How to Write a Scientific Article Abstract

How to Prepare a Brief Summary?

"An introductory summary is the content of the text in paragraph form; it is a general map for the readers." Michael Alley

DEFINITION

The Abstract should be viewed as a reduced form of the article. The Abstract should give a brief summary of each of the main parts of the article (Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion). As Houghton (25) said, Summary can be defined as a summary of the information in the document.

A well-prepared Summary allows the reader to determine the content of the document in a short time and with precision, to determine its relationship with his own interests, and thus to decide whether he will need to read the document in its entirety (4). The Brief Abstract should not exceed 250 words and should be designed to clearly define what is dealt with in the article. Many people will read the Abstract in the original journal or in secondary publications such as Biological Abstracts, Chemical Abstracts.

Short Summary should (i) state the scope of the research and main objectives (ii) describe the methodology used (iii) summarize the findings and (iv) state the main conclusions. The importance of the conclusions is indicated by the fact that they are usually given three times: once in the Summary, again in the Introduction, and again in the (possibly detailed) Discussion.

Since most or all of the Summary is a reference to the work done, it should be written in the past tense.

Summary should never provide new information or conclusions not stated in the article. Citing works should not be done in the Abstract (except in rare cases, such as a modified version of a previously published method).

TYPES OF ABSTRACTS

The above rules apply to Abstracts used in primary journals and secondary services (Chemical Abstracts, etc.), mostly without modification. This type of Summary is called informative Summary and is prepared to fit the article into a very small size. It can and should briefly state the problem, the method used to study the problem, the main data, and the results. Often, the Summary creates the need to read the entire article. Without such Briefs, scientists would not be able to stay current in pursuing active areas of research.
The other well-known type of Summary is the indicative Summary (sometimes called the introductory Summary). This type of Summary is created to indicate the topic, making it easier for the potential reader to decide whether to read the article or not. However, it is rarely a substitute for an article, as it provides visual rather than weighty content. Therefore, indicative Abstracts should not be used as initial Abstracts in research articles. However, it can be used in other types of publications (review articles, conference reports, government reports, etc.); Such Briefs are very important for resource librarians.
An effective discussion of the various uses and types of Abstracts, the implications of which are worth repeating, is given in McGirr (32): When writing the Abstract, remember that it will be published on its own. Therefore, the Summary should be self-sufficient. In other words, it should not contain any bibliography, figures or tables. The language should be close to the reader. Forget obscure abbreviations and acronyms. If possible, write the article before writing the Summary.
Unless a long term is used several times in the Summary, do not abbreviate the term. Wait and use the appropriate abbreviation where it is first used in the text (perhaps in the Introduction).

ECONOMY OF WORDS

Occasionally, a scientist may miss an important point in the Summary. But by far the most common mistake is providing irrelevant details.
I once heard of a scientist who had a very complicated theory about the relationship of matter to energy. He wrote a very complex article at the time. However, knowing the editors' limitations, the scientist was aware that the Abstract had to be simple and concise if the article was to be accepted. So he spent hours whittling away his Summary. He eliminated word by word until finally all the words disappeared. What remained was the shortest of the Abstracts ever written: E = mc2

Today most scientific journals include a title with each article It publishes the Brief Summary, printed as a single paragraph (and should be prepared that way). The Summary is almost universally the first part of the text read during review, because it precedes the article and also because editors and reviewers like some direction. Therefore, it is very important to write the Summary clearly and simply. If you fail to capture the reviewer's attention in the Summary, you may not achieve your goal. Often the reviewer may be dangerously close to his/her opinion of the text after reading only the Summary. This is because the evaluator has a short attention span (which is often the case). But if by definition, in its simplest form, the whole

If it is a shortened version of the article, it is logical for the evaluator to reach an immature conclusion, and this conclusion is most likely correct. A good Summary is usually followed by a good article; A bad Summary is a harbinger of troubles to come.

Since the Title Abstract is required by many journals and meeting Abstracts are required for participation in many national and international meetings (participation is sometimes determined based on the Abstracts submitted), it is necessary for scientists to master the basic principles of Abstract preparation. For this purpose, I recommend the book Cremminsin (20).

When writing the Summary, examine each word carefully. If you can tell the story in 100 words, don't use 200 words. From the point of view of economics, there is no point in wasting words. It costs 12 cents per word to publish a scientific article, and another 12 cents each time that word is republished in a summary, and the total communication system can only afford so much waste of words. What's more important to you is that the use of clear and important words resonates well with editors and reviewers (not to mention readers). On the other hand, creating a clutter of words with hidden meanings will most likely be a reason to provoke the rejection box to be checked in the evaluation form.
Or, in Napoleon's last words, keep me short on the stone.

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