Q: How to write an abstract?
Asked on Jan 11, 2019
1 Answer to this question
An abstract is one of the most important parts of a research paper. Most readers would read this section and form an impression about your entire paper and would accordingly decide whether the paper is worth reading. The journal editor is also likely to focus on the abstract when they read your paper briefly before deciding whether or not to send it out for peer review. Therefore, writing an effective abstract is of utmost importance.
An abstract can be structured or unstructured based on your the conventions in your field and your target journal's preferences. However, irrespective of the format, here are a few points that you must include in your abstract:
- Statement of purpose: Why did you choose to conduct this study? Why is the problem significant? What gap exists in previous literature that your research aims to fill?
- Methods or approach: What did you actually do to get your results? How did you do it? (For instance, mention whether you have conducted interviews, analyzed novels or paintings, etc.)
- Results: What did you learn or find as a result of conducting these procedures?
- Conclusions: How are your findings significant? What are the larger implications of your findings, and how do they relate to the gap in research that you have identified?
Here are some great resources that will provide you more detailed guidance:
