Brewing Introduces Pub Cerveza: a New Twist on ‘Cheap Fun.’ Series

Tilray News MORE

Related stocks.

More From Forbes

How are eli lilly’s profit margins trending.

• Share to Facebook
• Share to Twitter
• Share to Linkedin

Mounjaro manufactured by Eli Lilly and Company packaging is seen in this illustration photo taken in ... [+] a pharmacy in Krakow, Poland on April 9, 2024. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) saw its net income decline by $1 billion or 16% y-o-y to $5.2 billion in 2023. This can primarily be attributed to higher acquired in-process research and development expenses (IPR&D). In this note, we discuss Eli Lilly’s margin profile along with its stock performance, over the last three years. Our dashboard – What Drove Net Income Change For Eli Lilly – has more details.

Firstly, let us look at Eli Lilly’s stock performance. LLY stock has seen extremely strong gains of 345% from levels of $170 in early January 2021 to around $760 now, vs. an increase of about 40% for the S&P 500 over this roughly three-year period. Admirably, LLY stock has outperformed the broader market in each of the last 3 years. Returns for the stock were 64% in 2021, 32% in 2022, and 59% in 2023. In comparison, returns for the S&P 500 have been 27% in 2021, -19% in 2022, and 24% in 2023.

In fact, consistently beating the S&P 500 — in good times and bad — has been difficult over recent years for individual stocks; for other heavyweights in the Health Care sector, including UNH, JNJ, and MRK, and even for the megacap stars GOOG, TSLA, and MSFT. In contrast, the Trefis High Quality Portfolio , with a collection of 30 stocks, has outperformed the S&P 500 each year over the same period. Why is that? As a group, HQ Portfolio stocks provided better returns with less risk versus the benchmark index; less of a roller-coaster ride, as evident in HQ Portfolio performance metrics .

Given the current uncertain macroeconomic environment with high oil prices and elevated interest rates, could LLY see a strong jump? Eli Lilly’s valuation is largely dependent on future pipeline potential rather than its current earnings, and despite its large move, the $860 average of analysts’ price estimates is over 10% above its current market price of around $760.

Eli Lilly Has Seen Its Gross And Operating Margins Expand In Recent Years

Eli Lilly’s gross profit rose from $19 billion in 2020 to $27 billion in 2023. Its gross profit margin expanded from 77.7% to 79.2% over this period. Similarly, Eli Lilly also saw its operating margin expand from 28.9% in 2020 to 31.6% in 2023, and 32.9% for the last twelve months period. Although the company increased its investments in research and development, with total R&D expenses rising 53% between 2020 and 2023, it cut its SG&A costs. The latter rose only 18% over the same period. The 36% rise in SG&A and R&D expenses combined was still lower than the 39% revenue growth over this period.

Fallout Dethroned In Amazon Prime Video s Top 10 List By A New Offering

Anya taylor joy messi and more grace the cannes film festival 2024 red carpet, televisaunivision 2024-25 slate touts latino culture, vix growth, juanpa zurita, william levy deals.

LLY 2023 Net Income Change Breakdown

Net Income Margin Has Contracted In Recent Years

Despite expansion of gross and operating margins, the company saw its net income decline from $6.2 billion in 2020 to $5.2 billion in 2023. This can be attributed to the company’s non-operating expenses, primarily IPR&D. We consider IPR&D as a non-operating expense. It rose from $660 million or 2.7% of revenue in 2020 to $3.8 billion or 11.1% of revenue in 2023. The 2023 IPR&D expenses were associated with acquisitions of DICE, Versanis, Emergence Therapeutics, and Mablink Biosciences.

On an adjusted basis, net income margin has contracted from 25.2% in 2020 to 16.7% in 2023. This resulted in earnings falling from $6.78 to $6.32 on a per share and adjusted basis and over the same period. However, the company’s outlook for 2024 is solid. The top-line is expected to be in the range of $42.4 billion and $43.6 billion in 2024, reflecting a 26% y-o-y growth at the mid-point of the range. Eli Lilly’s revenue growth is expected to be driven by its diabetes drug – Mounjaro – and its weight-loss drug – Zepbound.

The company expects its SG&A to rise at a slower pace than revenues and R&D to rise at a higher pace than SG&A. It expects its adjusted earnings per share to be in the range of $13.50 and $14.00, implying a stellar 2.2x y-o-y rise at the mid-point of the provided range.

Eli Lilly has not included any IPR&D charges in its current guidance. Overall, with the bottom-line expected to double in 2024, the net income margin is expected to see a sharp jump this year. It should also be able to continue to expand its operating margin with disciplined SG&A expenditures. A better margin profile will also bode well for its stock.

While LLY stock may see higher levels, it is helpful to see how Eli Lilly peers fare on metrics that matter. You will find other valuable comparisons for companies across industries at Peer Comparisons .

LLY Return Compared With Trefis Reinforced Portfolio

Invest with Trefis Market Beating Portfolios

See all Trefis Price Estimates

• Editorial Standards
• Reprints & Permissions

Join The Conversation

One Community. Many Voices. Create a free account to share your thoughts. 

Forbes Community Guidelines

Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas and facts in a safe space.

In order to do so, please follow the posting rules in our site's  Terms of Service.   We've summarized some of those key rules below. Simply put, keep it civil.

Your post will be rejected if we notice that it seems to contain:

• False or intentionally out-of-context or misleading information
• Insults, profanity, incoherent, obscene or inflammatory language or threats of any kind
• Attacks on the identity of other commenters or the article's author
• Content that otherwise violates our site's  terms.

User accounts will be blocked if we notice or believe that users are engaged in:

• Continuous attempts to re-post comments that have been previously moderated/rejected
• Racist, sexist, homophobic or other discriminatory comments
• Attempts or tactics that put the site security at risk
• Actions that otherwise violate our site's  terms.

So, how can you be a power user?

• Stay on topic and share your insights
• Feel free to be clear and thoughtful to get your point across
• ‘Like’ or ‘Dislike’ to show your point of view.
• Protect your community.
• Use the report tool to alert us when someone breaks the rules.

Thanks for reading our community guidelines. Please read the full list of posting rules found in our site's  Terms of Service.

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

• View all journals
• My Account Login
• Explore content
• About the journal
• Publish with us
• Sign up for alerts
• Open access
• Published: 11 May 2024

Positive resection margins in Crohn’s disease are a relevant risk factor for postoperative disease recurrence

• Matthias Kelm 1   na1 ,
• Clara Benatzky 1   na1 ,
• Viktoria Buck 3 ,
• Anna Widder 1 ,
• Katrin Schoettker 2 ,
• Mathias Rosenfeldt 3 ,
• Markus Brand 2 ,
• Nicolas Schlegel 1 ,
• Christoph-Thomas Germer 1 ,
• Alexander Meining 2 ,
• Asma Nusrat 4 &
• Sven Flemming 1  

Scientific Reports volume  14 , Article number:  10823 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

226 Accesses

Metrics details

• Inflammatory bowel disease

Postoperative disease recurrence in Crohn’s disease represents a relevant issue despite recent advancements in surgical and medical therapies. Additional criteria are necessary to improve the identification of patients at risk and to enable selective therapeutic approaches. The role of resection margins on disease recurrence remains unclear and general recommendations are lacking. A single-center retrospective analysis was performed including all patients who received ileocecal resection due to Crohn’s disease. Resection margins were analyzed by two independent pathologists and defined by histopathological criteria based on previous consensus reports. 158 patients were included for analysis with a median follow up of 35 months. While postoperative morbidity was not affected, positive resection margins resulted in significantly increased rates of severe endoscopic recurrence at 6 months (2.0% versus 15.6%, p = 0.02) and overall (4.2% versus 19.6%, p = 0.001), which resulted in significantly increased numbers of surgical recurrence (0% versus 4.5%, p = 0.04). Additionally, positive margins were identified as independent risk factor for severe endoscopic disease recurrence in a multivariate analysis. Based on that, positive margins represent an independent risk factor for postoperative endoscopic and surgical disease recurrence. Prospective studies are required to determine whether extended resection or postoperative medical prophylaxis is beneficial for patients with positive resection margins.

