1

Writing Report Abstracts

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/656/1/

Types of abstracts

There are two types of abstracts: informational and descriptive.

Informational abstracts

 Communicate contents of reports

 Include purpose, methods, scope, results, conclusions, and recommendations
 Highlight essential points
 Are short—from a paragraph to a page or two, depending upon the length of the report (10% or less of
the report)
 Allow readers to decide whether they want to read the report

Descriptive abstracts

 Tell what the report contains

 Include purpose, methods, scope, but NOT results, conclusions, and recommendations
 Are always very short— usually under 100 words
 Introduce subject to readers, who must then read the report to learn study results

Qualities of a good abstract

An effective abstract

 Uses one or more well-developed paragraphs, which are unified, coherent, concise, and able to stand
alone
 Uses an introduction-body-conclusion structure in which the parts of the report are discussed in order:
purpose, findings, conclusions, recommendations
 Follows strictly the chronology of the report
 Provides logical connections between material included
 Adds no new information but simply summarizes the report
 Is intelligible to a wide audience

Steps for writing effective report abstracts

To write an effective report abstract, follow these four steps.

1. Reread your report with the purpose of abstracting in mind. Look specifically for these main parts:
purpose, methods, scope, results, conclusions, and recommendations.
2. After you have finished rereading your report, write a rough draft without looking back at your report.
Consider the main parts of the abstract listed in step #1. Do not merely copy key sentences from your
report. You will put in too much or too little information. Do not summarize information in a new way.
3. Revise your rough draft to
 Correct weaknesses in organization and coherence,
 Drop superfluous information,
 Add important information originally left out,
 Eliminate wordiness, and
 Correct errors in grammar and mechanics.
4. Carefully proofread your final copy.
 2

Writing a Research Abstract

https://www.google.com.co/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-
8#q=Writing+a+Research+Abstract.

The scientific abstract is usually divided into five unique sections: Title and Author Information, Objective,
Methods, Results, and Conclusions. The following paragraphs summarize what is expected in each of these
sections.

1. Title and Author Information:

The title should summarize the abstract and convince the reviewers that the topic is important, relevant,
and innovative. Some organizations require a special format for the title, such as all uppercase letters,
all bolded, or in italics. Be sure to check the instructions.

Following the title, the names of all authors and their institutional affiliations are listed. It is assumed the
first author listed will make the oral presentation. This information is always included with the abstract
instructions.

2. Introduction:
This usually consists of several sentences outlining the question addressed by the research. Make the
first sentence as interesting and dramatic as possible. If space permits, provide a concise review of
what is known about the problem addressed by the research, what remains unknown, and how your
research project fills the knowledge gaps. The final sentence describes the purpose of the study or the
study's a priori hypothesis.

3. Methods:
The following areas are specifically mentioned and they must be written in a concise yet detailed
manner:
a. Research design
b. Research setting
c. Number of patients enrolled in the study and how they were selected
d. A description of the intervention (if appropriate)
e. A listing of the outcome variables and how they were measured.
f. Finally, the statistical methods used to analyze the data are described.

4. Results:
This section begins with a description of the subjects that were included and excluded from the study.
For those excluded, provide the reason for their exclusion. Next, list the frequencies of the most
important outcome variables. If possible, present comparisons of the outcome variables between
various subgroups within the study (treated vs. untreated, young vs. old, male vs. female, and so forth).
If table are allowed, this type of data can be efficiently presented in a table. Numerical results should
include standard deviations or 95% confidence limits and the level of statistical significance. If the
results are not statistically significant, present the power of your study (beta-error rate) to detect a
difference.

