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Examples of Abstracts: An Example Abstracts From A Chemistry Report

The document provides guidance on writing an abstract for a research paper or project. It states that an abstract should be brief, around 100-200 words, and summarize the purpose, methods, findings, and conclusions of the research. The abstract should not include images, charts, or references. It should highlight important discoveries or anomalies from the experiment.

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Ngu Lyn
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633 views

Examples of Abstracts: An Example Abstracts From A Chemistry Report

The document provides guidance on writing an abstract for a research paper or project. It states that an abstract should be brief, around 100-200 words, and summarize the purpose, methods, findings, and conclusions of the research. The abstract should not include images, charts, or references. It should highlight important discoveries or anomalies from the experiment.

Uploaded by

Ngu Lyn
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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ABSTRACT

▪ An abstract is a concise summary of an experiment or research project.

▪ It should be brief -- typically 100- 200 words.

▪ The purpose of the abstract is to summarize the research paper by stating the
purpose of the research, the experimental method, the findings, and the
conclusions.

▪ An informational abstract is like a mini-paper. Its length ranges from a


paragraph to 1 to 2 pages, depending on the scope of the report. Aim for less
than 10% the length of the full report.

▪ Summarize all aspects of the report, including purpose, method, results,


conclusions, and recommendations. There are no graphs, charts, tables, or
images in an abstract. Similarly, an abstract does not include a bibliography or
references.

▪ Highlight important discoveries or anomalies. It's okay if the experiment did not
go as planned and necessary to state the outcome in the abstract.

Examples of abstracts

An example abstracts from a chemistry report

ABSTRACT Description aim/


objective
In this experiment, chromatography was used to
analyse amino acids in solution. Standards were used Method
to identify unknown amino acids in a
mixture. Ascending layer chromatography with an
isopropanol-based solvent was used to separate the Results
amino acids, which were then detected with
ninhydrin. The unknown mixture analysed was found
to contain aspartate and histidine. It was observed
that hydrophobic amino acids were most mobile. This Conclusion
technique was shown to be an effective way of
analysing unknown mixtures of amino acids. A
mechanism for ninhydrin binding to amino acids is Further
proposed, based on observations from this experiment. conclusion
Examples of introduction sections

▪ Background of the study


▪ Literature review
▪ Problems statements
▪ Objective

A example of a good introduction to a biology report

Worldwide, many bacteria are showing resistance Broad context (summary of


to antibiotics. This is becoming a major problem previous research)
for health care professionals; for example, multiple
strains of a potentially deadly bacteria,
Staphylococcus aureas, are already resistant to all
antibiotics except vancomycin. The reports of
vancomycin resistant strains of S. aureas, which
appeared from three different areas of the globe
last year, sent shock waves through the medical
community (Levy, 1998).
Escherichia coli (E..coli) is another bacteria that is
beginning to show signs of antibiotic resistance.
E.coli is a rod shaped bacteria which inhabits the More specific context to
human colon, living off organic material which this experiment (summary
would otherwise be eliminated with the faeces. E. of previous research)
coli and the other intestinal flora may make up
40% of the mass of faeces and as a result E. coli is
used as an indicator species to detect
contamination of lakes and streams by untreated
sewage. Under normal conditions E. coli is
harmless but some strains can cause blood
poisoning, urinary tract infections, diarrhoea and
kidney failure, illnesses that are more common in
people who have weakened immune systems. In
most cases these E. coli infections can be
successfully treated with antibiotics such as
ampicillin and chloramphenicol; however, some of Significance of the research
the strains, such as those that cause urinary tract
infections, have been shown to be resistant to
certain antibiotics (Morrell, 1997, Levy,
1998). This experiment aimed to test the
sensitivity of four E. coli strains (EC1, EC2, EC3,
EC4), isolated from patients in a local hospital, to Aims of the research
the antibiotics, streptomycin and
chloramphenicol. It was hypothesised that
separately both drugs would deter bacteria growth Hypothesis
but that a combination of both drugs would be
most effective
Method

The purpose of this section is to precisely describe method and materials used to
conduct your experiment with enough detail so someone else could repeat the
same procedure. You also need to explain and sometimes justify why you
chose a particular method (Hay, 1996). Finally, it is important to add any extra
information or observations, such as changes to the method generated via the
results of a pilot test or changes caused by some accident.

