Easy Steps on How to write an abstract

 

In different areas, a report, essay, or study begins with an abstract. The abstract aims to sell your business; It should explain the topic of your paper, the problem your research is trying to solve or the question you are trying to answer, how you are going about it, and what conclusion you have reached. Abstract writing is an important part of making your research public, and you should strive to write this part of your paper in detail and well. Many people don’t understand the importance of summaries, and knowing how to write an abstract correctly inspired us to write this article.

What is an abstract?

An abstract is a detailed, short piece of text that is used to describe a piece of research or a larger piece of work. It gives an overview of the components of the article and helps the reader understand what the article is and what to expect from it before reading the rest of the article.

Don’t confuse it with a research report or job evaluation. It’s an original work that was written after you finish writing the rest of the paper. highlights the most important points of your work; However, the components differ depending on the system you are writing for.

When writing an abstract for the social or natural sciences, the scope and purpose of the study, methods, results and discussion are discussed. For the humanities abstract, on the other hand, you state your thesis, background, results, and conclusions of your research.

Since this is an abstract of the paper, it is the final step in the writing process. A good abstract follows a certain format and a certain number of 150 to 250 words.

Types of an Abstracts

Abstracts are also divided into three different types – descriptive, informative, and critical. They all have different goals and serve a unique purpose. As the components differ, it is best to ask your professor and confirm the type of abstract you should write.

1. Critical abstract

In addition to a description of the results and essential information, a critical abstract provides an assessment or comment on the validity, reliability, or completeness of the study. The researcher evaluates the work and often compares it to other works on the same topic. Critical summaries are typically 400-500 words long due to additional explanatory comments. These types of summaries are rarely used.

2. Descriptive abstract

A descriptive abstract indicates the type of information included in the work. It does not make judgments about the work, nor does it present the results or conclusions of the research. It contains the keywords in the text and may indicate the purpose, methods, and scope of the research. In essence, a descriptive abstract only describes the work that is being summarized. Some researchers consider it an outline of the work rather than an abstract. Descriptive summaries are usually very short, 100 words or less.

3. Informative abstract

Most of the summaries are helpful. Although they still don’t criticize or evaluate a work, they do more than describe it. A good informative abstract work as an alternative to the work itself. That is, the researcher presents and explains all the main arguments, results, and important evidence in the work. An informative abstract includes the information that can be found in the descriptive abstract [purpose, methods, and scope], but also the research results and conclusions as well as the author’s recommendations. Length varies by major, but an informative abstract is usually no more than 300 words.

What are the Elements of an abstract

The abstract is usually one page long and should give the full picture of your research in terms of literature research, methodology, results, and conclusions. Readers use the abstract to quickly learn the topic of your research. A well-written abstract is crucial in drawing readers in so they can open up and read about your work. The five main elements that need to be included in the abstract are listed below.

1. Introduction

In the introduction, you show that you are familiar with the field of study and existing research in the area. The introduction should contain an abstract of the current research, a description of your thesis, theory, and an introduction to the current situation.

2. Purpose

The purpose of the paper is often greater than the introductory element. To complete this section effectively, the author should consider the aims and purposes of his study, and identify any important questions or hypotheses. It should also highlight how the research intends to develop these goals and hypotheses for the reader.

3. Methods

The Methods section is usually the second-longest section of the abstract. It should contain enough information for the reader to understand what was done. The contents of this section should be used to reassure readers that appropriate and appropriate techniques and strategies were used in conducting the study. Include information about the setting, study design, blinding, population studied, recruitment, data collection methodology, sample size, intervention and follow-up, primary outcomes, criteria assessed, and key analysis methodology.

4. Results

This section may be called otherwise as “Notes” or “Results”. It is the most important, and perhaps the largest, part of the abstract. This is understandable because it describes what was found in the study; The aspect that the authors want to show and the feature that is most important to the readers. It should be packed as detailed as the number of words allows. Data should be presented in an objective manner that cites actual numbers, rather than using terms such as “felt better,” “got some headaches,” “the majority of participants responded” or “reported some dizziness.”  The abstract should include the number of registered participants and analysts included; numerical information on the analyzes performed (in terms of means and standard deviations, median, effect sizes, relative risks, numbers required for treatment, etc.), the results of the primary objective analysis together with the results of the significance tests (p-values), harm and negative results, the task, if any, even if it does not support the proposed hypothesis. Where applicable, relative risks, attributable risks, response rates, percentage of singles, etc. should be given.

5. Conclusion

This section should contain the main message of the study, expressed in a few carefully worded sentences. Usually the score shown here relates to the primary outcome measure; however, other important or unexpected results should also be mentioned. It is also common, but not necessary, for authors to express their views on the theoretical or practical implications of the results, or the meaning of their results in practice. Therefore, conclusions can contain three elements:

1. The primary take-home message
2. The additional findings of importance
3. The perspective

Despite its necessary brevity, this section has the greatest impact on the average reader because readers generally trust authors and take their assertions at face value. For this reason, the conclusions must be strictly truthful; Authors should not claim more than their data shows.

  6. Review and edit

The final step in the writing process is the abstract review. Try it out with a fresh mind and get rid of irrelevant details. Make sure you follow the correct pattern; The most important information is presented first.

 

Six Steps to Write an Abstract

1. Introduce the Topic.

• Try to communicate what is the specific topic the paper or poster will focus on.
• Assume the reader is generally familiar with the research area at hand.

2. State the Problem That Is Being Addressed by the Research.

• What’s the key focus or central question?
• Build on the first sentence, which introduced the overall topic.
• If you cannot identify a key focus or central question, then you don’t yet understand what you’re trying to write about it. Take a step back and figure that out before moving to the next step.

3. Summarize Why the Problem Exists.

• Explain how your work is different to what’s been tried before.
• But avoid re-hashing all the studies that were done before your work.
• Instead, focus on what was missed by previous research.
• Phrases such as, “previous work failed to address…….,” or “previous work overlooked………” can be useful.

4. Explain How The Research Question was Addressed.

• How did you analyze your data or information to be able to answer the question stated in #2?
• Did you run experiments?
• Did you use statistics?
• What did you measure?

5. What Were the Findings of the Research Conducted?

• What is your response to the question stated in #2 based on the completed work?
• What is new about your idea or approach?

6. What Is the Meaning or Impact of Your Research?

• Avoid re-stating the outcomes of the research.
• Instead, explain why should other people care?
• What can other people do with your research?

Things to Avoid in the Abstract

The abstract should be an abstract of your research; As such, it usually has a strict word count limit. Summing up all the key aspects of your business in a paragraph of 250 words or less can be a daunting task. However, knowing what to avoid while writing the abstract can make the task a little easier.

For example, the abstract should not include:

1. Extensive background information (readers look at your abstract to find out more about your current work, not the previous work of other researchers
2. Quotes
3. Details of routine laboratory procedures
4. Information on the statistical methods or software used (unless this is the focus of your study)
5. Abbreviations or undefined abbreviations (most journals provide a list of common abbreviations/acronyms that do not need to be defined; some journals do not allow abbreviations/acronyms in the abstract)
6. Findings or interpretations that are not discussed in the text

After you have completed the abstract, it is important to double-check that all of the information you have provided here matches the information in the main body of your paper. After a long period of work, it can sometimes be difficult to objectively assess whether your abstract is understandable, especially since you are likely to be very familiar with the standards in your field.