5. Conclusion:
State concisely what can be concluded and its implications. The conclusions must be supported by the
data presented in the abstract; never present unsubstantiated personal opinion. If there is room,
address the generalizability of the results to populations other than that studied and the weaknesses of
the study.
 3
Avoid the use of medical jargon and excessive reliance on abbreviations. Limit abbreviations to no more than
three and favor commonly used abbreviations. Always spell out the abbreviations the first time they are
mentioned unless they are commonly recognized.1

HOW TO WRITE A RESEARCH ABSTRACT

Research abstracts are used throughout the research community to provide a concise description
about a research project. It is typically a short summary of your completed research. If done well,
it makes the reader want to learn more about your research. Some students present their research findings at local and
national conferences. Research abstracts are usually requested as part of the application process for conference
presenters.

These are the basic components of an abstract in any discipline:

1) Motivation/problem statement: Why do we care about the problem? What practical, scientific, theoretical
or artistic gap is your research filling?
2) Methods/procedure/approach: What did you actually do to get your results? (e.g. analyzed 3 novels,
completed a series of 5 oil paintings, interviewed 17 students)
3) Results/findings/product: As a result of completing the above procedure, what did you learn/invent/create?
4) Conclusion/implications: What are the larger implications of your findings, especially for the problem/gap
identified in step 1?
However, it's important to note that the weight accorded to the different components can vary by discipline. For
models, try to find abstracts of research that is similar to your research.

Qualities of a Good Abstract

 Well developed paragraphs are unified, coherent, concise, and able to stand alone.
 Uses an introduction/body/conclusion structure which presents the article, paper, or report's purpose, results,
conclusions, and recommendations in that order.
 Follows strictly the chronology of the article, paper, or report.
 Provides logical connections (or transitions) between the information included.
 Adds no new information, but simply summarizes the report.
 Is understandable to a wide audience.
 Of ten times uses passive verbs to downplay the author and emphasize the information.

Steps to Writing Effective Abstracts

 Reread the article, paper, or report with the goal of abstracting in mind.
 Look specifically for these main parts of the article, paper, or report: purpose, methods, scope, results,
conclusions, and recommendation. If you're writing an abstract about another person's article, paper, or report,
the introduction and the summary are good places to begin. These areas generally cover what the article
emphasizes.
 After you've finished rereading the article, paper, or report, write a rough draft without looking back at what
you're abstracting. Don't merely copy key sentences from the article, paper, or report: you'll put in too much or
too little information. Don't rely on the way material was phrased in the article, paper, or report: summarize
information in a new way.

Don’ts
 Do not commence with "this paper…”, "this report…" or similar. It is better to write about the research than
about the paper.
 Do not explain the sections or parts of the paper.
 Avoid sentences that end in "…is described", "…is reported", "…is analyzed" or similar.

1
American College of Physicians: Writing a Research Abstract. March 1, 2011,
<http://www.acponline.org/residents_fellows/competitions/abstract/prepare/res_abs.htm>
 4
 Do not begin sentences with "it is suggested that…” "it is believed that…", "it is felt that…"or similar. In every
case, the four words can be omitted without damaging the essential message.
 Do not repeat or rephrase the title.
 Do not refer in the abstract to information that is not in the document.
 If possible, avoid trade names, acronyms, abbreviations, or symbols. You would need to explain them, and that
takes too much room.
 The abstract should be about the research, not about the act of writing.
 5
Example Abstract
Seborrheic Dermatitis in Patients with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome.

Barbara M. Mathes, MD (Associate); Margaret Douglass, MD.

Department of Dermatology, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Michigan

Introduction: Several skin conditions are known to be associated with the acquired immune deficiency
syndrome (AIDS). Our clinical observations suggested the hypothesis that seborrheic dermatitis is an under-
recognized but common skin manifestation of AIDS that has important, short-term prognostic significance.

Methods: All patients with AIDS seen at the Henry Ford Hospital, an urban hospital, during a one-year period
were enrolled in a cohort study. Each patient underwent a comprehensive skin examination. All skin conditions
were noted, and the severity of seborrheic dermatitis was graded. A group of sex and aged matched patients
seen during the same time period served as a control group. In the second part of the study, AIDS or HIV
patients with the most severe grades of seborrheic dermatitis were compared to patients with mild or no
seborrheic dermatitis for short term mortality. Comparisons were analyzed with chi square and relative risk
calculations.

