SKILL LAB

WRITING AN ABSTRACT
Introduction
Three elements (the title, abstract, and keywords) may well hold the key to
publication success. A negligent or sloppy attitude towards these three vital elements in the
research paper format would be almost equivalent to leaving the accessibility of the research
paper up to chance and lucky guessing of target words, indirectly making the effort and time
expended on the research and publication process almost null and void.
It could be said that the keywords, title, and abstract operate in a system analogous to
a chain reaction. Once the keywords have helped people find the research paper and an
effective title has successfully lassoed and drawn in the readers’ attention, it is up to the
abstract of the research paper to further trigger the readers’ interest and maintain their
curiosity. This functional advantage alone serves to make an abstract an indispensable
component within the research paper format.
However, formulating the abstract of a research paper can be a tedious task, given that
abstracts need to be fairly comprehensive, without giving too much away. This is mainly
because if readers get all the details of the research paper in the abstract itself, they might be
discouraged from reading the entire article.
Writing a research paper abstract
The title, abstract, and keywords play a pivotal role in the communication of research.
Without them, most papers may never be read or even found by interested readers.
Here’s why:
1. Most electronic search engines, databases, or journal websites will use the words found in
your title and abstract, and your list of keywords to decide whether and when to display
your paper to interested readers. Thus, these 3 elements enable the dissemination of your
research; without them, readers would not be able to find or cite your paper.
2. The title and abstract are often the only parts of a paper that are freely available online.
Hence, once readers find your paper, they will read through the title and abstract to
determine whether or not to purchase a full copy of your paper/continue reading.
3. Finally, the abstract is the first section of your paper that journal editors and reviewers
read. While busy journal editors may use the abstract to decide whether to send a paper for
peer review or reject it outright, reviewers will form their first impression about your
paper on reading it.
The abstract should work like a marketing tool. It should help the reader decide “whether
there is something in the body of the paper worth reading” by providing a quick and accurate
summary of the entire paper explaining why the research was conducted, what the aims
were, how these were met, and what the main findings were.
Types of abstracts
Generally between 100 and 300 words in length, abstracts are of different types:
descriptive, informative, and structured.
1. Descriptive abstracts, usually used in the social sciences and humanities, do not give
specific information about methods and results.
2. Informative abstracts are commonly used in the sciences and present information on
the background, aim, methods, results, and conclusions.
3. Structured abstracts are essentially informative abstracts divided into a series of
headings (e.g., Objective, Method, Results, Conclusion) and are typically found in
medical literature and clinical trial reports.
Writing a research paper abstract that is concise and informative are more commonly
used in scientific literature. Following the same strategy to write a structured abstract; just
introduce headings based on the journal guidelines.
There are some steps (with examples) can followed for writing an effective abstract:
Writing the abstract after have finished writing the paper.
1. First answer the questions “What problem are you trying to solve?” and “What motivated
you to do so?” by picking out the major objectives/hypotheses and conclusions from
your Introduction and Conclusion sections.
2. Next, answer the question "How did you go about achieving your objective?" by
selecting key sentences and phrases from your Methods section.
3. Now, reveal your findings by listing the major results from your Results section.
4. Finally, answer the question "What are the implications of your findings?"
5. Arrange the sentences and phrases selected in steps 2, 3, 4, and 5 into a single paragraph
in the following sequence: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Conclusions.
6. Make sure that this paragraph is self-contained and does not include the following:
Information not present in the paper, Figures and tables, Abbreviations, Literature review
or reference citations
7. Now, link your sentences.
8. Ensure that the paragraph is written in the past tense and check that the information
flows well, preferably in the following order: purpose, basic study design/techniques
used, major findings, conclusions, and implications.
9. Check that the final abstract
- Contains information that is consistent with that presented in the paper.
- Meets the guidelines of the targeted journal (word limit, type of abstract, etc.)
- Does not contain typographical errors as these may lead referees and editors to
“conclude that the paper is bad and should be rejected
Abstract Concept
1. An abstract is a 150- to 250-word paragraph that provides readers with a quick overview
of your essay or report and its organization. It should express your thesis (or central idea)
and your key points; it should also suggest any implications or applications of the research
you discuss in the paper
2. According to Carole Slade, an abstract is a concise summary of the entire paper. The
function of an abstract is to describe, not to evaluate or defend, the paper. The abstract
should begin with a brief but precise statement of the problem or issue, followed by a
description of the research method and design, the major findings, and the conclusions
reached. The abstract should contain the most important key words referring to method
 and content: these facilitate access to the abstract by computer search and enable a reader
to decide whether to read the entire dissertation.
3. The abstract should read like an overview of your paper, not a proposal for what you
intended to study or accomplish. Avoid beginning your sentences with phrases like, “This
essay will examine…” or “In this research paper I will attempt to prove...”