Similar content being viewed by others

Helicobacter pylori infection

• Crohn’s disease

Carbohydrate antigen 19-9 elevation without evidence of malignant or pancreatobiliary diseases

Introduction.

Crohn’s disease (CD) represents a challenging socio–economic burden for health care systems and patients worldwide. While the disease can be highly heterogenous regarding its clinical presentation, therapeutic strategies are usually multidisciplinary and include medical as well as surgical options. Importantly, despite medical advancements such as biologicals, rates of patients who suffer from (complicated) CD and require surgery remain relevant and stable over decades 1 , 2 . In case of isolated terminal ileitis, current guidelines recommend surgical resection as alternative to medical treatment for primary treatment 3 . This recommendation is mainly based on data from the LR!C-trial which were confirmed by novel studies 4 , 5 , 6 . Based on that, surgery represents not only a therapeutic option for complicated CD but also a reasonable alternative in case of localized terminal ileitis.

Despite the advantages of surgical resection compared to medical treatment in closely defined situations, postoperative disease recurrence at the site of the anastomosis represents an important issue following surgical resection 7 . Studies demonstrated relevant rates of disease recurrence with many patients needing additive immunosuppressive medication or re-operation over time 8 , 9 , 10 . To overcome this concern, various strategies have been evaluated to decrease rates of local disease recurrence. While one aspect represents the creation of the anastomosis, neither different orientations nor technical aspects showed advantages for one or the other strategy so far 11 , 12 . In contrast, novel concepts such as the Kono-S anastomosis or extended resection of the mesenterium demonstrate promising results to potentially decrease rates of the disease recurrence 11 , 13 , 14 , however, those strategies still need to be confirmed in ongoing prospective randomized trials.

Besides surgical strategies, another therapeutic aspect for disease recurrence represents to be pharmacological prophylaxis. However, current concepts of international guidelines on postoperative medical treatment are heterogenous and clear definitions of risk factors lacking 15 , 16 . To improve the identification of patients at increased risk for postoperative disease recurrence to enable selective medical prophylaxis, histopathological factors such as remaining inflammation at resection margins could be of relevant interest. While recent evidence is inconclusive with various studies demonstrating different outcomes 17 , 18 , 19 , no clear recommendation on the role of resection margins can currently be made. Therefore, the present retrospective analysis was conducted to assess the potential impact of positive resection margins for postoperative disease recurrence in a large patient cohort of patients suffering from localized CD.

Materials and methods

Study design.

A retrospective single-center analysis of all patients who received ileocecal resection (ICR) due to CD at the department of general, visceral, transplant, vascular and pediatric surgery at the University Hospital of Wuerzburg, Germany between 2014 and 2021 was carried out. All patients suffering from terminal inflammatory (Montreal classification L1 and L3), penetrating and/or stricturing ileitis (Montreal classification B1–B3) were included. Operations were performed by three senior surgeons specialized in colorectal surgery.

Data acquisition and study population

Patient baseline characteristics including age, sex, symptoms, previous medical and surgical history as well as sociodemographic patient characteristics were retrieved from the local database. Preoperatively, the extent of inflammation was assessed by endoscopy and MRI scan followed by an individual case discussion by a multidisciplinary IBD team including a gastroenterologist, surgeon, pathologist, and radiologist about the indication of surgery. To evaluate the role of the resection margins for disease recurrence, patients were divided into two groups according to the status of the resection margins (positive or negative for inflammation).

Histopathological assessment of the resection margins

Surgical resection was performed in macroscopically non-inflamed areas. The microscopic status of the resection margin was evaluated by two independent pathologists. Histopathological criteria for microscopic disease were based on an international consensus adjusted from previous studies 20 , 21 , 22 . Selected criteria for positive resection margins were active inflammation characterized by neutrophils localized in the epithelium referred to as cryptitis, and/or plexitis (Fig.  1 ).

Histopathological images. ( A ) Negative resection margins. ( B ) Positive resection margins.

The primary outcome was the long-term rate of severe endoscopic disease recurrence (defined as Rutgeerts-score i3 and i4). The definition of severe endoscopic recurrence was based on previous studies 23 , 24 and international guidelines 25 . Secondary outcomes were short-term endoscopic recurrence after 6 months as well as clinical and surgical recurrence including the need for postoperative immunosuppressive medication. The assessment of the Rutgeerts-scores was reviewed and scored for all patients by a senior gastroenterologist specialized in IBD. Surgical recurrence was defined as re-operation due to disease recurrence at the site of the anastomosis. In addition, short-term postoperative follow-up such as rates of surgical and non-surgical complications were also evaluated as secondary endpoints. For patients with positive resection margins, subgroup analyses were performed in regard of the role of the localization of positive resection margins (oral, aboral, both) as well as the effect of postoperative medical therapy on disease recurrence.

Descriptive data were evaluated and presented as median with range or total numbers with percentages. In univariate analyses, differences in patient characteristics as well as primary and secondary endpoints were assessed by t -test, Fisher’s exact test or ANOVA test in accordance with data scale and distribution. To identify independent risk factors for severe endoscopic recurrence, the Cox multivariate model was performed for a multivariate analysis and data were presented as hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). For all analyses, a p-value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Statistical analyses were performed using GraphPad Prism (version 8, Graph Pad Software, Inc., San Diego, USA) for descriptive analysis and SPSS statistics (version 28, IBM, Armonk, USA) for multivariate analysis.

Ethical Approval

Ethical approval for the study was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the University of Wuerzburg, Germany (approval number: 2022070601). Informed consent was waived by Ethics Committee of the University of Wuerzburg, Germany. All analysis were done in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations.

Patient characteristics

From 2014 to 2021, 214 patients received ICR at the Department of General Surgery at the University Hospital of Wuerzburg (Fig.  2 ). After excluding 56 patients due to loss of follow-up or long-term stoma, independent pathological evaluation of surgical specimens revealed positive (inflamed) resection margins in 91 patients and negative (non-inflamed) margins in 67 patients (Fig.  2 ). Sociodemographic characteristics were comparable between both cohorts concerning sex, age, BMI and smoking habits (Table 1 ). Importantly, no differences were observed regarding the technical aspects of the anastomosis or preoperative immunosuppressive medication between both groups.

Study design.

Short-term postoperative outcome

Regarding short-term outcome of perioperative morbidity, rates of anastomotic leakages (5.6% versus 9.9%, p = 0.39) were comparable between both groups. In addition, the number of overall complications as demonstrated by the comprehensive complication index (CCI) did not demonstrate an effect of positive resection margins on short-term postoperative outcome (6.8 versus 7.2, p = 0.86) (Table 1 ).

Disease recurrence

For the evaluation of the primary and secondary outcomes, 158 patients were finally included for further analysis of which 91 patients had negative resection margins and in 67 patients microscopic disease was detected. Regarding the primary outcome of severe endoscopic disease recurrence during follow-up, patients with positive resection margins had significantly increased rates of severe endoscopic recurrence (Rutgeerts-score i3-i4) compared to patients with negative margins (4.2% versus 19.6%, p = 0.001). The median follow-up was comparable between both groups (33.0 months versus 34.1 months, p = 0.99) (Table 2 ). In line with that, positive resection margins were identified as independent risk factor for severe endoscopic disease recurrence in a multivariate analysis (p = 0.015, OR 5.94, 95% CI 1.41–25.13) (Table 4 ).

