What is the Best Way to Write a Scientific Abstract?

 

Abstracts: Definition and Purpose

An abstract is a one-paragraph (c. 6-7 sentences, 150-250 words) description of your (published or unpublished) research study. A well-written abstract can be used for a variety of purposes:

1. An abstract allows readers to rapidly grasp the substance or essence of your paper or article, allowing them to determine whether or not to read the entire document.
2. Readers will be better prepared to follow the specific material, analysis, and arguments in your whole work if you include an abstract.
3. An abstract, on the other hand, aids readers in remembering significant topics from your paper.

It's also worth noting that, in addition to the title, search engines and bibliographic databases use abstracts to find key terms for indexing your published research. As a result, the content of your abstract and title are critical in assisting other researchers in finding your paper or article.

The Abstract Contents

Abstracts contain most of the following brief types of information. Naturally, the body of your article will develop these concepts and explain them far more extensively. As can be seen in the following instances, the proportion of your abstract that you allocate to each kind of information — and the sequencing of that information — varies according to the kind and genre of your abstract article. And in some circumstances, rather than overtly, some of this information is implied. The Publication Manual, used widely in the social sciences, offers standards for many types of articles, including in the abstract, empirical research, literature review or meta-analysis, theoretical papers, methodological papers and case studies.

Here are the typical information types present in most abstracts:

• the background or context information for your research; the overall issue under examination;
• the key questions or problem statement your research addresses
  
  
• What is known about this question, what past research has done or demonstrated
  
  
• The fundamental reason(s), the requirement, the justification, the goals of your research—why are those questions crucial to deal with? Are you examining a new topic, for example? Why should this topic be examined? Do you fill a gap in past research? Use new methods to review old ideas or data? Resolving a literature dispute in your field? There was a mistake.
  
  
• Your techniques of research and/or analysis
  
  
• Your key results, results or arguments
  
  
• The relevance or consequences of your findings or arguments.

The abstract should be comprehensible on its own, without a reader reading your complete paper. In an abstract, in general, you don't quote references—most of your abstract describes what you examined and found and what you fight about in your work. You quote the relevant literature that informs your research in your paper.

What is the significance of the abstract?

 Because it is frequently the only piece of a document that is read, and it often determines whether or not a reader will download and read the remainder of the article. Alternatively, in the event of a conference paper, the abstract will determine whether or not the article is accepted for presentation to colleagues. The abstract is an excellent predictor of the quality of the paper or talk, according to conference organizers, journal editors, and reviewers. A sloppy abstract suggests that the author is inexperienced or unconcerned about quality.

It's not difficult to write a good abstract if you know what material to include and how to structure it. You might be unsure about what goes into an abstract if you've never written one before. An abstract should essentially reflect all of the elements in your paper, but in a condensed form. In other words, someone reading merely your abstract should be able to grasp why you did the study, how you did it, what you discovered, and why your work is essential. When writing your abstract, avoid the novice's cut-and-paste method and instead develop a distinct, isolated description. Although it is permissible to include data, only report the numbers that indicate the most significant information. Although some authors include citations or URLs in their abstracts, many publications discourage or outright forbid them. Keep in mind that most journals and conferences have a word restriction for abstracts.

Let's think about how to organize your abstract now. Some publications or conferences provide a template with four or five sections, such as the background or goal, the question, the methods, the results, and the conclusions. If that's the case, then follow the instructions. If not, the four-part structure outlined below will serve as a good starting point. Your abstract will be well-organized and contain all of the necessary elements if you follow this formula. You must answer the following questions in each of the four sections:

1. What was the problem you researched, and why is it important? 

You should describe the study's background, motivation, and/or the precise topic or hypothesis you addressed in this section. You might be able to set the scene in just one or two sentences, but sometimes a longer description is required. You'll have to decide how much to say in this first section using your best judgment.

2. What approaches did you employ to investigate the issue?

 The next step is to provide an overview of your methods. Was it a field experiment or a lab experiment? What kinds of treatments were used in the experiments? Unless the techniques section is the emphasis of the work, you should keep it short.

3. What were your most important findings? 

Focus on the key finding(s) and provide no more than two or three points when describing your findings. Also, avoid using confusing or imprecise language, which is a common mistake in conference abstracts produced before all of the data has been collected and analyzed. You are not ready to present your paper if your data is incomplete or still being analyzed.

4. What conclusions did you reach based on these observations, and what are the ramifications? 

The conclusions section is where you should emphasize the study's broader implications. What about the findings is novel or innovative? What impact will your results have on the field of study? Do you have any applications? However, don't make broad generalizations that aren't supported by facts, or suggest that insights "will be presented" in this section.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO), which entails include search terms that people are likely to use while looking for articles on your topic, is another crucial consideration when writing an abstract. You should repeat such terms throughout the abstract, in addition to providing them in the title and keyword area of your work. Search engines utilize this type of repetition to rank an online document. You may improve the ranking of your work in a search and make it easier for peers to locate by optimizing your abstract for search engine discovery.

Finally, several journals are now promoting or demanding the use of "enhanced abstracts," such as graphical or video abstracts. Even though such abstracts have more visual elements, the same basic criteria that I discussed in this essay still apply. All good abstracts summarize the paper and include the four critical elements outlined above.

Writing good abstracts is an acquired skill, not an art. It takes time and effort to master such a skill. Here's a practice activity to help you hone this talent. Choose a scientific article relevant to your field. Read the paper without looking at the abstract. Then, depending on your reading, try to write an abstract. Compare and contrast your abstract with the author's. Rep till you're comfortable. This practice will help you polish the abilities needed to create a short and informative abstract if you haven't yet published a paper.