Writing an Abstract for an IMRaD

Paper Many papers in the social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering sciences
follow IMRaD structure: their main sections are entitled Introduction, Methods, Results, and
Discussion. People use the abstract to decide whether to read the rest of the paper, so the
abstract for such a paper is important. Because the abstract provides the highlights of the
paper, you should draft your abstract after you have written a full draft of the paper. Doing
so, you can summarize what you’ve already written in the paper as you compose the abstract.
Typically, an abstract for an IMRaD paper or presentation is one or two paragraphs long (120
– 500 words). Abstracts usually spend
• 25% of their space on the purpose and importance of the research (Introduction)
• 25% of their space on what you did (Methods)
• 35% of their space on what you found (Results)
• 15% of their space on the implications of the research

Sample IMRaD abstract:

1. Purpose
This paper analyzes how novices and experts can safely adapt and transfer their skills to new
technology in the medical domain.
2. Methods
To answer this question, we compared the performance of 12 novices (medical students) with
the performance of 12 laparoscopic surgeons (using a 2D view) and 4 robotic surgeons, using
a new robotic system that allows 2D and 3D view.
3. Results
Our results showed a trivial effect of expertise (surgeons generally performed better than
novices). Results also revealed that experts have adaptive transfer capacities and are able to
transfer their skills independently of the human-machine system. However, the expert’s
performance may be disturbed by changes in their usual environment.
4. Implications
From a safety perspective, this study emphasizes the need to take into account the impact of
these environmental changes along with the expert’s adaptive capacities.
Try to avoid these common problems in IMRaD abstracts:
1. The abstract provides a statement of what the paper will ask or explore rather than what it
found: X This report examines the causes of oversleeping. (What did it find out about these
causes?). Individuals oversleep because they go to bed too late, forget to set their alarms, and
keep their rooms dark.
2. The abstract provides general categories rather than specific details in the findings: X The
study draws conclusions about which variables are most important in choosing a movie
theater. (What, specifically, are these variables?). The study concludes that the most
important variables in choosing a movie theater are comfortable seats and high-quality
popcorn.
The guidance to make research paper abstract more effective
An abstract is like a movie trailer. It offers a preview, highlights key points, and helps
the audience decide whether to view the entire work. Abstracts are the pivot of a research
paper because many journal editorial boards screen manuscripts only on the basis of the
abstract. If the abstract doesn’t grab their attention and make a good first impression, there’s
a good chance the research paper will be rejected at the outset. Moreover, even after the
research paper is published, the abstract will be the first, and possibly only, thing readers will
access through electronic searches. They will only consider reading the rest of the manuscript
if they find the abstract interesting.
For studies in the humanities and social sciences, the abstract is typically descriptive.
That is, it describes the topic of research and its findings but usually doesn’t give specific
information about methods and results. These abstracts may also be seen in review articles or
conference proceedings. In scientific writing, on the other hand, abstracts are usually
structured to describe the background, methods, results, and conclusions, with or without
subheadings.
Make sure the fitting the essential points from your entire paper— why the research was
conducted, what the aims were, how these were met, and what the main findings were—into
a paragraph of just 200-300 words?. This is not an easy task, but here’s a 10-step guide that
should make it easier:
1. Begin writing the abstract after you have finished writing your paper.
2. Pick out the major objectives/hypotheses and conclusions from your Introduction and
Conclusion sections.
3. Select key sentences and phrases from your Methods section.
4. Identify the major results from your Results section.
5. Now, arrange the sentences and phrases selected in steps 2, 3, and 4 into a single
paragraph in the following sequence: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Conclusions.
6. Make sure that this paragraph does not contain
7. New information that is not present in the paper
8. Undefined abbreviations or group names
9. Discussion of previous literature or reference citations
10. Unnecessary details about the methods used
a. Remove all extra information (see step 6) and then link your sentences to ensure that
the information flows well, preferably in the following order: purpose; basic study
design, methodology and techniques used; major findings; summary of your
interpretations, conclusions, and implications.
 b. Confirm that there is consistency between the information presented in the abstract
and in the paper.
c. Ask a colleague to review your abstract and check if the purpose, aim, methods, and
conclusions of the study are clearly stated.
d. Check to see if the final abstract meets the guidelines of the target journal (word limit,
type of abstract, recommended subheadings, etc.).

Choosing an appropriate keywords in a research paper

Journals, search engines, and indexing and abstracting services classify papers using
keywords. Thus, an accurate list of keywords will ensure correct indexing and help showcase
your research to interested groups. This in turn will increase the chances of your paper being
cited.
Choosing the right keywords for the paper:
1. Read through your paper and list down the terms/phrases that are used repeatedly in the
text.
2. Ensure that this list includes all your main key terms/phrases and a few additional key
phrases.
3. Include variants of a term/phrase (e.g., kidney and renal), drug names, procedures, etc.
4. Include common abbreviations of terms (e.g., HIV).
5. Refer to a common vocabulary/term list or indexing standard in your discipline (e.g.,
GeoRef, ERIC Thesaurus, PsycInfo, ChemWeb, BIOSIS Search Guide, MeSH Thesaurus)
and ensure that the terms you have used match those used in these resources.
6. Finally, before you submit your article, type your keywords into a search engine and check
if the results that show up match the subject of your paper. This will help you determine
whether the keywords in your research paper are appropriate for the topic of your article.
Conclusion
While it may be challenging to write effective titles and abstracts and to choose
appropriate keywords, there is no denying the fact that it is definitely worth putting in extra
time to get these right. After all, these 3 smallest segments of your paper have the potential to
significantly impact your chances of getting published, read, and cited. An abstract is like a
movie trailer. People will only consider reading the rest of the manuscript if they find your
abstract interesting. Write the abstract after you have finished writing your whole paper. Pick
out key statements from introduction, methods, results, and discussion sections to frame the
abstract with a logical flow. Edit the abstract carefully to make it cohesive and meet the word
count requirements of the journal.
Skill Lab Guidance
Please ...
1. Make the small group: consist 3-4 students in 1 group
2. Read skill lab modul
3. Read the selected paper until finish
4. Identify the necessary point in the paper to make the effective abstract
5. Write the tittle, abstract and key words from the paper
6. Share your discussion result to others group
7. Feed back from teacher