An abstract summarizes, usually in one paragraph of 300 words or less, the major aspects of the entire paper in a prescribed sequence that includes: 1) the overall purpose of the study and the research problem(s) you investigated; 2) the basic design of the study; 3) major findings or trends found as a result of your analysis; and, 4) a brief summary of your interpretations and conclusions.
If one distinguishes between literary-hermeneutical works and empirical-experimental works, then the common thing is that the abstract must contain all relevant points - in short form. In the empirical work there are four points: 1/ The question, including the theoretical state and the hypotheses derived from it (H0 vs. H1), 2/ The applied methods, experimental design, subjects, statistical evaluation etc., 3/ The presentation of the results as affirmation or non-confirmation of the hypotheses, 4/ Discussion of the results.
sequel
In the literary work there is a similar result for the abstract: starting position and aim of the work - presentation of the main part of the study and final discussion with results.
You provide a good outline of a typical abstract, but note that some journals are now requiring formatted abstracts with very specific structures. Be sure to check the specific journal's instructions to authors.
It is good to know very many individual points, as described above. But it is even better not to use them, because if I should consider every single point, then I cannot do it for an abstract whose prescribed (small) size determines the rules of the magazine and which must be strictly adhered to. So you should concentrate on a scheme that covers only a few points, but know that there are a few additional things that are sometimes important to mention with half a sentence.
How to write an effective abstract?
You can also refer to the following RG links:
https://www.researchgate.net/post/How_to_write_an_abstract
https://www.researchgate.net/post/What_is_the_standard_for_writing_abstract_of_a_scientific_research_paper_for_publication
First of all, you must check the journal author guidelines and focus on the required abstract subsection. After that, read carefully couple abstracts of previous publications in the journal that you want to get published. Identify the patterns and structures of those abstracts and try to follow them properly. If you are writing the abstract for thesis or dissertation, check the campus manual for writing those publications and take a look at abstracts of previous thesis or dissertation.
In fact, writing an essay for a magazine does not hurt to read the editorial guidelines, including the - mostly sparingly - mentioned point "abstract". If you publish contributions in a conference volume, or - more often - register for a congress, you have to write the abstract text yourself, without any content requirements other than the maximum limit. This is a tool of the trade, because it is merely a matter of providing other interested parties with opitimum information in the shortest possible text.
Abstracts are usually journal specific... But be sure to have the aim of the study, the objective,the scope, findings, method of data elicitation,limitations and recommendations.
An abstract is a small window which reveals the full content of a research paper. Since it is the first place that can attract the likely readers, its organizational quality is very significant. when writing an abstract, we should keep in mind the following questions:
- What motivated me to take on this topic?
- How did I research the issue?
- What have I found out?
- Why is my research important?
- Why should others be interested in my research? .
The abstract is not the first paragraph of an article. An abstract is a complete version or form of your article. It is the entire article epitomized, covering the major points, content and scope of your argument, the theoretical framework or scholarly point of departure, as well as the methodology, and type of evidentiary basis. It should be able to stand alone.
The following papers may further help:
- Alexandrov, A. V. and Hennerici, M. G. (2007) Writing good abstracts, Cerebrovascular Diseases, 23, 4, pp. 256-259.
- Andrade, C. (2011) How to write a good abstract for a scientific paper or conference presentation, Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 53, 2, pp. 172-175.
- Bavdekar, S. B. and Gogtay, N. J. (2015) Writing an Abstract for a Research Manuscript: Providing an Honest, Succinct and Complete Summary, The Journal of the Association of Physicians of India, 63, 12, pp. 64-67.
- Ezeala, C. C. and Ezeala, M. O. (2012) Writing a Good Abstract: A guide to good abstract writing for medical science journal articles, Health Professionals Education in the Pacific, 18, 2, pp. 142-145.
- Jalalian, M. (2012) Writing an eye-catching and evocative abstract for a research article: A practical approach [Editorial], Electronic Physician, 4, 3, pp. 520-524.
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