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An open-source, generalizable tool designed to provide researchers in health studies with a flexible and scalable method for compiling individual reports.
Corresponding author: Dr. Chad Milando (cmilando@bu.edu)
Citation: Polka E, Childs E, Friedman A, Tomsho KS, Claus Henn B, Scammell MK, Milando CW. MCR: Open-Source Software to Automate Compilation of Health Study Report-Back. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021; 18(11):6104. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18116104
What is MCR?
MCR (Macro for the Compilation of Report-backs) is a powerful, open-source Microsoft Excel tool designed to automate the creation of personalized reports. Built using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), MCR helps you generate individual reports quickly and efficiently, saving you significant time compared to manual compilation.
How Does It Work?
MCR streamlines the report generation process by:
- Extracting Data: It pulls specific numerical, text, and graphical data for each participant from a central "Compilation Excel File."
- Populating a Template: It then inserts this individualized data into a pre-designed report template (created in PowerPoint).
- Generating Reports: Finally, MCR creates and saves a unique, personalized report for every participant.
MCR is designed as an open-source, generalizable tool, that can be used and modified by others to accomplish their data report-back needs. This handbook will guide you through each step of using MCR, starting with setup and data preparation. Please see the toolbar on the right (under "Using MCR") to navigate through this handbook.
This program was produced by Dr. Chad Milando, Research Associate at Boston University’s School of Public Health in the Department of Environmental Health, in collaboration with Erin Polka. MCR is continuing to undergo updates and improvements to further improve user engagement. Persons are welcome to use and the tool so long as proper attribution is given to original authors credit and the program is not used for commercial purposes. Credit can be attributed via the citation above. MCR is protected under a Software Evaluation Licensing Agreement.
See Setup to get started, or jump to a different page in the sidebar on the right.