The method section should be WRITTEN IN PARAGRAPH form with as


little repetition as possible. This section will often be broken down
into subsections such as participants, materials and procedure. (linked to new
window) The subsections you use will depend on what is useful to help describe
and explain your experiment.

In the method section of the report you should use the PAST TENSE since you
are describing what you did; for example,

A dilution series was performed…,


The participants were instructed to ... .

Furthermore, as the focus in this section is on what was done rather than who
did it, the passive voice is used as it aims to foreground the action, rather than
the doer of the action; for example,

The elaiosomes were removed …

as opposed to

We removed the elaiosomes … .


DISCUSSION

Discussion is the most important part of your report, because here, you show that
you understand the experiment beyond the simple level of completing it. Explain.
Analyse. Interpret. Some people like to think of this as the “subjective” part of
the report. By that, they mean this is what is not readily observable. This part of
the lab focuses on a question of understanding “What is the significance or
meaning of the results?” To answer this question, use both aspects of discussion:

More particularly, focus your discussion with strategies like these:


1. Compare expected results with those obtained.
If there were differences, how can you account for them? Saying “human error”
implies you’re incompetent. Be specific; for example, the instruments could not
measure precisely, the sample was not pure or was contaminated, or calculated
values did not take account of friction.

2. Analyze experimental error.


Was it avoidable? Was it a result of equipment? If an experiment was within the
tolerances, you can still account for the difference from the ideal. If the flaws
result from the experimental design explain how the design might be improved.

3. Explain your results in terms of theoretical issues.


Often undergraduate labs are intended to illustrate important physical laws, such
as Kirchhoff’s voltage law, or the Müller-Lyer illusion. Usually, you will have
discussed these in the introduction. In this section move from the results to the
theory. How well has the theory been illustrated?

4. Relate results to your experimental objective(s).


If you set out to identify an unknown metal by finding its lattice parameter and
its atomic structure, you’d better know the metal and its attributes.

5. Compare your results to similar investigations.


In some cases, it is legitimate to compare outcomes with classmates, not to
change your answer, but to look for any anomalies between the groups and
discuss those.

6. Analyze the strengths and limitations of your experimental design.


This is particularly useful if you designed the thing you’re testing (e.g. a
circuit).
Examples of discussion sections

An excerpt from the discussion section of a chemistry report

The activity of the salivary amylase State the major results again
enzyme in this experiment increased with
temperature up to 37°C. This was
probably an effect on the reaction itself, Interpretation/explanation based
as the rate of chemical reactions generally on what is known (cite
increases as temperature increases references)
because there is more energy in the
system at higher temperatures (Stryer,
1995, p. 46). Most enzymes are denatured
at temperatures above 50°C (Perkins,
1964); however, in this experiment, the unexpected result
activity of the amylase was highest at
70°C. This may be explained by the
variation in temperature that is
experienced in the mouth during eating, Attempt to explain how/why the
which may require a high degree of heat- result occurred
resistance in the amylase enzyme ...

CONCLUSION

Conclusion can be very short in most undergraduate laboratories. Simply state


what you know now for sure, as a result of the lab:
Must do:

1. State what’s known


2. Justify statement

Might do:

1. State significance
2. Suggest further research

Example: The Debye-Sherrer method identified the sample material as nickel


due to the measured crystal structure (fcc) and atomic radius (approximately
0.124nm). Notice that, after the material is identified in the example above, the
writer provides a justification. We know it is nickel because of its structure and
size. This makes a sound and sufficient conclusion. Generally, this is enough;
however, the conclusion might also be a place to discuss weaknesses of
experimental design, what future work needs to be done to extend your
conclusions, or what the implications of your conclusion are.

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