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Howtowriteagoodabstractforascientificpaperorconferencepresentation

IndianJPsychiatry.2011AprJun53(2):172175.

PMCID:PMC3136027

doi:10.4103/00195545.82558

Howtowriteagoodabstractforascientificpaperorconferencepresentation
ChittaranjanAndrade
DepartmentofPsychopharmacology,NationalInstituteofMentalHealthandNeurosciences,Bangalore,Karnataka,India
Addressforcorrespondence:Dr.ChittaranjanAndrade,DepartmentofPsychopharmacology,NationalInstituteofMentalHealthand
Neurosciences,Bangalore560029,Karnataka,India.Email:andradec@gmail.com
CopyrightIndianJournalofPsychiatry
ThisisanopenaccessarticledistributedunderthetermsoftheCreativeCommonsAttributionNoncommercialShareAlike3.0Unported,which
permitsunrestricteduse,distribution,andreproductioninanymedium,providedtheoriginalworkisproperlycited.

Abstract
Abstractsofscientificpapersaresometimespoorlywritten,oftenlackimportantinformation,and
occasionallyconveyabiasedpicture.Thispaperprovidesdetailedsuggestions,withexamples,forwriting
thebackground,methods,results,andconclusionssectionsofagoodabstract.Theprimarytargetofthis
paperistheyoungresearcherhowever,authorswithalllevelsofexperiencemayfindusefulideasinthe
paper.
Keywords:Abstract,preparingamanuscript,writingskills
INTRODUCTION
Thispaperisthethirdinaseriesonmanuscriptwritingskills,publishedintheIndianJournalofPsychiatry.
Earlierarticlesofferedsuggestionsonhowtowriteagoodcasereport,[1]andhowtoread,write,orreviewa
paperonrandomizedcontrolledtrials.[2,3]Thepresentpaperexamineshowauthorsmaywriteagood
abstractwhenpreparingtheirmanuscriptforascientificjournalorconferencepresentation.Althoughthe
primarytargetofthispaperistheyoungresearcher,itislikelythatauthorswithalllevelsofexperiencewill
findatleastafewideasthatmaybeusefulintheirfutureefforts.
Theabstractofapaperistheonlypartofthepaperthatispublishedinconferenceproceedings.Theabstract
istheonlypartofthepaperthatapotentialrefereeseeswhenheisinvitedbyaneditortoreviewa
manuscript.Theabstractistheonlypartofthepaperthatreadersseewhentheysearchthroughelectronic
databasessuchasPubMed.Finally,mostreaderswillacknowledge,withachuckle,thatwhentheyleaf
throughthehardcopyofajournal,theylookatonlythetitlesofthecontainedpapers.Ifatitleintereststhem,
theyglancethroughtheabstractofthatpaper.Onlyadedicatedreaderwillperusethecontentsofthepaper,
andthen,mostoftenonlytheintroductionanddiscussionsections.Onlyareaderwithaveryspecificinterest
inthesubjectofthepaper,andaneedtounderstanditthoroughly,willreadtheentirepaper.
Thus,forthevastmajorityofreaders,thepaperdoesnotexistbeyonditsabstract.Forthereferees,andthe
fewreaderswhowishtoreadbeyondtheabstract,theabstractsetsthetonefortherestofthepaper.Itis
thereforethedutyoftheauthortoensurethattheabstractisproperlyrepresentativeoftheentirepaper.For
this,theabstractmusthavesomegeneralqualities.ThesearelistedinTable1.
SECTIONSOFANABSTRACT
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Althoughsomejournalsstillpublishabstractsthatarewrittenasfreeflowingparagraphs,mostjournals
requireabstractstoconformtoaformalstructurewithinawordcountof,usually,200250words.Theusual
sectionsdefinedinastructuredabstractaretheBackground,Methods,Results,andConclusionsother
headingswithsimilarmeaningsmaybeused(eg,IntroductioninplaceofBackgroundorFindingsinplace
ofResults).Somejournalsincludeadditionalsections,suchasObjectives(betweenBackgroundand
Methods)andLimitations(attheendoftheabstract).Intherestofthispaper,issuesrelatedtothecontentsof
eachsectionwillbeexaminedinturn.
Background

Thissectionshouldbetheshortestpartoftheabstractandshouldverybrieflyoutlinethefollowing
information:
1.Whatisalreadyknownaboutthesubject,relatedtothepaperinquestion
2.Whatisnotknownaboutthesubjectandhencewhatthestudyintendedtoexamine(orwhatthepaper
seekstopresent)
Inmostcases,thebackgroundcanbeframedinjust23sentences,witheachsentencedescribingadifferent
aspectoftheinformationreferredtoabovesometimes,evenasinglesentencemaysuffice.Thepurposeof
thebackground,astheworditselfindicates,istoprovidethereaderwithabackgroundtothestudy,and
hencetosmoothlyleadintoadescriptionofthemethodsemployedintheinvestigation.
Someauthorspublishpaperstheabstractsofwhichcontainalengthybackgroundsection.Therearesome
situations,perhaps,wherethismaybejustified.Inmostcases,however,alongerbackgroundsectionmeans
thatlessspaceremainsforthepresentationoftheresults.Thisisunfortunatebecausethereaderisinterested
inthepaperbecauseofitsfindings,andnotbecauseofitsbackground.
AwidevarietyofacceptablycomposedbackgroundsisprovidedinTable2mostofthesehavebeen
adaptedfromactualpapers.[49]ReadersmaywishtocomparethecontentinTable2withtheoriginal
abstractstoseehowtheadaptationspossiblyimproveontheoriginals.Notethat,intheinterestofbrevity,
unnecessarycontentisavoided.Forinstance,inExample1thereisnoneedtostateTheantidepressant
efficacyofdesvenlafaxine(DV),adualactingantidepressantdrug,hasbeenestablished(the
unnecessarycontentisitalicized).
Methods