Results: Eighteen patients with AIDS and 12 patients with HIV infection were enrolled (29 males, 1 female).
Thirty age and sex matched controls were randomly selected from the patient roster. The most common risk
factors for the cases were homosexuality and IV drug abuse. Eighty percent (15/18) of AIDS- and 42% (5/12)
of HIV-infected patients had seborrheic dermatitis compared 10% (3/10) of controls (P <0.001 AIDS vs.
controls, P =0.07 for HIV patients vs. controls, and P = 0.01 for AIDS- vs. HIV-infected). The severity of
seborrheic dermatitis seemed to be associated with short-term prognosis. Of the 6 patients who died during the
study, 3 developed severe seborrheic dermatitis within six months and 2 developed moderate seborrheic
dermatitis within a year of their deaths (relative risk = 2.5, 95% CI = 1.9–3.3). Of the 5 HIV infected patients
with seborrheic dermatitis, 2 with moderate grade progressed to AIDS and one subsequently died during the
study period.

Conclusion: There is a significant increase in seborrheic dermatitis in patients with AIDS, and the severity of
seborrheic dermatitis may have short-term prognostic significance.2

HOW TO WRITE AN ABSTRACT: Tips and Samples

Leah Carroll, Ph.D., Director, Office of Undergraduate Research
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/problem statement:Why do we care about the problem? What
practical, scientific, theoretical or artistic gap is your research filling?
2) Methods/procedure/approach:What did you actually do to get your
results? (e.g. analyzed 3 novels, completed a series of 5 oil paintings,
interviewed 17 students)
3) Results/findings/product: As a result of completing the above procedure,
what did you learn/invent/create?
4) Conclusion/implications: What are the larger implications of your findings,

