What is abstract in research, types of abstract, contents of abstract and do's and dont's of abstract

6. It is a short summary of your completed research. It is intended to
describe your work without going into detail. Abstracts should be
self-contained and concise, explaining your work as briefly and
clearly as possible. An abstract summarizes, usually in one paragraph
of 300 words or less, the major aspects of the entire paper in a
prescribed sequence that includes:
1)the overall purpose of the study and the research problem(s) you
investigated;
2) the basic design of the study;
3)major findings or trends found as a result of your analysis; and 4) a
brief summary of your interpretations and conclusions.

7. Descriptive. Usually a short paragraph (<100
words), a descriptive abstract outlines the
research question, methods, and work scope. It
does not discuss the results or conclusions.

8. Informative. The most widely used category, an
informative abstract constitutes a complete
document that explains all the primary
arguments, results, evidence, and conclusions. The
length varies based on journal requirements and
other submissions guidelines; however, it is
usually less than 10% of an article’s length
(~200–300 words).

9. Critical. Primarily reserved for literature and
systematic reviews, a critical abstract is rarely
used. Its role is to explain the angle from which a
person is critiquing the source literature
discussed by a review. Unlike the other two types
of abstracts above, a critical summary may include
evaluative statements and recommendations.

11. • let readers get the gist or essence of your paper or
article quickly, in order to decide whether to read the
full paper;
• prepares readers to follow the detailed information,
analyses, and arguments in your full paper;
• helps readers remember key points from your paper;
• facilitates electronic database indexing;
• highlights the key points of an academic paper;

12. • for proposals, indicates the intended direction of a
study;
• provides the scope of a study so that peers can decide
whether to review a manuscript;
• along with a cover letter, is screened by editors in the
first round of the editorial review process; and
• is skimmed by other academics seeking potential
sources to cite or read further.

13. 1. The context or background information for your
research; the general topic under study; the specific
topic of your research.
2. The central questions or statement of the problem
your research addresses.
3. What’s already known about this question, what
previous research has done or shown.

14. 4. The main reason(s), the exigency, the rationale, the
goals for your research (Why is it important to address
these questions? Are you, for example, examining a
new topic? Why is that topic worth examining? Are you
filling a gap in previous research? Applying new
methods to take a fresh look at existing ideas or data?
Resolving a dispute within the literature in your field?)
5. Your research and/or analytical methods.
6. Your main findings, results, or arguments.

15. 7. The significance or implications of your findings or
arguments.
8. Why we should care. Explain why your research
study is important (brief background and big-picture
significance).
9. What the problem was. Elaborate on why your
investigation is essential to filling a gap in our current
understanding of the topic.

16. 10. How the problem was solved. Briefly describe the
methods you used (qualitative vs. quantitative,
empirical vs. theoretical, models, study type, types of
evidence used, etc.).
11. The answer to the problem. State your key findings.
12. Next steps. Explain how the results of your research
benefit us and how we can apply your findings to other
research projects or applications (i.e., describe your
study’s implications).

17. Dos:
• Create a concise title that is interesting and
descriptive of the technical paper or research.
• Limit the use of abbreviations. Define them on their
first use.
• State the paper or research objective clearly in the
introduction/background.
• Make sure the result or conclusion relates to an
argument presented or explanation provided.

18. Dos:
• Relate the conclusion to the study objective(s). •
Include scientific units, when appropriate.
• Read and follow all abstract specifications.
• Use clear and concise wording.
• Use the active voice rather than the passive voice.
• Have a colleague proofread your abstract.

19. Don’ts:
• Do not repeat the title (or paraphrase the title) in the
abstract’s objective.
• Do not include abbreviations in the abstract title.
• Do not use personal pronouns (I, we, our, etc.)
• Do not overuse terms, acronyms, or professional
“lingo”.

20. Don’ts:
• Do not have a conclusion that is unsubstantiated.
• Do not include reference citations.
• Do not include authors who have not contributed
significantly to the study.
• Do not include figures or tables.
• Do not exceed the allotted word count.