How to write an abstract for a manuscript publication

Abstract

is a very important step in the communication of a research study or report.Too often manuscript authors give this element of their writing too little time or attention.The purpose of this editorial is to discuss how to approach and write a well-organized abstract.An abstract is a brief summary of the manuscript.It is not an introduction to what follows, but a complete and concise description of key methodological features of the study and important research findings.The abstract is often a reader's first encounter with a research study or report and at times the only element retrieved and/or reviewed from scientific databases.It provides the all-important first impression and identifies the potential value or relevance of the research approach and findings.If the abstract is well written, it will entice readers to obtain a copy of the full manuscript report, build on the findings, and cite your work.If it is poorly written, your research may be ignored or untapped.The abstract is found at the beginning of the manuscript, right after the Title, and typically includes the following information: Background, Purpose, Methods, Results, and Conclusion.A listing of author (s) selected Key Word(s) is found at the end of the abstract and precedes the body of the manuscript.Some journals require an Introduction instead of a Background section, while others begin with the Purpose or Objective of the research study.Other journals require Discussion, Implications, and/or Further Considerations sections.Another approach to writing a manuscript abstract ( 1) is to answer the following four questions: Why was the study done?How was the study conducted?What were the findings?And, What do the findings mean?It is a good practice to consult the journal's author guidelines as well as access and review examples of the journal's published abstracts prior to submitting to the journal.Most scientific journals provide author guidelines that include the suggested format and length of a manuscript abstract.The two most common formats are structured and unstructured.Although the approach is quite different, both formats require similar information.In a structured abstract, the required information is organized into sections and identified by a bolded heading.In an unstructured abstract, there are no bolded headings.Instead, the required information is presented in a paragraph or narrative format and headings are stated as part of a sentence (1) .The typical length of an abstract is 250 words.However, some journals limit the length of an abstract to only 50 to 100 words and this is a particular challenge.It is also important to remember that some electronic databases automatically truncate abstracts beyond a certain length (e.g.MEDLINE truncates everything beyond 400 words).The title, abstract sections, and key word(s) will be discussed in the following paragraphs and include quantitative (QT) and qualitative (QL) examples from the current literature.

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