2
American College of Physicians: Example Abstract. March 1, 2011,
<http://www.acponline.org/residents_fellows/competitions/abstract/prepare/sciab_ex.pdf>
 6
especially for the problem/gap identified in step 1?
However, it's important to note that the weight accorded to the different
components can vary by discipline. For models, try to find abstracts of research
that is similar to your research.
SAMPLE ABSTRACTS:
History/social science:
"Their War": The Perspective of the South Vietnamese Military in Their Own
Words
Author: Julie Pham (UCB participant in UC Day 2001)
Despite the vast research by Americans on the Vietnam War, little is known
about the perspective of South Vietnamese military, officially called the
Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces (RVNAF). The overall image that emerges
from the literature is negative: lazy, corrupt, unpatriotic, apathetic soldiers with
poor fighting spirits. This study recovers some of the South Vietnamese
military perspective for an American audience through qualititative interviews
with 40 RVNAF veterans now living in San José, Sacramento, and Seattle,
home to three of the top five largest Vietnamese American communities in the
nation. An analysis of these interviews yields the veterans' own explanations
that complicate and sometimes even challenge three widely held assumptions
about the South Vietnamese military: 1) the RVNAF was rife with corruption at
the top ranks, hurting the morale of the lower ranks; 2) racial relations between
the South Vietnamese military and the Americans were tense and hostile; and
3) the RVNAF was apathetic in defending South Vietnam from communism.
The stories add nuance to our understanding of who the South Vietnamese were
in the Vietnam War. This study is part of a growing body of research on nonAmerican
perspectives of the war. In using a largely untapped source of
Vietnamese history &endash; oral histories with Vietnamese immigrants
&endash; this project will contribute to future research on similar topics.
Humanities:
Violence, Subalternity, and El Corrido Along the US/Mexican Border
Author: Roberto Hernandez (UCB participant in UC Day 2001)
The Geopolitical divide that separates the United States and Mexico has long
plagued the region with violence and conflict. However, its extent and political
nature is often overshadowed and undermined by mainstream information
outlets. The boundary inspires polarized reactions: tough on crime/immigration
rhetoric from politicians and enforcement officials &endash; exemplified in
current border militarization &endash; and appeasement through feel-good
news reporting. Such contradictions desensitize and deny the essence and root
cause of the conflict &endash; an ongoing sociopolitical, cultural, and
economic struggle between the two nations. While information transmission in
the north has a U.S. focus, south of the divide knowledge distribution is very
Mexico-centered. However, the border region acts as a third space t hat gives
birth to a distinct border gnosis, a unique form of knowledge construction
among subaltern communities on both its sides. One form of subalternity,
corridos, (border folk ballads), has functioned to create an alternative discourse
to the borderlands imaginary. This study is an examination of the analysis and
critique found in corridos that seek a critical approach to the violence at the
nations' shared edges and its ensuing political implications. To illustrate their
subaltern function, I will examine two incidents: the 1984 McDonalds shooting
in San Ysidro, California, and the 1997 death of Ezequiel Hernández in
Redford, Texas. these cases are indicative of the politically charged
 7
environment of a border region that in becoming an increasingly militarized
zone has also set the stage for a cultural battle amongst different forms of
knowledge construction and legitimation.
Biological Sciences:
"The Listeria monocytogenes p60 Protein is not Essential for Viability in vitro,
but Promotes Virulence in vivo"
Author: Sina Mohammedi, 2002 UC Day nominee and runner-up
Intracellular pathogens (agents which infect host cells), such as Mycobacterium
tuberculosis and Listeria monocytogenes, cause very high mortality rates in the
United States. Therefore, deciphering the mechanisms through which the
pathogens cause disease is of great interest. Listeria infection of mice is a welldeveloped
model system for studying the fundamentals of host-pathogen
interactions. In vitro assays in animal cell cultures have helped show that
Listeria causes illness by secreting molecules, called virulence factors, to the
outside of the bacterial cell in order to affect the host organism. My work
involves one such secreted protein, called p60. P60 is an antigen (an agent seen
by the host immune system) implicated in regulated bacterial cell wall
breakdown. The objective of this study was to examine two questions: first, is
p60 essential to the viability of Listeria, as previously published? and second, is
p60 a virulence factor in Listeria? To examine these questions, I contructed a
Listeria strain lacking p60 (p60-). This new strain displayed no defect in
viability. In fact, most standard in vitro pathogenicity assays were normal for
p60-. However, when p60- was tested in a mouse (in vivo), a 1000-fold
reduction in virulence was observed. This discovery suggests that p60 is indeed
a key factor in the disease-causing ability of Listeria, but not essential for
viability. Future studies will focus on the precise role of p60 in Listeria
pathogenesis. This work increases our understanding of such diseases as
tuberculoses, various food poisonings, and meningitis.
Engineering:
"Quantifying the Mechanics of a Laryngoscopy"
Laryngoscopy is a medical procedure that provides 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 skill;
experienced physicians have failure rates of 0.1% or less, while less
experienced paramedics may have failure rates of 10-33%, which can lead to
death or brain injury. Accordingly, there is a need for improved training
methods, and virtual reality technology holds promise for this application. The
immediate objective of this research project is to measure the mechanics of
laryngoscopy, so that an advanced training mannequin can be developed. This
summer an instrumented laryngoscope has been developed which uses a 6-axis
force/torque sensor and a magnetic position/orientation sensor to quantify the
interactions between the laryngoscope and the patient. Experienced physicians
as well as residents in training have used this device on an existing mannequin,
and the force and motion trajectories have been visualized in 3D. One objective
is to use comparisons between expert and novice 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 development
of a realistic training simulator. In the future an advanced training mannequin
will be developed whose physical properties will be based on our sensor
measurements, and where virtual reality tools will be used to provide training
feedback for novice users.
 8

http://hsp.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/HOW%20TO%20WRITE%20AN%20ABSTRACT.pdf