Regarding secondary outcomes, no differences were seen for median Rutgeerts-scores for patients with negative and positive resection margins (1.23 versus 1.18, p = 0.73). However, severe endoscopic disease recurrence (Rutgeerts-score i3-i4) was significantly increased after 6 months in patients with positive resection margins compared to patients with negative resection margins (2.0% versus 15.6%, p = 0.02). Overall rates of endoscopic recurrence (i1-i4) were comparable between both groups after 6 months (65.3% versus 65.6%, p = 0.98) and rates of postoperative medical prophylaxis were similar as well (28.5% versus 34.3%, p = 0.59) (Table 3 ). During overall follow-up, while no differences were identified for rates of clinical recurrence (18.5% versus 19.4%), rates of surgical recurrence were significantly increased in patients with positive resection margins (0% versus 4.5%, p = 0.04). Regarding the need for immunosuppressive medication postoperatively, no differences were seen between both groups (61.9% versus 71.6%, p = 0.24). In a subgroup analysis, no differences were observed for the site of positive margins (ileum versus colon) on the occurrence of postoperative recurrence (data not shown).

In Crohn’s disease, postoperative disease recurrence at the site of the anastomosis following ileocecal resection remains a major challenge for all disciplines resulting in a significant burden for many patients. Despite relevant advances of surgical techniques, real world data demonstrate high rates of recurrent inflammation at the site of the anastomosis during follow-up 26 . An important aspect to improve postoperative outcome and to decrease rates of disease recurrence is the role of inflamed resection margins. Here we demonstrate that overall rates of endoscopic recurrence are independent of resection margins, but that rates of severe endoscopic recurrence and surgical recurrence are associated with positive resection margins. Based on this, we identified positive resection margins after ileocecal resection in CD as a risk factor for severe disease recurrence.

Despite the surgical resection of specimens in macroscopically non-inflamed areas, 42.4% of patients had positive resection margins which is in line with previous studies underlining the importance of this issue 27 . After analyzing the effect of resection margins in patients with localized terminal ileitis, positive resection margins were not associated with perioperative morbidity. However, positive resection margins resulted in significantly increased rates of severe endoscopic disease recurrence (Rutgeerts-score i3-i4) not only after 6 months (2.0% versus 15.6%, p = 0.02) but also during overall follow-up (4.2% versus 19.6%, p = 0.001) despite similar rates of postoperative prophylaxis. A multivariate analysis confirmed the relevant role of positive margins as independent risk factor for severe endoscopic recurrence (p = 0.015) (Table 4 ). Importantly, while no patient with inflammation-free margins needed to be re-operated due to disease recurrence at the site of the anastomosis during follow-up, positive resection margins were significantly associated with increased rates of surgical recurrence (0% versus 4.5%, p = 0.04) (Table 2 ). These results underline the clinical relevance of positive inflamed resection margins.

In general, it remains a major challenge to identify patients who benefit most from postoperative prophylaxis while avoiding overtreatment. While European guidelines recommend prophylactic treatment in the presence of at least one risk factor (smoking, penetrating disease, previous surgery) 15 , the American Gastroenterology Association (AGA) recommends early postoperative medical prophylaxis in all patients independently of the presence of risk factors 16 . However, in an additional commentary the authors state that it might be reasonable to select endoscopy-guided pharmacological treatment over medical prophylaxis postoperatively in patients with low risk of disease recurrence to avoid potential adverse events 16 . While a clear definition of “low risk” is lacking and the overall evidence is very low, those statements underline the importance to identify additional risk factors to enable selective treatment while decreasing overtreatment and healthcare costs. No recommendation exists in current guidelines on positive resection margins due to heterogenous evidence and lack of established histopathological criteria for margins positive for CD. On the one hand, different studies and reviews did not observe any influence for microscopic disease at the resection margins on disease recurrence 18 , 28 . Furthermore, a prospective randomized controlled trial demonstrated that clinical and surgical recurrence rates did not increase in case of active inflammation at sites of resection margins 29 . On the other hand, Riault et al. showed that patients with microscopic disease had increased rates of clinical and surgical recurrence without evaluating endoscopic aspects 21 . Similarly, in a smaller study Poredska et al. revealed that inflammation at resection margins is associated with an increased risk of early postoperative disease recurrence after 6 months 20 . In other studies, Wasmann et al. identified a positive distal colonic resection margin as main risk factor for postoperative recurrence 30 while Hammoudi et al. demonstrated the relevance of ileal lesions 31 . In addition, two recent meta-analyses supported the negative effect of positive resection margins on clinical and surgical disease recurrence while including patients receiving surgical resection at different localizations resulting in heterogenous patient cohorts 17 , 27 . However, conclusions of the presented studies are limited due to heterogenous inclusion criteria, operating techniques, time points and histopathological definitions. Importantly and with regard to the latter aspect, no common criteria for positive resection margins exist to date. While various studies used their own histopathological standards in the past investigating an extensive amount of nonspecific histopathological criteria, one major issue remains to distinct CD-associated inflammation at the margins from surgery-related inflammation. To overcome these issues, our study evaluated a homogenous patient cohort and defined relevant histopathological criteria based on an international consensus of pathologists specialized in IBD adjusted from previous studies 20 , 21 , 22 . As visualized in Fig.  1 , these highly-specific histopathological criteria focus on the most relevant histological aspects of CD-associated inflammation such as neutrophils localized in the epithelium referred to as cryptitis, and/or plexitis to facilitate a clear differentiation from surgery-induced inflammation. Based on those aspects, our results demonstrate the significance of defined microscopic disease at resection margins on severe disease recurrence.

Bowel-sparing surgery is still a primary dogma in CD due to the risk of re-resections which, at some point, might result in a potential short-bowel syndrome. Therefore, intraoperative histopathological evaluation of resection margins to potentially extend the resection until margins are inflammation free as it is performed in oncological surgery can currently not be recommended. However, based on the increasing evidence about the importance of positive resection margins on postoperative disease recurrence as presented in our larger study, microscopic disease should be considered as risk factor for disease recurrence. Therefore, consensus criteria for the histopathological definition of CD-associated inflammation at resection margins is of great relevance and all patients with positive margins should be evaluated for medical prophylaxis postoperatively. Following that, indication of medical treatment should not only be considered on patient characteristics and disease history but also on histopathological aspects. Based on our observation, the evaluation and awareness of resection margins based on our specified definition can help to identify patients benefiting most from postoperative prophylaxis. Therefore, histopathological reports need to review the mentioned criteria in detail and should be considered for clinical decision making in the future. These aspects hold significant clinical importance as there are no established strategies to evaluate and address positive resection margins.

Our study has several limitations including its retrospective character and the monocentric design. Furthermore, we lost numerous patients during follow-up which is can be explained by the German Health Care system where a large private practice sector takes care of postoperative follow-up visits and treatment strategies. Nevertheless, this study represents one of the largest studies on this issue and constitutes of a homogenous cohort of patients suffering from localized terminal ileitis representing daily clinical routine. In addition, we implement a clear definition of resection margins positive for CD-associated inflammation.

Postoperative disease recurrence is a relevant clinical issue and the exact pathophysiology of postoperative disease recurrence is poorly understood 3 , 25 . In addition, general strategies are lacking to address and identify patients at risk. In our study, positive resection margins were significantly associated with increased rates of severe endoscopic recurrence and surgical recurrence. Based on those results, histopathological analyses for resection margins should always be respected and individual patients evaluated for postoperative prophylaxis. We suggest that future guidelines need to list positive resection margins defined by a homogenous definition as risk factor for disease recurrence.

Data availability

Data is available on request. Data is provided by the corresponding author.

Murthy, S. K. et al. Introduction of anti-TNF therapy has not yielded expected declines in hospitalisation and intestinal resection rates in inflammatory bowel diseases: A population-based interrupted time series study. Gut 69 (2), 274–282 (2020).

Article   CAS   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Stöss, C. et al. Crohn’s disease: A population-based study of surgery in the age of biological therapy. Int. J. Colorectal Dis. 36 (11), 2419–2426 (2021).

Article   PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Adamina, M. et al. ECCO guidelines on therapeutics in Crohn’s disease: Surgical treatment. J. Crohns Colitis 14 (2), 155–168 (2020).

