How long should an abstract be

Although some journals still publish abstracts that are written as free-flowing paragraphs, most journals require abstracts to conform to a formal structure within a word count of, usually, — words. The usual sections defined in a structured abstract are the Background, Methods, Results, and Conclusions; other headings with similar meanings may be used eg, Introduction in place of Background or Findings in place of Results.

Some journals include additional sections, such as Objectives between Background and Methods and Limitations at the end of the abstract. In the rest of this paper, issues related to the contents of each section will be examined in turn. This section should be the shortest part of the abstract and should very briefly outline the following information:.

What is not known about the subject and hence what the study intended to examine or what the paper seeks to present. In most cases, the background can be framed in just 2—3 sentences, with each sentence describing a different aspect of the information referred to above; sometimes, even a single sentence may suffice. The purpose of the background, as the word itself indicates, is to provide the reader with a background to the study, and hence to smoothly lead into a description of the methods employed in the investigation.

Some authors publish papers the abstracts of which contain a lengthy background section. There are some situations, perhaps, where this may be justified. In most cases, however, a longer background section means that less space remains for the presentation of the results. This is unfortunate because the reader is interested in the paper because of its findings, and not because of its background.

A wide variety of acceptably composed backgrounds is provided in Table 2 ; most of these have been adapted from actual papers. Note that, in the interest of brevity, unnecessary content is avoided. The methods section is usually the second-longest section in the abstract. It should contain enough information to enable the reader to understand what was done, and how.

Table 3 lists important questions to which the methods section should provide brief answers. Questions regarding which information should ideally be available in the methods section of an abstract. Carelessly written methods sections lack information about important issues such as sample size, numbers of patients in different groups, doses of medications, and duration of the study. Readers have only to flip through the pages of a randomly selected journal to realize how common such carelessness is.

Table 4 presents examples of the contents of accept-ably written methods sections, modified from actual publications. The results section is the most important part of the abstract and nothing should compromise its range and quality.

This is because readers who peruse an abstract do so to learn about the findings of the study. The results section should therefore be the longest part of the abstract and should contain as much detail about the findings as the journal word count permits.

Important information that the results should present is indicated in Table 5. Examples of acceptably written abstracts are presented in Table 6 ; one of these has been modified from an actual publication. This section should contain the most important take-home message of the study, expressed in a few precisely worded sentences.

Usually, the finding highlighted here relates to the primary outcome measure; however, other important or unexpected findings should also be mentioned. It is also customary, but not essential, for the authors to express an opinion about the theoretical or practical implications of the findings, or the importance of their findings for the field.

Thus, the conclusions may contain three elements:. Despite its necessary brevity, this section has the most impact on the average reader because readers generally trust authors and take their assertions at face value. For this reason, the conclusions should also be scrupulously honest; and authors should not claim more than their data demonstrate. Hypothetical examples of the conclusions section of an abstract are presented in Table 7. Citation of references anywhere within an abstract is almost invariably inappropriate.

Other examples of unnecessary content in an abstract are listed in Table 8. It goes without saying that whatever is present in the abstract must also be present in the text. Likewise, whatever errors should not be made in the text should not appear in the abstract eg, mistaking association for causality.

As already mentioned, the abstract is the only part of the paper that the vast majority of readers see. Therefore, it is critically important for authors to ensure that their enthusiasm or bias does not deceive the reader; unjustified speculations could be even more harmful. I have stated my main conclusions. You've written a great abstract! Use the other checklists to continue improving your thesis or dissertation.

An abstract is a concise summary of an academic text such as a journal article or dissertation. It serves two main purposes:. Abstracts are often indexed along with keywords on academic databases, so they make your work more easily findable. An abstract for a thesis or dissertation is usually around — words. The abstract is the very last thing you write.

You should only write it after your research is complete, so that you can accurately summarize the entirety of your thesis or paper. Avoid citing sources in your abstract. There are two reasons for this:. There are some circumstances where you might need to mention other sources in an abstract: for example, if your research responds directly to another study or focuses on the work of a single theorist.

The abstract appears on its own page, after the title page and acknowledgements but before the table of contents. Have a language expert improve your writing. Check your paper for plagiarism in 10 minutes. Do the check. Generate your APA citations for free! APA Citation Generator. Home Knowledge Base Dissertation How to write an abstract. UK environmental organizations currently face a significant funding gap. Here's why students love Scribbr's proofreading services Trustpilot. The word count is within the required length, or a maximum of one page.

I have mentioned any important limitations and recommendations. The abstract can be understood by someone without prior knowledge of the topic.

Well done! See all other checklists Return to checklist. What is the purpose of an abstract? It serves two main purposes: To help potential readers determine the relevance of your paper for their own research. How long is a dissertation abstract? When should I write the abstract?

Can you cite sources in an abstract? There are two reasons for this: The abstract should focus on your original research, not on the work of others. The abstract should be self-contained and fully understandable without reference to other sources. Where does the abstract go in a thesis or dissertation? Is this article helpful? Shona McCombes Shona has a bachelor's and two master's degrees, so she's an expert at writing a great thesis.

Consider giving your abstract to a colleague working in a separate discipline and ask him or her to read it. Ask your colleague whether the study is clear based solely on the abstract.

This can help you to determine which areas of the abstract will require revisions, either to clarify your meaning or to better highlight your major findings. We invite you to share your research with the community by posting it online as a preprint. Our sister company, Research Square , is a trusted preprint platform that lets you get credit for your unpublished research early, increase your citations, and get feedback from the community.

Section-By-Section Writing Tips. Tips for writing a good Materials and Methods section, improving credibility and reproducibility of your manuscript. Read More ». Toggle navigation Toggle navigation. News, tips, and resources from the academic publishing experts at AJE. Follow these 6 tips to make the most of a small amount of space. Provide clear conclusions but avoid overselling your work. Popular Categories Writing a manuscript Finishing touches Choosing a journal Peer review and publication Sharing your research Research process Publication ethics.

Share with your colleagues. Share your work as a preprint and help move science forward. Related Articles. Get Updates. You have successfully subscribed to our marketing emails.