Advice for SUNRISE Abstracts

Assignment: Draft abstracts due week of July 24 Final abstracts due week of July 31

A Definition from SCCUR

Abstracts must include sufficient information about the nature and significance of the topic the ade!uacy of the in"estigati"e strategy the nature of the results and the conclusions# $he abstract should summari%e the substanti"e results of the work and not merely list topics to be discussed#

Abstract Content An abstract is an outline&brief summary of your paper and your whole pro'ect# (t should ha"e an intro body and conclusion# (t highlights ma'or points of the content and answers why this work is important what was your purpose how you went about your pro'ect what you learned and what you concluded# (t is a well)de"eloped paragraph and should be e*act in wording# (t must be understandable to a wide audience# Do not include any charts tables figures or spreadsheets in the abstract body#

Abstract Heading Layout 1# $itle of paper 2# First name middle initial and last name of author# 3. +ame,s- of faculty mentor,s-

Abstract Body Format Abstracts should follow these guidelines: (n .icrosoft /ord format (n $imes +ew 0oman font si%e 12 +o more than 212 words in length 3ingle)spaced and a single paragraph

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Information from the web, some where.

What information should an abstract contain

An abstract should:

3tate the ob'ecti"es and scope of the in"estigation or acti"ity# Describe the methods used approaches taken etc range of operation# 3ummarise the results or findings# 3tate the principal conclusions#

$he title of the paper is usually read as part of the abstract and should not be repeated in the abstract#

Relationshi! between an abstract submission and !re!aration of a s"m!osium !a!er

(f you consider what an abstract should contain you will note that the content mirrors closely the elements that comprise the traditional research paper namely:

(ntroduction ) catching the reader4s interest: emphasis short clarity background ob'ecti"es of present work# $he introduction links to the conclusion# .aterials and methods ) not 'ust for scientific in"estigations but what inputs were re!uired ,staff resources- what approaches did you take5 0esults or findings ) present rele"ant obser"ations and data gathered in the course of the work or acti"ity6 describe the results in a logical and chronological order# Discussion ) discuss the results assess meaning implications highlight significance# 7e certain to get the message o"er but do not restate the results# 8onclusions ) summarise what has been done so the reader is left in no doubt as to what you did#

Structure and st"le Structure # the !h"sicalit" of an abstract

/hat do we look for in an abstract5 9ow does it look5

8hoose a specific and detailed title ) this 4sets the scene4 An abstract should be short not more than fi"e per cent of the length of the final paper or 212 words whiche"er is the smaller# :sually a single well)de"eloped paragraph comprising probably three to four sentences at most# 8onsider the use of keywords embedded within the abstract to assist in electronic information retrie"al i#e# help it be googled5 Do not include references figures tables or citations#

St"le # writin$ an abstract

4+othing is more ab'ectly feeble than to write some such sentence as 4$he rele"ance of these findings to the etiology of 7right4s disease is discussed4# (f it has been discussed the discussion should be summarised# (f not say nothing4 ,.edawar 1;<;-# =ood writing style in"ol"es:

/riting concisely in normal rather than abbre"iated >nglish# A"oiding unnecessary contractions# .aking specific rather than general statements#

Some st"le e%am!les Avoid waffle

/hilst waffles are "ery nice to eat writers should a"oid waffle like the plague# 3ome e*amples of waffle:

,cf .edawar-: 4includes a discussion on ###4 4we had a great time ###4 4( will energise the audience in my presentation4

&oor writin$ st"le' $ood writin$ st"le

3ome e*amples of poor and good writing styles illustrate the difference:

?oor: two le"els of ?6 =ood: 42 and @2 kg ? ?oor: nitrogen fertili%er increased the +)content of the grain6 =ood: nitrogen fertili%er increased the +)content from 1#3 to 1#1 per cent

Sam!le abstract
$he 7lack)8apped 8hickadee ,?oecile atricapillus- is a species of +orth American songbird inhabiting the :nited 3tates and 8anada# :nlike many other songbirds whose songs "ary geographically pre"ious studies done on chickadee populations from .assachusetts ?ennsyl"ania +ew Aork Bntario .issouri /isconsin Alberta :tah 7ritish 8olumbia /ashington and 8alifornia ha"e shown that males sing a typical two tone song Cfee)bee)ee C with little "ariation between populations# 0esearchers ha"e also shown that an isolated population from .artha4s Dineyard an island offshore of .assachusetts demonstrates singing patterns different from the usual two note songs# ( am studying a second isolated population of chickadees in Alaska which has not been systematically in"estigated pre"iously# $here is one anecdotal report that suggested the males from the Alaskan population ha"e unusual singing patterns# For e*ample the males sing songs with multiple notes accompanied with fre!uency shifts# $he goal of my research###

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Abstract advice for Sacramento UC Da" !ro(ects

HOW TO WRITE AN ABSTRACT:

Links and Tips

An abstract is a short summary of your completed research. If done well, it makes the reader want to learn more about your research. These are the basic components of an abstract in any discipline: 1) Motivation/prob !" stat!"!nt: Why do we care about the problem? What practical, scientific, theoretical or artistic gap is your research filling? #) M!t$ods/pro%!d&r!/approa%$: What did you actually do to get your results? e.g. analy!ed 3 no"els, completed a series of # oil paintings, inter"iewed $% students& ') R!s& ts/(indin)s/prod&%t: As a result of completing the abo"e procedure, what did you learn'in"ent'create? *) Con% &sion/i"p i%ations: What are the larger implications of your findings, especially for the problem'gap identified in step $? (owe"er, it)s important to note that the weight accorded to the different components can "ary by discipline. *or models, try to find abstracts of research that is similar to your research.

B! o+ ar! inks and a sa"p ! abstra%t t$at ,o& "a, (ind $! p(& This link has a "ery thorough description of each of the components named abo"e. It is aimed especially at !n)in!!rs but is rele"ant for all disciplines. http:''www.ece.cmu.edu'+koopman'essays'abstract.html

This link is especially rele"ant for nat&ra s%i!ntists: http:''darwin.bio.uci.edu'+sustain'Abstract.html SAM.LE ABSTRACT: ,-uantifying the .echanics of a /aryngoscopy, /aryngoscopy is a medical procedure that pro"ides a secure airway by passing a breathing tube through the mouth and into the lungs of a patient. The ability to successfully perform laryngoscopy is highly dependent on operator skill0 e1perienced physicians ha"e failure rates of 2.$3 or less, while less e1perienced paramedics may ha"e failure rates of $24333, which can lead to death or brain in5ury. Accordingly, there is a need for impro"ed training methods, and "irtual reality technology holds promise for this application. The immediate ob5ecti"e of this research pro5ect is to measure the mechanics of laryngoscopy, so that an ad"anced training manne6uin can be de"eloped. This summer an instrumented laryngoscope has been de"eloped which uses a 74a1is force'tor6ue sensor and a magnetic position'orientation sensor to 6uantify the interactions between the laryngoscope and the patient. 81perienced physicians as well as residents in training ha"e used this de"ice on an e1isting manne6uin, and the force and motion tra5ectories ha"e been "isuali!ed in 39. :ne ob5ecti"e is to use comparisons between e1pert and no"ice users to identify the critical skill components necessary for patients, to identify the mechanical properties of the human anatomy that effect laryngoscopy, and thus enable the de"elopment of a realistic training simulator. In the future an ad"anced training manne6uin will be de"eloped whose physical properties will be based on our sensor measurements, and where "irtual reality tools will be used to pro"ide training feedback for no"ice users.