Article   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Ponsioen, C. Y. et al. Laparoscopic ileocaecal resection versus infliximab for terminal ileitis in Crohn’s disease: A randomised controlled, open-label, multicentre trial. Lancet Gastroenterol. Hepatol. 2 (11), 785–792 (2017).

Stevens, T. W. et al. Laparoscopic ileocaecal resection versus infliximab for terminal ileitis in Crohn’s disease: Retrospective long-term follow-up of the LIR!C trial. Lancet Gastroenterol. Hepatol. 5 (10), 900–907 (2020).

Kelm, M. et al. Early ileocecal resection is an effective therapy in isolated Crohn’s Disease. J. Clin. Med. 10 (4), 731 (2021).

Dragoni, G. et al. Results of the eighth scientific workshop of ECCO: Diagnosing postoperative recurrence of Crohn’s disease after an ileocolonic resection with ileocolonic anastomosis. J. Crohns Colitis 17 (9), 1373–1386 (2023).

De Cruz, P., Kamm, M. A., Prideaux, L., Allen, P. B. & Desmond, P. V. Postoperative recurrent luminal Crohn’s disease: A systematic review. Inflamm. Bowel Dis. 18 (4), 758–777 (2012).

Fichera, A., Schlottmann, F., Krane, M., Bernier, G. & Lange, E. Role of surgery in the management of Crohn’s disease. Curr. Probl. Surg. 55 (5), 162–187 (2018).

Orlando, A. et al. Early post-operative endoscopic recurrence in Crohn’s disease patients: Data from an Italian group for the study of inflammatory bowel disease (IG-IBD) study on a large prospective multicenter cohort. J. Crohns Colitis 8 (10), 1217–1221 (2014).

Bislenghi, G. et al. Short- and long-term outcomes following side-to-side strictureplasty and its modification over the ileocaecal valve for extensive Crohn’s ileitis. J. Crohns Colitis 14 (10), 1378–1384 (2020).

Bislenghi, G. et al. Effect of anastomotic configuration on Crohn’s disease recurrence after primary ileocolic resection: A comparative monocentric study of end-to-end versus side-to-side anastomosis. Updates Surg. 75 , 1607–1615 (2023).

Coffey, C. J. et al. Inclusion of the mesentery in ileocolic resection for Crohn’s disease is associated with reduced surgical recurrence. J. Crohns Colitis 12 (10), 1139–1150 (2018).

Fichera, A., Zoccali, M. & Kono, T. Antimesenteric functional end-to-end handsewn (Kono-S) anastomosis. J. Gastrointest. Surg. 16 (7), 1412–1416 (2012).

Gionchetti, P. et al. 3rd European evidence-based consensus on the diagnosis and management of Crohn’s disease 2016: Part 2: Surgical management and special situations. J. Crohns Colitis 11 (2), 135–149 (2017).

Nguyen, G. C. et al. American Gastroenterological Association Institute guideline on the management of Crohn’s disease after surgical resection. Gastroenterology 152 (1), 271–275 (2017).

Tandon, P. et al. Active margins, plexitis, and granulomas increase postoperative Crohn’s recurrence: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Clin. Gastroenterol. Hepatol. 19 (3), 451–462 (2021).

Cunningham, M. F., Docherty, N. G., Coffey, J. C., Burke, J. P. & O’Connell, P. R. Postsurgical recurrence of ileal Crohn’s disease: An update on risk factors and intervention points to a central role for impaired host-microflora homeostasis. World J. Surg. 34 (7), 1615–1626 (2010).

van Overstraeten, A. B. et al. Short- and medium-term outcomes following primary ileocaecal resection for Crohn’s disease in two specialist centres. Br. J. Surg. 104 (12), 1713–1722 (2017).

Article   Google Scholar  

Poredska, K. et al. The influence of microscopic inflammation at resection margins on early postoperative endoscopic recurrence after ileocaecal resection for Crohn’s disease. J. Crohns Colitis 14 (3), 361–368 (2020).

Riault, C. et al. Positive histologic margins is a risk factor of recurrence after ileocaecal resection in Crohn’s disease. Clin. Res. Hepatol. Gastroenterol. 45 (5), 101569 (2021).

Ferrante, M. et al. The value of myenteric plexitis to predict early postoperative Crohn’s disease recurrence. Gastroenterology 130 (6), 1595–1606 (2006).

Luglio, G. et al. Surgical prevention of anastomotic recurrence by excluding mesentery in Crohn’s disease: The SuPREMe-CD study—A randomized clinical trial. Ann. Surg. 272 (2), 210–217 (2020).

Bak, M. T. J. et al. Prognostic value of the modified Rutgeerts score for long-term outcomes after primary ileocecal resection in Crohn’s Disease. Am. J. Gastroenterol. 119 , 306–312 (2023).

Ferrante, M. et al. Results of the eighth scientific workshop of ECCO: Prevention and treatment of postoperative recurrence in patients with Crohn’s disease undergoing an ileocolonic resection with ileocolonic anastomosis. J. Crohns Colitis https://doi.org/10.1093/ecco-jcc/jjad053 (2023).

Kelm, M. et al. Kono-S anastomosis in Crohn’s disease: A retrospective study on postoperative morbidity and disease recurrence in comparison to the conventional side-to-side anastomosis. J. Clin. Med. 11 (23), 6915 (2022).

Article   CAS   PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Yzet, C. et al. Positive margins and plexitis increase the risk of recurrence after ileocecal resection: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Dig. Liver Dis. 55 (12), 1611–1620 (2023).

Pennington, L., Hamilton, S. R., Bayless, T. M. & Cameron, J. L. Surgical management of Crohn’s disease. Influence of disease at margin of resection. Ann. Surg. 192 (3), 311–318 (1980).

Fazio, V. W. et al. Effect of resection margins on the recurrence of Crohn’s disease in the small bowel: A randomized controlled trial. Ann. Surg. 224 (4), 563–571 (1996).

Wasmann, K. et al. The predictive value of inflammation at ileocecal resection margins for postoperative Crohn’s recurrence: A cohort study. Inflamm. Bowel Dis. 26 (11), 1691–1699 (2020).

Hammoudi, N. et al. Association between microscopic lesions at ileal resection margin and recurrence after surgery in patients with Crohn’s disease. Clin. Gastroenterol. Hepatol. 18 (1), 141–9.e2 (2020).

Download references

Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.

Author information

These authors contributed equally: Matthias Kelm and Clara Benatzky.

Authors and Affiliations

Department for General, Visceral, Transplant, Vascular and Pediatric Surgery, University Hospital of Würzburg, Oberduerrbacher Str., 697080, Würzburg, Germany

Matthias Kelm, Clara Benatzky, Anna Widder, Nicolas Schlegel, Christoph-Thomas Germer & Sven Flemming

Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, University Hospital of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany

Katrin Schoettker, Markus Brand & Alexander Meining

Department of Pathology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany

Viktoria Buck & Mathias Rosenfeldt

Department of Pathology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, USA

Asma Nusrat

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

M.K. and S.F. designed the study, analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript. C.T.G. and A.M. designed the study. C.B. and A.W. collected and analyzed the data. V.B. and M.R. reviewed the histopathological data. K.S. and M.B. reviewed and analyzed the endoscopic evaluation. M.K., S.F., A.N., M.R. discussed and defined the histopathological criteria. All authors reviewed the manuscript. All authors have made substantial contributions to conception or design and approved the submission. N.S. supervised the study protocol.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sven Flemming .

Ethics declarations

Competing interests.

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher's note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ .

