Writing an
Effective
Abstract
RC Arora
Research Summer School
July 10, 2015
Why it is important
• It is the first section that is read by journal editors
• Can make or break if your manuscript is sent for review.
• It is the first section that is examined by readers
• May be the section that is read
• It is the only accessible as access to full-text articles is often restricted
• Think about when you are screening for a systematic review…
• Use key words from the document
Seven Key Elements
• Clear Focus
• Does the abstract make clear what work needed to be done, what problem needed to be
solved?
• Method(s).
• What method(s) were applied to address the problem? Why these particular methods?
• Importance.
• Why should we care about this research?
• Context. How does this work fit in with other work in the field?
• Results.
• What, specifically, are the results? What evidence is given to convince us of those results?
• Unique Contribution.
• What does this work report that is new?
• Possible Applications.
• In what ways might this work be useful, either theoretically or practically?
“Hit ‘em Hard”
• Title should reflect main findings in the paper
• Don’t be “cute”
• 1-3 sentences must inform the reader about why you have
undertaken this research
• And why they should care
• Most journals impose a strict word count limit
• Identify the major objectives and conclusions
Clearly state your hypothesis
Keywords in the Methods Section
• Summarize the basic design of your study
• Briefly state the key techniques used
• Excessive detail is unnecessary
• For clinical studies
•
•
•
•
•
population studied
sample size
patient groups
dosages
study duration
Example
• “One hundred consecutive consenting male inpatients in a
state of moderately severe, uncomplicated alcohol
withdrawal at screening were randomized to receive either
lorazepam (8 mg/day) or chlordiazepoxide (80 mg/day) with
dosing down-titrated to zero in a fixed-dose schedule across
8 treatment days”.
• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19371497
The results subsection is likely the most important
part of your abstract
• Identify the major results
• Should be the longest part of your abstract
• Maximize the amount of detail you include here
Compare
• “significant differences in body weight were observed between the
animals in groups A and B”
• “the average body weight loss of the animals in group A was greater
than that of the animals in group B (20.4±0.3 g vs. 8.4±0.6 g; p<0.01)”
Assemble into a single paragraph
• Consider a table or figure if allowed
• Consider not ever using a table or figure
• Last 1-2 sentences of your abstract
• Theoretical or practical implications of your work
• Describes how your work has advanced the field
• Be concise and avoid overstatements
• Only as a last resort:
• “requires further study”
• Do not repeat or rephrase the title
• Omit excessive background information
• Literature review/citations
• Overly detailed description of “routine” methods
• unless this is the focus of your study
• Undefined abbreviations or acronyms
• Trade names
• Results or interpretations that are not discussed in the text
Final Checks
• Check that all of the information you have included here agrees with the
information in the main body of your paper
• Emphasize the different points in proportion to the emphasis they receive
in the body of the document
Example of a Reviewer Score Card
• Problem Statement:
• Was the problem stated clearly? Was the problem defined within manageable boundaries?
• Research Design:
• Was there a comparison group? Was the comparison group developed randomly or in some
other fashion? Were biases identified and dealt with? Was the reliability of measured
variables addressed? Were all the outcomes of interest addressed? Were methods of data
analysis appropriate?
• Quality of Abstract:
• Were the purpose, general design, results, and conclusions accurately and concisely
presented?
• Originality:
• Did the study employ unique techniques or methods? Did it use accepted methodologies and
techniques in a new way? Was the research hypothesis novel or unique?
Example of a Rating Scale
• Exceptional: Excellent in every way. Equal in quality to the best nationally
presented and/or published papers.
• Solid: Above average. Adequate for presentation at state/regional
meetings; could use additional work to qualify for national presentation.
• Good: Satisfactory or average presentation. Additional work would be
needed to be presented at regional (smaller) meetings.
• Marginal: Meets minimum expectations, but would need considerable
additional work to correct deficiencies.
• Poor: Did not meet minimum expectations. Not of publishable or
presentable quality
Tips and Tricks
• Most important sentences in each section (introduction, methods,
results, and discussion/conclusions)
• Remove extra words and phrases
• Check your target journal’s style guide to examine their abstract
guidelines
• Give the abstract to a colleague
Summary
• A tool to communicate your research succinctly while highlighting its
most important facet
• Revise so that the abstract conveys only the essential information
• Writing an effective abstract will improve the chances of
• Your manuscript being accepted
• People to reading it
• Increase its impact