Abstract (summary)

1
Abstract (summary)
An abstract is a brief of a research article, thesis, review, conference proceeding or any in-depth analysis of a
particular subject or discipline, and is often used to help the reader quickly ascertain the paper's purpose.
[1]
When
used, an abstract always appears at the beginning of a manuscript or typescript, acting as the point-of-entry for any
given academic paper or patent application. Abstracting and indexing services for various academic disciplines are
aimed at compiling a body of literature for that particular subject.
The terms prcis or synopsis are used in some publications to refer to the same thing that other publications might
call an "abstract". In management reports, an executive summary usually contains more information (and often more
sensitive information) than the abstract does.
Purpose and limitations
Academic literature uses the abstract to succinctly communicate complex research. An abstract may act as a
stand-alone entity instead of a full paper. As such, an abstract is used by many organizations as the basis for
selecting research that is proposed for presentation in the form of a poster, platform/oral presentation or workshop
presentation at an academic conference. Most literature database search engines index only abstracts rather than
providing the entire text of the paper. Full texts of scientific papers must often be purchased because of copyright
and/or publisher fees and therefore the abstract is a significant selling point for the reprint or electronic form of the
full text.
[2]
Abstracts are protected under copyright law just as any other form of written speech is protected. However,
publishers of scientific articles invariably make abstracts publicly available, even when the article itself is protected
by a toll barrier. For example, articles in the biomedical literature are available publicly from MEDLINE which is
accessible through PubMed. It is a common misconception that the abstracts in MEDLINE provide sufficient
information for medical practitioners, students, scholars and patients
[citation needed]
. The abstract can convey the main
results and conclusions of a scientific article but the full text article must be consulted for details of the methodology,
the full experimental results, and a critical discussion of the interpretations and conclusions. Consulting the abstract
alone is inadequate for scholarship and may lead to inappropriate medical decisions.
[3]
An abstract allows one to sift through copious amounts of papers for ones in which the researcher can have more
confidence that they will be relevant to his or her research. Once papers are chosen based on the abstract, they must
be read carefully to be evaluated for relevance. It is commonly surmised that one must not base reference citations
on the abstract alone, but the entire merits of a paper.
Structure
An academic abstract typically outlines four elements relevant to the completed work:
The research focus (i.e. statement of the problem(s)/research issue(s) addressed);
The research methods used (experimental research, case studies, questionnaires, etc.);
The results/findings of the research; and
The main conclusions and recommendations
It may also contain brief references,
[4]
although some publications' standard style omits references from the abstract,
reserving them for the article body (which, by definition, treats the same topics but in more depth).
Abstract length varies by discipline and publisher requirements. Typical length ranges from 100 to 500 words, but
very rarely more than a page and occasionally just a few words.
[5]
An abstract may or may not have the section title
of "abstract" explicitly listed as an antecedent to content. Abstracts are typically sectioned logically as an overview
of what appears in the paper, with any of the following subheadings: Background, Introduction, Objectives,
Abstract (summary)
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Methods, Results, Conclusions
[citation needed]
. Abstracts in which these subheadings are explicitly given are often
called structured abstracts by publishers. In articles that follow the IMRAD pattern (especially original research,
but sometimes other article types), structured abstract style is the norm
[citation needed]
. (The "A" of abstract may be
added to "IMRAD" yielding "AIMRAD".) Abstracts that comprise one paragraph (no explicit subheadings) are often
called unstructured abstracts by publishers. They are often appropriate for review articles that don't follow the
IMRAD pattern within their bodies
[citation needed]
.
Example
Example taken from the Journal of Biology, Volume 3, Issue 2.:
[6]
The hydrodynamics of dolphin drafting
by Daniel Weihs, Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000,
Israel.
Abstract:
Background Drafting in cetaceans is defined as the transfer of forces between individuals without actual
physical contact between them. This behavior has long been surmised to explain how young dolphin calves
keep up with their rapidly moving mothers. It has recently been observed that a significant number of calves
become permanently separated from their mothers during chases by tuna vessels. A study of the
hydrodynamics of drafting, initiated inmechanisms causing the separation of mothers and calves during
fishing-related activities, is reported here.
Results Quantitative results are shown for the forces and moments around a pair of unequally sized
dolphin-like slender bodies. These include two major effects. First, the so-called Bernoulli suction, which
stems from the fact that the local pressure drops in areas of high speed, results in an attractive force between
mother and calf. Second is the displacement effect, in which the motion of the mother causes the water in front
to move forwards and radially outwards, and water behind the body to move forwards to replace the animal's
mass. Thus, the calf can gain a 'free ride' in the forward-moving areas. Utilizing these effects, the neonate can
gain up to 90% of the thrust needed to move alongside the mother at speeds of up to 2.4 m/s. A comparison
with observations of eastern spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) is presented, showing savings of up to
60% in the thrust that calves require if they are to keep up with their mothers.