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Kelm, M., Benatzky, C., Buck, V. et al. Positive resection margins in Crohn’s disease are a relevant risk factor for postoperative disease recurrence. Sci Rep 14 , 10823 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-61697-w

Download citation

Received : 28 February 2024

Accepted : 08 May 2024

Published : 11 May 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-61697-w

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Postoperative disease recurrence
• Ileocecal resection

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines . If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Quick links

• Explore articles by subject
• Guide to authors
• Editorial policies

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

CTSO: CytoSorbents Potential for High Margin Revenue Growth Supports Price Target of $4.00

By Thomas Kerr, CFA

NASDAQ:CTSO

READ THE FULL CTSO RESEARCH REPORT

1st Quarter 2024 Financial Results

CytoSorbents (NASDAQ:CTSO) reported 1st quarter 2024 results on May 9th and results were broadly in line with expectations. For the 1st quarter of 2024, total revenues increased approximately 4.0% to $9.8 million. Total product sales were $9.0 million, an increase of 14.0% from the 1st quarter of 2023 and an increase of 22.0% from the 4th quarter of 2023. Grant income was $797,000 in the 1st quarter of 2024 compared to $1.5 million in the prior year period due to the completion of certain grant programs.

Product gross margin in the 1st quarter increased to approximately 76% compared to 68% in the prior year period primarily due to greater efficiencies being realized at the new manufacturing facility in Princeton, New Jersey. This gross margin excludes a one-time, non-recurring inventory adjustment of approximately $304,000 which was recorded in the quarter.

During the 1st quarter, research and development expenses were approximately $2,248,000 compared to approximately $4,214,000 for the 1st quarter of 2023. This decrease was due to a decrease in clinical trial costs of approximately $911,000 related to the completion of the STAR-T trial in 2023, a decrease of approximately $850,000 in start-up expenses related to the new facility that was incurred in the 1st quarter of 2023, a decrease in non-grant related salaries of approximately $127,000, and a decrease in other non-grant related research and development activities of approximately $78,000.

Net loss for the 1st quarter was ($6.3) million which was an improvement from a net loss of ($7.3) million in the prior year period. Operating cash flow was a use of cash of ($4.8) million. The company’s burn rate is expected to improve throughout 2024 as cost saving measures take effect and the company’s product sales continue to increase total revenues.

Update on STAR-T Trial

Brilinta ® (ticagrelor, AstraZeneca) is one of the leading anti-thrombotic drugs used as part of dual-antiplatelet therapy in patients with acute coronary syndrome. However, up to 10% of these patients will need to undergo CABG surgery and risk serious bleeding complications if the surgery is performed within the first few days from the last ticagrelor dose. Waiting in the hospital to washout the drug over the span of 3-5 days is the only acceptable alternative but comes with potential clinical risk for complications while waiting, and higher added hospital costs. The goal of DrugSorb-ATR is to allow patients to safely get the critical CABG surgery they need without requiring extensive drug washout. This was investigated in the U.S. and Canadian pivotal STAR-T (Safe and Timely Antithrombotic Removal of Ticagrelor) randomized controlled trial.

April 2024 Cardiothoracic Surgery Conference STAR-T Presentation

On April 28, 2024, the company announced that data from the pivotal STAR-T randomized controlled trial were presented for the first time publicly by Principal Investigator Dr. Michael Mack during a Breakout Presentation at the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) Annual Meeting. This event, held in collaboration with the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists (SCA), took place in Toronto, Canada. Previously, the data were under embargo, as required by AATS to be eligible for presentation at the conference, one of the world’s most prestigious cardiothoracic surgery events.

Following the event, Principal Investigators Drs. Mack and C. Michael Gibson discussed the results of the study, stating that the results demonstrated a reduction in fatal and severe surgical bleeds and chest tube drainage in a WIN ratio analysis.

The link to the interview can be found here .

This follows the initial disclosure on December 28, 2023, when the company announced an update on the primary safety and effectiveness endpoints and the final independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) analysis of the study. The DSMB performed the final review of the full unblinded data on all 140 patients in the STAR-T trial and concluded there were no issues with device safety, thus meeting the primary safety endpoint of the study. The company also performed the initial data analysis on the primary efficacy endpoint of STAR-T, which was a hierarchical composite endpoint covering the full spectrum of perioperative bleeding including:

• Fatal bleeding within 48 hours

• Universal Definition of Perioperative Bleeding (UDPB ≥ 2)

• Chest tube drainage in 24 hours

Based on this analysis, the study did not meet the primary effectiveness endpoint in the overall patient population that underwent different types of cardiac surgeries. However, the study demonstrated reduced bleeding complications in patients in the prespecified isolated coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery population, which represented more than 90% of the overall study population. Due to the conference data embargo, no data were presented at that time.

New Data Presented for the First Time

In the AATS presentation, the use of DrugSorb-ATR resulted in a statistically significant reduction (as calculated by the WIN ratio) in the severity of perioperative bleeding. This was measured by a prespecified alternative composite primary efficacy endpoint consisting of fatal bleeding, UDPB ≥ 3 (severe bleeding), and 24-hour chest tube drainage in the isolated CABG per protocol population.

For CABG patients with moderate bleeding events (UDPB = 2), investigators noted that moderate bleeders in the DrugSorb arm were less serious than moderate bleeders in the control arm. Patients in the DrugSorb-ATR arm required 50% fewer units of blood transfusion products, with a total mean transfusion volume of 537 mL in the DrugSorb-ATR arm versus 1,066 mL in the control arm (p=0.025). In a post-hoc sensitivity analysis, Principal Investigators conducted a blinded re-adjudication of all CABG patients with at least moderate bleeding events, aiming to identify patients with real clinical evidence of bleeding versus those receiving prophylactic transfusions (reclassified to mild bleeding). When this analysis was performed, the data achieved statistical significance in the original composite endpoint including moderate to severe bleeding (UDPB ≥ 2) as well as the alternative composite endpoint including only severe bleeding (UDPB ≥ 3).

Additionally, in an exploratory “major bleeding” analysis in patients with either severe UDPB events (UDPB ≥ 3) or 24-hour chest tube drainage > 1L, there was a 73% relative reduction, or 16% absolute reduction, in major bleeding in the DrugSorb-ATR arm (6%) versus control (22%).

This indicates a Number Needed to Treat (NNT) of six patients, meaning that for every six patients treated, one severe bleed was prevented. This was noted to be a compelling number.

The reason for the original missed primary endpoint was clarified with the definition of the “per protocol” population, which excluded patients undergoing “other surgeries” or with major protocol deviations. Despite being a randomized trial, there was an imbalance in the number of non-CABG “other surgeries” in the DrugSorb-ATR arm (10.6%) versus control (4.5%). Patients undergoing “other surgeries” had worse pre-operative risk scores, longer surgeries, longer cardiopulmonary bypass times, more chest tube drainage, more moderate to severe perioperative bleeding, and longer ICU and hospital stays. Additionally, there were more patients with major protocol deviations in the treatment arm (12.1%) versus control (4.5%), with the most common major protocol deviation being acute normovolemic hemodilution (ANH) in 8 of the 11 cases. According to Dr. Mack, ANH is an excluded practice in the study as it removes up to a liter of blood containing ticagrelor at the beginning of the procedure, then transfuses it back into the patient after surgery, circumventing DrugSorb-ATR's removal of the drug and increasing the risk of perioperative bleeding.

The investigators concluded:

• Primary safety endpoint was met

• Primary efficacy endpoint was not met in the all-comer surgery population

• Severe bleeding efficacy endpoint was met in the I-CABG per protocol population

• In isolated CABG patients, the intraoperative use of DrugSorb-ATR was associated with:

o Reduced bleeding severity by either UDPB grade or chest tube drainage volume

o NNT of 6 to prevent a major bleed (UDPB 3 event or >1 L chest tube drainage

o Overall favorable benefit-to-risk profile

Additional Commentary on FDA Approvals

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has typically shown regulatory flexibility in approving novel therapies, encompassing medical devices, drugs, and biologics, particularly those that address significant unmet medical needs. This flexibility is evident in cases where pivotal trials have either missed primary endpoints or demonstrated marginal efficacy.

In a retrospective cross-sectional analysis published in JAMA Internal Medicine in 2021, Johnston et al. scrutinized FDA approvals from 2016 to 2020 for high-risk therapeutic medical devices that did not meet the primary endpoints of pivotal studies. These devices underwent evaluation through the FDA's premarket approval (PMA) regulatory pathway, known for its stringent requirements in assessing device safety and efficacy. The analysis revealed that, during this period, 13.1% of the 107 approved high-risk therapeutic devices did not meet at least one pivotal study primary endpoint. More than half of these cases were related to cardiovascular or cardiothoracic surgery applications. It is important to note the FDA's tendency to justify approvals based on post hoc analyses, success in alternative primary endpoints, and positive trends in secondary outcome measures. In addition, the FDA mandated a post-approval clinical study for 11 of these device approvals. Recently, the FDA granted approval for Medtronic's radiofrequency renal denervation system, Symplicity®, for the treatment of uncontrolled adult hypertension, despite a slim 7-6 majority vote against its risks and benefits by an FDA advisory panel.

This pattern extends to drugs and biologics as well. In another publication in JAMA Internal Medicine in 2023, Johnston et al. reported that between 2018 and 2021, 10% of the 210 new FDA drug approvals missed one or more primary efficacy endpoints in pivotal trials. All these therapies were either first-in-class or designated orphan drugs (affecting < 200,000 patients per year in the U.S.). The FDA's rationale for approval often included success in other pivotal studies, positive findings from secondary or exploratory endpoints, and favorable post hoc analyses. Similar to the medical device space, many approvals necessitated post-market studies to address lingering clinical uncertainties.

Based on information released by CytoSorbents, the DrugSorb-ATR device appears to be safe and relatively low risk, showing clinical benefit in the majority of patients in the study (isolated CABG population), representing the typical expected use-case for DrugSorb-ATR. Considering its designation as an FDA Breakthrough Device for this application, its "first-in-class" status, its apparent favorable benefit-to-risk ratio, and its potential to address a major unmet medical need, we believe it aligns well with the profile of other FDA-approved therapies that have encountered challenges with pivotal trial primary endpoints.

If CytoSorbents chooses to submit a regulatory application, and provided further data analyses from the study are corroborative of device efficacy, we anticipate a receptive FDA audience and the potential for approval, albeit with the requirement for a post-market confirmatory study. If approved, we believe the narrower label for use only in isolated CABG will not materially impact DrugSorb-ATR’s total addressable U.S. and Canadian market and will likely increase adoption of CytoSorb internationally for this E.U. approved indication.

Valuation and Estimates

Our 2024 revenue estimate is $39.5 million and our 2024 EPS estimate is a loss of ($0.38) per share. We believe 2025 revenues could reach $44.1 million.

The company has implemented significant cost cutting measures to reduce the cash burn, including a 15% reduction of headcount, termination of non-core R&D programs, termination of the STAR-D trial to focus on STAR-T, and a third consecutive year of salary freezes for executive management. The benefit of these cost cuts on operating expenses, particularly the headcount reductions, will become more apparent going forward as notice periods and severance payments are completed. In addition, the company has worked diligently to optimize manufacturing efficiencies. In the 1st quarter of 2024, CytoSorb product gross margins were 76%, less a one-time inventory adjustment taken in the quarter. In the near-term, the company expects product gross margins to be more consistently in the 75-80% range on a quarterly basis in 2024 compared to an average of 72% in 2023.

We are still confident the company can generate substantial levels of free cash flow over time, particularly if the approval and commercialization of DrugSorb-ATR is successful and we maintain our price target of $4.00 per share.

SUBSCRIBE TO ZACKS SMALL CAP RESEARCH  to receive our articles and reports emailed directly to you each morning. Please visit our  website  for additional information on Zacks SCR. 

DISCLOSURE: Zacks SCR has received compensation from the issuer directly, from an investment manager, or from an investor relations consulting firm, engaged by the issuer, for providing research coverage for a period of no less than one year. Research articles, as seen here, are part of the service Zacks SCR provides and Zacks SCR receives quarterly payments totaling a maximum fee of up to $40,000 annually for these services provided to or regarding the issuer. Full Disclaimer HERE .

Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Read our research on:

Full Topic List

Regions & Countries

• Publications
• Our Methods
• Short Reads
• Tools & Resources

Read Our Research On:

Broad Public Support for Legal Abortion Persists 2 Years After Dobbs

By more than 2 to 1, americans say medication abortion should be legal, table of contents.

• Other abortion attitudes
• Overall attitudes about abortion
• Americans’ views on medication abortion in their states
• How statements about abortion resonate with Americans
• Acknowledgments
• The American Trends Panel survey methodology

Pew Research Center conducted this study to understand Americans’ views on the legality of abortion, as well as their perceptions of abortion access. For this analysis, we surveyed 8,709 adults from April 8 to 14, 2024. Everyone who took part in this survey is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the ATP’s methodology .

Here are the questions used for the report and its methodology .

Nearly two years after the Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision guaranteeing a national right to abortion, a majority of Americans continue to express support for abortion access.

About six-in-ten (63%) say abortion should be legal in all or most cases. This share has grown 4 percentage points since 2021 – the year prior to the 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that overturned Roe.

The new Pew Research Center survey, conducted April 8-14, 2024, among 8,709 adults, surfaces ongoing – and often partisan – divides over abortion attitudes:

• Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents (85%) overwhelmingly say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, with near unanimous support among liberal Democrats.
• By comparison, Republicans and Republican leaners (41%) are far less likely to say abortion should be legal in all or most cases. However, two-thirds of moderate and liberal Republicans still say it should be.

Since before Roe was overturned, both parties have seen a modest uptick in the share who say abortion should be legal.

As in the past, relatively few Americans (25%) say abortion should be legal in all cases, while even fewer (8%) say it should be illegal in all cases. About two-thirds of Americans do not take an absolutist view: 38% say it should be legal in most cases, and 28% say it should be illegal in most cases.

Related: Americans overwhelmingly say access to IVF is a good thing

Women’s abortion decisions

A narrow majority of Americans (54%) say the statement “the decision about whether to have an abortion should belong solely to the pregnant woman” describes their views extremely or very well. Another 19% say it describes their views somewhat well, and 26% say it does not describe their views well.

Views on an embryo’s rights

About a third of Americans (35%) say the statement “human life begins at conception, so an embryo is a person with rights” describes their views extremely or very well, while 45% say it does not describe their views well.

But many Americans are cross-pressured in their views: 32% of Americans say both statements about women’s decisions and embryos’ rights describe their views at least somewhat well.

Abortion access

About six-in-ten Americans in both parties say getting an abortion in the area where they live would be at least somewhat easy, compared with four-in-ten or fewer who say it would be difficult.

However, U.S. adults are divided over whether getting an abortion should be easier or harder:

• 31% say it should be easier for someone to get an abortion in their area, while 25% say it should be harder. Four-in-ten say the ease of access should be about what it is now.
• 48% of Democrats say that obtaining an abortion should be easier than it is now, while just 15% of Republicans say this. Instead, 40% of Republicans say it should be harder (just 11% of Democrats say this).

As was the case last year, views about abortion access vary widely between those who live in states where abortion is legal and those who live in states where it is not allowed.

For instance, 20% of adults in states where abortion is legal say it would be difficult to get an abortion where they live, but this share rises to 71% among adults in states where abortion is prohibited.

Medication abortion

Americans say medication abortion should be legal rather than illegal by a margin of more than two-to-one (54% vs. 20%). A quarter say they are not sure.

Like opinions on the legality of abortion overall, partisans differ greatly in their views of medication abortion:

• Republicans are closely split but are slightly more likely to say it should be legal (37%) than illegal (32%). Another 30% aren’t sure.
• Democrats (73%) overwhelmingly say medication abortion should be legal. Just 8% say it should be illegal, while 19% are not sure.

Across most other demographic groups, Americans are generally more supportive than not of medication abortion.

Across demographic groups, support for abortion access has changed little since this time last year.

Today, roughly six-in-ten (63%) say abortion should be legal in all (25%) or most (38%) cases. And 36% say it should be illegal in all (8%) or most (28%) cases.

