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Week 3

Abstracts provide a concise summary of a research paper or document. There are different types of abstracts, including descriptive abstracts which describe the paper, informative abstracts which describe the background, aim, method, results and conclusions, and critical abstracts which evaluate and analyze the paper's findings. Abstracts help researchers efficiently determine if a paper is relevant to their work.

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23 views

Week 3

Abstracts provide a concise summary of a research paper or document. There are different types of abstracts, including descriptive abstracts which describe the paper, informative abstracts which describe the background, aim, method, results and conclusions, and critical abstracts which evaluate and analyze the paper's findings. Abstracts help researchers efficiently determine if a paper is relevant to their work.

Uploaded by

tamara iriarte
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Session October 6, 2022

ABSTRACTS
General information about abstracts

Features, purpose and audience


Today’s
agenda
Types of abstracts

Activity
What is an abstract?

Shortened version of It provides concise Intended for someone who


academic paper information has not read the article
STRUCTURE OF ABSTRACTS

BACKGROUND AIM METHOD RESULTS CONCLUSIONS


Features of abstracts

Results: longer section

Method: briefly exposed

Recommendations & limitations


Describe the paper

State the problem or the key


issue
Carry the reader through the research
methodology, what it has found, and
An abstract what conclusion you have reached from
should be able these findings Contain keywords to your
to:
method and content

ABSTRACT
It facilitates scanning
What Is the
the paper to
Purpose of an determine if it is
Abstract? relevant

No need to read the


entire paper to find
the content; only look
at the abstract—
conveniently placed
before the article—to
see if the study can
provide additional
information
Who is the abstract for?

01 02 03
Researchers: they spend A well-written abstract can A review panel (such as for
time wisely looking for data aid in the accurate a conference). As they
or information. An abstract categorization of your paper. would not be able to read
is thus useful for those who your entire paper in one
are also conducting sitting, they can choose to
research. look at your abstract first to
see if it is worth their time.
• DESCRIPTIVE
• It describes the type of information
about the work.
• Infrequently used. It may contain
Abstract keywords and some information about
the purpose, scope, and methodology of
Types and the research.
Examples • It is very short, often just a few lines, or
about 100 words or less.
• It does not provide results and/or
conclusions and implications of the
research.
(2012), “Writing an eye-catching and evocative abstract for a
research article: A comprehensive and practical approach,”
it uses a descriptive abstract:

• “It is an important and difficult job to write an eye


catching abstract. A large percentage of the
manuscripts that are submitted to academic
journals are rejected because their abstracts are
poorly written. This paper provides a new and
step by step approach for writing a good
structured abstract.”
• INFORMATIVE
• Much more frequently used.
• This type does more than just describe a
paper; it expresses and explains the
arguments, evidence, and results of the
study.
• Like a descriptive abstract, it contains the
scope and questions, but it also includes
the findings and the implications of the
research.
Here is an example of an informative abstract based on an experiment by
Palmquist, M., & Young, R. (1992).

• “Research reported by Daly, Miller, and their colleagues suggests that writing apprehension
is related to a number of factors we do not yet fully understand. This study suggests that
included among those factors should be the belief that writing ability is a gift. Giftedness, as
it is referred to in the study, is roughly equivalent to the Romantic notion of original genius.
Results from a survey of 247 postsecondary students enrolled in introductory writing
courses at two institutions indicate that higher levels of belief in giftedness are correlated
with higher levels of writing apprehension, lower self-assessments of writing ability, lower
levels of confidence in achieving proficiency in certain writing activities and genres, and
lower self-assessments of prior experience with writing instructors. Significant differences in
levels of belief in giftedness were also found among students who differed in their
perceptions of the most important purpose for writing, with students who identified “to
express your own feelings about something” as the most important purpose for writing
having the highest mean level of belief in giftedness. Although the validity of the notion
that writing ability is a special gift is not directly addressed, the results suggest that belief in
giftedness may have deleterious effects on student writers.”
CRITICAL
ABSTRACTS
They evaluate and/or offer
analysis on the paper’s
findings

Usually extend to about 400


to 500 words because of
analytical comments

Provide an overview of the


paper

Often used in social sciences


• HIGHLIGHT ABSTRACTS
• Infrequently used; uncommon
• They catch the reader’s attention
• Partial picture of the purpose and major findings.
ACTIVITY: what kind
of abstract is this?

• UNDERLINE:
a) Background position
b) Aim and thesis of article
c) Method of research
d) Results of research
ACTIVITY: what kind
of abstract is this?
Descriptive
A
B

• UNDERLINE:
a) Background position
C
b) Aim and thesis of article
c) Method of research
d) Results of research

D
• Abstracts have a structure:
background, aim, method, results
and conclusions
• Abstracts help the reader to get a
clear idea of the paper

SUMMARY
• There are different types of
abstracts: DESCRIPTIVE,
INFORMATIVE, CRITICAL and
HIGHLIGHT

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