Conclusions A theoretical analysis, backed by observations of free-swimming dolphin schools, indicates that
hydrodynamic interactions with mothers play an important role in enabling dolphin calves to keep up with
rapidly moving adult school members.
2004 Weihs; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article: verbatim copying and
redistribution of this article are permitted in all media for any purpose, provided this notice is preserved along
with the article's original URL
Abstract (summary)
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Abstract Types
Informative
The informative abstract also known as the complete abstract is a compendious summary of a paper's substance
including its background, purpose, methodology, results, and conclusion.
[7][]
Usually between 100 to 200 words, the
informative abstract summarizes the paper's structure, its major topics and key points.
[7]
Informative abstracts may
be viewed as standalone documents.
[7]
Descriptive
The descriptive abstract also known as the limited abstract or the indicative abstract provide a description of
what the paper covers without delving into its substance.
[8]
A descriptive abstract is akin to a table of contents in
paragraph form.
[8]
Graphical abstracts
During the late 2000s, due to the influence of computer storage and retrieval systems such as the Internet, some
scientific publications, such as Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, started including graphical abstracts
alongside the text abstracts. The graphic is intended to summarize or be an exemplar for the main thrust of the
article. It is not intended to be as exhaustive a summary as the text abstract, rather it is supposed to indicate the type,
scope, and technical coverage of the article at a glance.
Abstract quality assessment
Various methods can be used to evaluate abstract quality, e.g. rating by readers, checklists (not necessary in
structured abstracts), and readability measures (such as Flesch Reading Ease).
[9]
References
Books
Finkelstein Jr, Leo (2004). Pocket Book of Technical Writing for Engineers and Scientists. (2. ed.). London:
McGraw-Hill Education - Europe. ISBN0072468491.
Notes
[1] Gary Blake and Robert W. Bly, The Elements of Technical Writing, pg. 117. New York: Macmillan Publishers, 1993. ISBN 0020130856
[7] [7] Finkelstein Jr, pp.212-214.
[8] [8] Finkelstein Jr, pp.211-212.
[9] Ufnalska SB, Hartley J. 2009. How can we evaluate the quality of abstracts? (http:/ / www. ease. org. uk/ pdfesearticlesaug09/ essay 69-71.
pdf) European Science Editing 35(3):69-71.
Article Sources and Contributors
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Article Sources and Contributors
Abstract (summary) Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=555305357 Contributors: Acather96, Aitias, Alansohn, Alex43223, Ancheta Wis, Andyjsmith, ArmadilloFromHell,
Attaaack, Ayla, Banaticus, Bayerischermann, Bluephenom, Bobblewik, Brianjd, Bsadowski1, Campbead, CardinalDan, Cgingold, Charles Matthews, Chasingsol, Chwech, Courcelles, DARTH
SIDIOUS 2, Daniel Mietchen, Danny135, Dark Mage, Darth Panda, Derbeth, Dgw, Dmmaus, Doctor rfp, ESkog, Edcolins, Epbr123, Excirial, Exploding Boy, Fischer.sebastian, FisherQueen,
Flewis, Flowanda, FlyHigh, Fnielsen, Fraggle81, Funnyfarmofdoom, GcSwRhIc, Gilliam, Glenbeich, Gnusmas, GoShow, HJ Mitchell, HappyInGeneral, HarryAlffa, Hermione is a dude, Hu12, II
MusLiM HyBRiD II, Intangir, J.delanoy, JRR Trollkien, JV Smithy, Jake Wartenberg, Jamesooders, Jauhienij, Jeff G., Jeff3000, Jim1138, Josve05a, JustBeCool, Kirrages, Kuge, L Kensington,
La goutte de pluie, Laoris, LedgendGamer, MJ94, Magioladitis, Marechal Ney, Materialscientist, MathiasRav, Maxal, MezzoMezzo, Mike80, Mladifilozof, Mod mmg, NuclearWarfare, Nurg,
Paraphelion, PatheticCopyEditor, Pavel Vozenilek, Persian Poet Gal, Pharaoh of the Wizards, Piewalker, Quiddity, Ralphwiggam75, Razor2988, Rich257, Risk one, Rjwilmsi, Roposeidon, SLi,
Scarian, Sealis, Smallman12q, Some jerk on the Internet, Southpark, Spencer, Spudtater, Steve Quinn, Still, Sunshine304, Sylwia Ufnalska, The Illusive Man, The undertow, The wub,
Thumperward, Ufim, UrmasU, Versus22, Waldir, Wayne Slam, Wikielwikingo, Wissons, Wtmitchell, Yamaguchi , Zandperl, 324 anonymous edits
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