Abstract for Scientific Article

Apt. Riswandy Wasir, S.Farm., MPH., PhD

OUTLINE
• The Use of Academic Abstract
• Issue on academic abstract
INTRODUCTION
• Abstracts of scientific papers are sometimes poorly written, often lack
important information, and occasionally convey a biased picture.
• Our discussion today provides detailed suggestions, with examples,
for writing the background, methods, results, and conclusions
sections of a good abstract.
• Our discussion today examines how authors may write a good
abstract when preparing their manuscript for a scientific journal or
conference presentation.
What is a Scientific Abstract?
• The abstract of a paper is the only part of the paper that is published
in conference proceedings.
• The abstract is the only part of the paper that a potential referee sees
when he is invited by an editor to review a manuscript.
• The abstract is the only part of the paper that readers see when they
search through electronic databases such as PubMed
• Most readers will acknowledge, with a chuckle, that when they leaf
through the hard copy of a journal, they look at only the titles of the
contained papers.
Why write a good abstract
• If a title interests the reader, they glance through the abstract of that
paper.
• Only a dedicated reader will peruse the contents of the paper, and
then, most often only the introduction and discussion sections.
• Only a reader with a very specific interest in the subject of the paper,
and a need to understand it thoroughly, will read the entire paper.
Why write a good abstract
• Thus, for the vast majority of readers, the paper does not exist
beyond its abstract.
• For the referees, and the few readers who wish to read beyond the
abstract, the abstract sets the tone for the rest of the paper.
• It is therefore the duty of the author to ensure that the abstract is
properly representative of the entire paper.
General qualities of a good abstract
• The abstract is a condensed and concentrated version of the full
text of the research manuscript.
• It should be sufficiently representative of the paper if read a
standalone document
• The abstract must be as detailed as possible within the word
count limits specified by the journal to which the paper is
intended to be submitted. This will require good precis writing
skills, as well as a fine judgement about what information is
necessary and what is not.
General qualities of a good abstract
• The abstract must contain as much information as possible on
the analyses related to the primary and secondary outcome
measures.
• The abstract should not present a biased picture, such as only
favorable outcomes with the study drug, or findings that support
the authors’ hypotheses;
• Important nonsignificant and adverse finding should also receive
mention.
• Thus, to the extent possible, the reader should be able to
independently evaluate the authors’ conclusion
Section of an abstract
• Although some journals still publish abstracts that are written as
free-flowing paragraphs, most journals require abstracts to conform
to a formal structure within a word count of, usually, 200–250 words.
• The usual sections defined in a structured abstract are the
Background, Methods, Results, and Conclusions;
• Other headings with similar meanings may be used (eg, Introduction
in place of Background or Findings in place of Results).
• Some journals include additional sections, such as Objectives
(between Background and Methods) and Limitations (at the end of
the abstract).
Background of an abstract
This section should be the shortest part of the abstract and should
very briefly outline the following information:
• What is already known about the subject, related to the
paper in question
• What is not known about the subject and hence what the
study intended to examine (or what the paper seeks to
present)
Background of an abstract
• In most cases, the background can be framed in just 2–3
sentences, with each sentence describing a different aspect of
the information referred to above; sometimes, even a single
sentence may suffice.
• The purpose of the background, as the word itself indicates, is
to provide the reader with a background to the study, and
hence to smoothly lead into a description of the methods
employed in the investigation.
Background of an abstract Issue
• Some authors publish papers the abstracts of which contain a
lengthy background section. There are some situations,
perhaps, where this may be justified.
• In most cases, however, a longer background section means
that less space remains for the presentation of the results.
This is unfortunate because the reader is interested in the
paper because of its findings, and not because of its
background.
Methods of an abstract
The methods section is usually the second-longest section in the
abstract. It should contain enough information to enable the reader to
understand what was done, and how.
Methods of an abstract
Question regarding which information should ideally be available in the
methods section of an abstract
• What was the research design
• What was the clinical diagnosis of the patients recruited
• What was the setting of the study
• How were the patients sampled
• What was the sample size in the whole sample and/or in the different
groups
• What treatments did patients in different groups receive, and what doses
• On what research instrument were patients rated
• What was the primary outcomes measure and how was it defined
Methods of an abstract Issue
Carelessly written methods sections lack information about important
issues such as sample size, numbers of patients in different groups,
doses of medications, and duration of the study. Readers have only to
flip through the pages of a randomly selected journal to realize how
common such carelessness is.
Results of an abstract
• The results section is the most important part of the abstract and
nothing should compromise its range and quality.
• This is because readers who peruse an abstract do so to learn about
the findings of the study.
• The results section should therefore be the longest part of the
abstract and should contain as much detail about the findings as the
journal word count permits.
• For example, it is bad writing to state “Response rates differed
significantly between diabetic and nondiabetic patients.” A better
sentence is “The response rate was higher in nondiabetic than in
diabetic patients (49% vs 30%, respectively; P<0.01).”
Results of an abstract Issue
Example:
• It is bad writing to state “Response rates differed significantly
between diabetic and nondiabetic patients.”
• A better sentence is “The response rate was higher in nondiabetic
than in diabetic patients (49% vs 30%, respectively; P<0.01).”
Conclusion of an abstract
• This section should contain the most important take-home
message of the study, expressed in a few precisely worded
sentences.
• Usually, the finding highlighted here relates to the primary
outcome measure;
• however, other important or unexpected findings should also be
mentioned.
• It is also customary, but not essential, for the authors to express an
opinion about the theoretical or practical implications of the
findings, or the importance of their findings for the field.
Conclusion of an abstract
• Despite its necessary brevity, this section has the most impact on
the average reader because readers generally trust authors and take
their assertions at face value.
• For this reason, the conclusions should also be scrupulously honest;
and authors should not claim more than their data demonstrate.
Elements of Abstract Conclusion
• The primary take-home message
• The additional findings of importance
• The perspective
As a parting note:
• Most journals provide clear instructions to authors on the
formatting and contents of different parts of the manuscript.
• These instructions often include details on what the sections of an
abstract should contain.
• Authors should tailor their abstracts to the specific requirements of
the journal to which they plan to submit their manuscript.
• It could also be an excellent idea to model the abstract of the paper,
sentence for sentence, on the abstract of an important paper on a
similar subject and with similar methodology, published in the same
journal for which the manuscript is slated.
REFERENCE
• Andrade, C. (2011). How to write a good abstract for a scientific
paper or conference presentation. Indian journal of
psychiatry, 53(2), 172.
• Andrade C, Mendhekar DN. Lithium, trifluperazine, and idiopathic
leucopenia: Author and reviewer perspectives on how to write a
good case report. Indian J Psychiatry. 2010;52:187–90.
• Andrade C. Placeboxetine for major depressive disorder:
Researcher, author, reader, and reviewer perspectives on
randomized controlled trials. Indian J Psychiatry.
THANK YOU