An abstract is a short paragraph that summarizes a document. The length of an abstract should be between 100 and 200 words, with a list of keywords at the conclusion to assist readers in identifying the paper’s vital themes. While the standards for abstracts vary by academic area, there are two sorts of abstracts: humanities and sciences. This handout discusses the features of a good abstract as well as how to create an abstract for the humanities and sciences.
The Characteristics of a Good Abstract
While the substance of an abstract may differ depending on the field in which it is written, abstracts have certain fundamental characteristics and should:
- It is between 100 and 200 words long.
- Describes the paper’s substance or procedure; it is not an introduction.
- Avoid introducing additional material that is not present in the article.
- It sticks to the paper’s structure.
- It should be written after the document is completed.
- While not all academics incorporate keywords in their abstracts, keywords assist readers in identifying the major themes of the work so that they may access further articles and papers related to their research.
A good abstract requires four essential elements
So, how could a research paper abstract be written in such a way that readers get the most out of it?
The vital components of a research study should be presented in a decent abstract. An informative abstract should, in general, summarize the vital components of the research article, including the introduction, materials, and techniques employed, findings, discussion, conclusions, and suggestions. As a result, it must include the following fundamental elements:
- The research paper’s objective, goal, or purpose
This section of the abstract discusses the study’s reasoning. It clearly describes the study’s objective, aim, or purpose. It expresses the problem statement, primary argument, or thesis statement. The study’s importance in society is emphasized. What motivated the researchers to conduct the study? What is at stake?
- Methods or research methods that define the processes that will be used in the study’s execution
The technique or methodology section provides a succinct description of the approach or methodology used in data collection, processing, and analysis. It provides a summary of how the researcher or group of researchers carried out the inquiry. It covers the number of samples, tools, and statistical tests utilized to examine data in quantitative studies. This section also hints at the breadth of the research.
This section of the abstract describes the point of view of the researcher or researchers. It outlines the many sorts of evidence that are employed.
The methodology section also includes essential concepts and keywords that distinguish it and make it searchable. It also identifies the investigation’s emphasis, such as a group of individuals, a certain gender, ethnicity, community, environment, and so on.
- Results or significant findings
The study’s outcomes or significant findings are summarized in this section of the abstract. It just provides the study’s significant outcomes, most noteworthy findings, or highlights in a line or two.
You may use the probability values in this section to demonstrate the importance of calculated correlations or differences. It stresses the results’ practical significance, and how they will contribute to or improve the corpus of knowledge on the subject.
- The overall conclusion
The main result of the study is stated in this section of the research abstract. What conclusions did the researchers reach after receiving the findings?
When drafting the abstract, pay close attention to the conclusion in particular. The end should be fully supported by the investigation’s results rather than a broad statement with no strong argument or evidence to back it up.
Other things to think about when writing the study abstract: Do you need to add suggestions in the research abstract?
Some academic institutions and scientific periodicals do not include suggestions in their abstracts in practice. While reading through numerous published scientific articles, I noticed that some abstracts only include the main discoveries. While having the information given below is a recommended practice, there are certain exceptions.
Reading study summaries that give you very little about the paper’s main findings, especially those that are behind a paywall, frustrates me as an academic. I believe that abstractions serve more as a marketing tool than as a means of disseminating critical information.
The abstract’s tense
When writing an abstract, what tense should you use?
Because the study has already occurred, the abstract is frequently written in the past tense. However, facts must be stated in the present tense in sections such as the results, discussion, and conclusion.
However, in recent years, many authors have preferred to write in the present tense. In composing the paper, they take the first-person viewpoint. In the abstract, you’ll notice the following phrases:
- We examine five years’ worth of sample visitor data and find
- Non-linear, Poisson and negative binomial count data are compared.
- In this study, I question these interpretations…
Finally, the style of abstract writing is determined by the journal of publication. However, putting all of the parts together might be more valuable to the reader if you want them to understand what you’re trying to say.
Last thoughts
Have your style by departing somewhat from the norm. The goal is that the abstract should be fascinating enough for readers to want to read your inquiry, benefit from it, or avoid it since it isn’t immediately relevant to their interests.
Because you want people to find your work, choose keywords or phrases that express the core of your investigation. Popular search engines like Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Safari require certain keywords to properly serve individuals who are looking for information on the topic on which you have spent your time, money, and effort. You can check out High Quality Assignment Help for the correct way of writing the perfect abstract.