While differences are only modest by gender, other groups vary more widely in their views.

Race and ethnicity

Support for legal abortion is higher among Black (73%) and Asian (76%) adults compared with White (60%) and Hispanic (59%) adults.

Compared with older Americans, adults under 30 are particularly likely to say abortion should be legal: 76% say this, versus about six-in-ten among other age groups.

Those with higher levels of formal education express greater support for legal abortion than those with lower levels of educational attainment.

About two-thirds of Americans with a bachelor’s degree or more education (68%) say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, compared with six-in-ten among those without a degree.

White evangelical Protestants are about three times as likely to say abortion should be illegal (73%) as they are to say it should be legal (25%).

By contrast, majorities of White nonevangelical Protestants (64%), Black Protestants (71%) and Catholics (59%) say abortion should be legal. And religiously unaffiliated Americans are especially likely to say abortion should be legal (86% say this).

Partisanship and ideology

Democrats (85%) are about twice as likely as Republicans (41%) to say abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

But while more conservative Republicans say abortion should be illegal (76%) than legal (27%), the reverse is true for moderate and liberal Republicans (67% say legal, 31% say illegal).

By comparison, a clear majority of conservative and moderate Democrats (76%) say abortion should be legal, with liberal Democrats (96%) overwhelmingly saying this.

Views of abortion access by state

About six-in-ten Americans (58%) say it would be easy for someone to get an abortion in the area where they live, while 39% say it would be difficult.

This marks a slight shift since last year, when 54% said obtaining an abortion would be easy. But Americans are still less likely than before the Dobbs decision to say obtaining an abortion would be easy.

Still, Americans’ views vary widely depending on whether they live in a state that has banned or restricted abortion.

In states that prohibit abortion, Americans are about three times as likely to say it would be difficult to obtain an abortion where they live as they are to say it would be easy (71% vs. 25%). The share saying it would be difficult has risen 19 points since 2019.

In states where abortion is restricted or subject to legal challenges, 51% say it would be difficult to get an abortion where they live. This is similar to the share who said so last year (55%), but higher than the share who said this before the Dobbs decision (38%).

By comparison, just 20% of adults in states where abortion is legal say it would be difficult to get one. This is little changed over the past five years.

Americans’ attitudes about whether it should be easier or harder to get an abortion in the area where they live also varies by geography.

Overall, a decreasing share of Americans say it should be harder to obtain an abortion: 33% said this in 2019, compared with 25% today.

This is particularly true of those in states where abortion is now prohibited or restricted.

In both types of states, the shares of Americans saying it should be easier to obtain an abortion have risen 12 points since before Roe was overturned, as the shares saying it should be harder have gradually declined.

By comparison, changes in views among those living in states where abortion is legal have been more modest.

While Americans overall are more supportive than not of medication abortion (54% say it should be legal, 20% say illegal), there are modest differences in support across groups:

• Younger Americans are somewhat more likely to say medication abortion should be legal than older Americans. While 59% of adults ages 18 to 49 say it should be legal, 48% of those 50 and older say the same.
• Asian adults (66%) are particularly likely to say medication abortion should be legal compared with White (55%), Black (51%) and Hispanic (47%) adults.
• White evangelical Protestants oppose medication abortion by about two-to-one (45% vs. 23%), with White nonevangelicals, Black Protestants, Catholics and religiously unaffiliated adults all being more likely than not to say medication abortion should be legal.
• Republicans are closely divided over medication abortion: 37% say it should be legal while 32% say it should be illegal. But similar to views on abortion access overall, conservative Republicans are more opposed (43% illegal, 27% legal), while moderate and liberals are more supportive (55% legal, 14% illegal).

Just over half of Americans (54%) say “the decision about whether to have an abortion should belong solely to the pregnant woman” describes their views extremely or very well, compared with 19% who say somewhat well and 26% who say not too or not at all well.

Democrats (76%) overwhelmingly say this statement describes their views extremely or very well, with just 8% saying it does not describe their views well.

Republicans are more divided: 44% say it does not describe their views well while 33% say it describes them extremely or very well. Another 22% say it describes them somewhat well.

Fewer Americans (35%) say the statement “human life begins at conception, so an embryo is a person with rights” describes their views extremely or very well. Another 19% say it describes their views somewhat well while 45% say it describes them not too or not at all well.

(The survey asks separately whether “a fetus is a person with rights.” The results are roughly similar: 37% say that statement describes their views extremely or very well.)

Republicans are about three times as likely as Democrats to say “an embryo is a person with rights” describes their views extremely or very well (53% vs. 18%). In turn, Democrats (66%) are far more likely than Republicans (25%) to say it describes their views not too or not at all well.

Some Americans are cross-pressured about abortion

When results on the two statements are combined, 41% of Americans say the statement about a pregnant woman’s right to choose describes their views at least somewhat well , but not the statement about an embryo being a person with rights. About two-in-ten (21%) say the reverse.

But for nearly a third of U.S. adults (32%), both statements describe their views at least somewhat well.

Just 4% of Americans say neither statement describes their views well.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter

Fresh data delivery Saturday mornings

Sign up for The Briefing

Weekly updates on the world of news & information

• Partisanship & Issues

Support for legal abortion is widespread in many places, especially in Europe

Public opinion on abortion, americans overwhelmingly say access to ivf is a good thing, what the data says about abortion in the u.s., nearly a year after roe’s demise, americans’ views of abortion access increasingly vary by where they live, most popular, report materials.

1615 L St. NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20036 USA (+1) 202-419-4300 | Main (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax (+1) 202-419-4372 |  Media Inquiries

Research Topics

• Age & Generations
• Coronavirus (COVID-19)
• Economy & Work
• Family & Relationships
• Gender & LGBTQ
• Immigration & Migration
• International Affairs
• Internet & Technology
• Methodological Research
• News Habits & Media
• Non-U.S. Governments
• Other Topics
• Politics & Policy
• Race & Ethnicity
• Email Newsletters

ABOUT PEW RESEARCH CENTER  Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of  The Pew Charitable Trusts .

Copyright 2024 Pew Research Center

Time to move: Sporting goods 2024

As the world continued its uneven progress in 2023, the sporting goods industry faced familiar challenges. Economic headwinds, persistent inflation, and regional conflicts undermined consumer confidence, while companies continued to struggle with inventories—mainly overstocking, because anticipated demand failed to materialize. But the industry demonstrated its resilience again. Revenue growth in 2023 was 6 percent (compared with 2 percent in 2022) amid stronger performance across geographies. 1 Euromonitor, October 2023.

As we begin 2024, this report highlights a renewed sense of optimism among industry leaders. This reflects opportunities arising from an improving market environment and new consumer preferences. More people are choosing sports that are quicker to pick up, require less commitment, and are more social, rather than organized sports with fixed time commitments or requirements for teams or high levels of skill. Participation as a driver has become as important as performance. And after supply–demand imbalances in the recent period, companies are turning to integrated business planning and analytics to help them navigate more volatile times. Meanwhile, sporting ecosystems and the demands of sustainability offer potential for innovation. With these themes in mind, this year’s sporting goods report paints a picture of an industry at a pivotal moment, facing not only challenges but also opportunities to achieve sustained growth.

Review of the past year and looking ahead

The past year was one in which regional differences were prominent. Companies in Western Europe posted growth of 8 percent, a strong rebound from the 3 percent decline the previous year, while the industry in Asia–Pacific saw income rise 11 percent after a 4 percent decline in 2022. North American companies followed 6 percent growth in 2022 with growth of 2 percent. Latin America, meanwhile, was the standout performer, with growth of 22 percent after 20 percent growth the previous year. 2 Euromonitor, October 2023.

A report on the global sporting goods industry

The World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI) and McKinsey are proud to continue our partnership to present our fourth annual sporting goods industry report, Time to move: Sporting goods 2024 . The report dives into the dynamics driving performance in the sporting goods market and presents insights from some of the industry’s most senior players. As in past editions, we focus on the key trends that have affected the industry over the past year and will shape performance in the coming year and beyond. This article summarizes some of the report’s findings.

The industry’s super winners, which are companies that have consistently grown revenues and expanded margins since 2017, maintained their momentum in 2023. The group outperformed the market by focusing on attractive categories and employing smart go-to-market strategies to inspire and engage with consumers. These leaders exemplified the merits of a balanced portfolio, with retail innovation, trend-responsive branding, and cost-effective manufacturing among the pillars that supported growth.

There were also notable variations in the competitive landscape. For example, competition intensified in China, with global titans losing their edge to local players, which had a market share of about 60 percent among the top 20 brands. Conversely, in Latin America, global players continued to dominate, with a share of about 90 percent amid a strong soccer and tennis focus.

In 2023, macro factors including geopolitical conflict, inflation, and consumer conservatism, as well as inventory challenges, have made for a bumpy year and required companies to allocate more resources to promotional activities. That said, we continue to manage things in our control to the best of our ability and remain optimistic due to the enduring trend of fitness and health and our long-term growth potential, especially given our brand’s strong positioning. Stephanie Linnartz, president and CEO, Under Armour

Looking ahead, the industry is set to continue its steady growth: analysts estimate CAGR of about 7 percent by 2027 (Exhibit 1).

Rising levels of polarization

In an unpredictable market environment, a key trend is rising levels of polarization, with some companies performing much better than others. About a third of sporting goods companies have grown revenues and widened margins since 2017, forming an elite group of winners that consistently outperform the wider market. On average, this group has achieved organic growth of five percentage points and margin improvements of three percentage points over the period. Conversely, about a quarter of companies have been margin-accretive laggards—in other words, they have lifted margins but not revenues. About 10 percent are dilutive laggards, seeing strong revenue performance (more than 15 percent) but slightly negative margin performance (two percentage points on average). We expect this polarization theme to persist in the future.

I think the difficult thing in the current environment is that so many variables are changing at one time—COVID-19–related shutdowns, supply chain disruptions, geopolitical uncertainty, and inflation. Getting into this season, most brands and retailers built too much inventory, so 2024 is therefore going to be a little bit of a clean-up year. Hugo Maurstad, managing partner, Monte Rosa Capital

Sporting goods trends for 2024

In the first chapter of the report, we highlight an improving industry outlook, with about 90 percent of sporting goods leaders anticipating stability or improvements in sales and margins, according to the McKinsey and World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI) Sporting Goods Industry Report Survey 2023. Still, industry leaders are not universally optimistic, amid persistent concern over inflation and overstocking. Eighty-one percent of respondents to this year’s survey say inflation and inventory levels and cost of capital are a continuing challenge, and 50 percent worry about attracting talent and the pressing imperative to become more sustainable. In addition, economic headwinds may still apply. In China, for example, 2023 marked a recovery from a tough 2022, but many Chinese consumers will likely trade down in 2024 as tough economic conditions persist.

In the remaining four chapters of this year’s report, we dive into the key themes that will likely appear on executive agendas in the year ahead:

1. Shifting consumer preferences and generational opportunities. Consumer confidence remains subdued, but the sporting goods sector has shown it can be resilient, with many companies relatively immune to downtrading. That said, brand loyalty is declining. Also, consumer behaviors are moving away from organized sports and toward options that are more accessible. This pivot presents new avenues to growth, particularly in segments such as pickleball and paddle tennis (159 percent growth from 2019 to 2022) and off-course golf (57 percent growth from 2019 to 2022), which have seen surges in popularity (Exhibit 2).

In addition, there is a generational shift in progress, with some older demographics spending more time and money on their favorite sports and hobbies. However, demographic dynamics vary across regions, suggesting brands will need to craft age-inclusive strategies to suit their constituencies.

Our product range at Nike isn’t just about catering to a specific age group—it’s more about accessibility. We want to ensure that whether someone is a jogger, walker, marathon runner, or just looking to stay active, they find something in our range that suits their needs. Vanessa Garcia-Brito, VP, chief social & community impact officer, Nike

2. Planning, planning, planning. Inventory management remains a pressing challenge as companies grapple with overstocking and demand volatility. The rising cost of capital further complicates the outlook, compelling companies to reevaluate their established planning processes. The key to being prepared lies in integrated business planning, which can significantly improve coordination and reduce the number of surprises. Still, effective implementation requires new governance approaches and cross-functional alignments as well as standardized inputs and outputs. Companies can combine these with AI and machine learning to generate more precise end-to-end planning and forecasting (Exhibit 3).

The last three and a half years for us and the rest of the industry has been super hard on supply chain and planning. … We’re now embarking on a new system for integrated planning. It’s an end-to-end planning system to connect our entire supply chain and continue to deliver the right inventory at the right time. Dan Sheridan, chief operating officer, Brooks Running

3. From sustainability targets to actions. Regulation and corporate action are supporting nations and regions in setting and meeting their sustainability targets. In China, the European Union, and the United States, there is increasing government support for funding that will drive the energy transition.

Many sporting goods brands, including smaller companies, are now stepping up, not only setting ambitious targets but also seeking to address social and governance issues in their operations and supply chains. These steps reflect rising consumer demand for more sustainable offerings. For example, consumers increasingly value products that use organic or sustainable input materials—and are often willing to pay a premium for them. While many companies are making progress, others are still at the starting blocks. Ten impact areas along the value chain and specific initiatives in each can help companies move forward. These range from new business models to initiatives that may boost consumer awareness, and companies can assess each of these through the lens of a cost abatement curve (Exhibit 4).

4. Playing the sports ecosystem game. In the wake of some companies embracing direct-to-consumer business models, the past year has seen a renewed focus on wholesale partnerships, reflecting the understanding that consumers prefer to shop in multibrand environments. Going a step further, an increasing number of companies are embracing explicit ecosystem strategies, taking their thinking beyond channel coverage and product assortments. This reflects the fact that technological advancements and health trends are driving a shift in consumer demand from individual products to comprehensive health- and activity-centered solutions.

Companies alone cannot meet all consumer needs. But they can meet those needs through networks of companies that serve some element of the customer journey, from opportunity discovery to planning and preparing, traveling, participation, and recovery (Exhibit 5). McKinsey research shows that the activities within these steps that customers value most include finding similarly minded people, shaping products to their specific needs, obtaining insurance to reduce risks, liaising with travel agencies, and receiving support during activities. 3 McKinsey Ecosystem Strategy Hub; McKinsey Consumer Community Survey, September 2023, n = 322 (Germany and the UK). Ecosystems enable companies to cater to these demands.

The report identifies five levers for value generation in an ecosystem environment: new subscription revenues, lower customer-acquisition costs, cross-selling, commissions, and operational efficiencies.

The past year has marked a period of recalibration for the sporting goods industry, with an uneven recovery and persistent challenges. Looking ahead, we believe the most successful players will innovate to address shifting consumer demands, manage supply chain complexity, streamline operations, and seize opportunities in emerging markets and ecosystems. Through efforts in these areas and a sharp focus on execution, the industry will be well positioned to continue its positive trajectory.

Download Time to move: Sporting goods 2024 , the full report on which this article is based.

Sabine Becker is an associate partner in McKinsey’s Zurich office, where Alexander Thiel  is a partner; Gemma D’Auria is a senior partner in the Milan office; and Sajal Kohli  is a senior partner in the Chicago office.

The authors wish to thank Rajat Agarwal, Becca Coggins, Asina de Branche, Karl-Hendrik Magnus, Olga Ostromecka, Daniel Zipser, all members of WFSGI, and the many industry experts who generously shared their perspectives during interviews for this article.

Explore a career with us

Related articles.

The trends defining the $1.8 trillion global wellness market in 2024

The State of Fashion 2024: Finding pockets of growth as uncertainty reigns

Sporting goods 2023: The need for resilience in a world in disarray