Themethodssectionisusuallythesecondlongestsectionintheabstract.Itshouldcontainenough
informationtoenablethereadertounderstandwhatwasdone,andhow.Table3listsimportantquestionsto
whichthemethodssectionshouldprovidebriefanswers.
Carelesslywrittenmethodssectionslackinformationaboutimportantissuessuchassamplesize,numbersof
patientsindifferentgroups,dosesofmedications,anddurationofthestudy.Readershaveonlytoflip
throughthepagesofarandomlyselectedjournaltorealizehowcommonsuchcarelessnessis.
Table4presentsexamplesofthecontentsofacceptablywrittenmethodssections,modifiedfromactual
publications.[10,11]ReadersareinvitedtotakespecialnoteofthefirstsentenceofeachexampleinTable4
eachispackedwithdetail,illustratinghowtoconveythemaximumquantityofinformationwithmaximum
economyofwordcount.
Results

Theresultssectionisthemostimportantpartoftheabstractandnothingshouldcompromiseitsrangeand
quality.Thisisbecausereaderswhoperuseanabstractdosotolearnaboutthefindingsofthestudy.The
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resultssectionshouldthereforebethelongestpartoftheabstractandshouldcontainasmuchdetailaboutthe
findingsasthejournalwordcountpermits.Forexample,itisbadwritingtostateResponseratesdiffered
significantlybetweendiabeticandnondiabeticpatients.AbettersentenceisTheresponseratewashigher
innondiabeticthanindiabeticpatients(49%vs30%,respectivelyP<0.01).
ImportantinformationthattheresultsshouldpresentisindicatedinTable5.Examplesofacceptablywritten
abstractsarepresentedinTable6oneofthesehasbeenmodifiedfromanactualpublication.[11]Notethat
thefirstexampleisrathernarrativeinstyle,whereasthesecondexampleispackedwithdata.
CONCLUSIONS
Thissectionshouldcontainthemostimportanttakehomemessageofthestudy,expressedinafewprecisely
wordedsentences.Usually,thefindinghighlightedhererelatestotheprimaryoutcomemeasurehowever,
otherimportantorunexpectedfindingsshouldalsobementioned.Itisalsocustomary,butnotessential,for
theauthorstoexpressanopinionaboutthetheoreticalorpracticalimplicationsofthefindings,orthe
importanceoftheirfindingsforthefield.Thus,theconclusionsmaycontainthreeelements:
1.Theprimarytakehomemessage
2.Theadditionalfindingsofimportance
3.Theperspective
Despiteitsnecessarybrevity,thissectionhasthemostimpactontheaveragereaderbecausereaders
generallytrustauthorsandtaketheirassertionsatfacevalue.Forthisreason,theconclusionsshouldalsobe
scrupulouslyhonestandauthorsshouldnotclaimmorethantheirdatademonstrate.Hypotheticalexamples
oftheconclusionssectionofanabstractarepresentedinTable7.
MISCELLANEOUSOBSERVATIONS
Citationofreferencesanywherewithinanabstractisalmostinvariablyinappropriate.Otherexamplesof
unnecessarycontentinanabstractarelistedinTable8.
Itgoeswithoutsayingthatwhateverispresentintheabstractmustalsobepresentinthetext.Likewise,
whatevererrorsshouldnotbemadeinthetextshouldnotappearintheabstract(eg,mistakingassociationfor
causality).
Asalreadymentioned,theabstractistheonlypartofthepaperthatthevastmajorityofreaderssee.
Therefore,itiscriticallyimportantforauthorstoensurethattheirenthusiasmorbiasdoesnotdeceivethe
readerunjustifiedspeculationscouldbeevenmoreharmful.Misleadingreaderscouldharmthecauseof
scienceandhaveanadverseimpactonpatientcare.[12]Arecentstudy,[13]forexample,concludedthat
venlafaxineuseduringthesecondtrimesterofpregnancymayincreasetheriskofneonatesbornsmallfor
gestationalage.However,nowhereintheabstractdidtheauthorsmentionthattheseconclusionswerebased
onjust5casesand12controlsoutofthetotalsampleof126casesand806controls.Therewereseveral
otherseriouslimitationsthatrenderedtheauthorsconclusionstentative,atbestyet,nowhereintheabstract
weretheseotherlimitationsexpressed.
Asapartingnote:Mostjournalsprovideclearinstructionstoauthorsontheformattingandcontentsof
differentpartsofthemanuscript.Theseinstructionsoftenincludedetailsonwhatthesectionsofanabstract
shouldcontain.Authorsshouldtailortheirabstractstothespecificrequirementsofthejournaltowhichthey
plantosubmittheirmanuscript.Itcouldalsobeanexcellentideatomodeltheabstractofthepaper,sentence
forsentence,ontheabstractofanimportantpaperonasimilarsubjectandwithsimilarmethodology,
publishedinthesamejournalforwhichthemanuscriptisslated.
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Footnotes
SourceofSupport:Nil
ConflictofInterest:Nonedeclared.

REFERENCES
1.AndradeC,MendhekarDN.Lithium,trifluperazine,andidiopathicleucopenia:Authorandreviewer
perspectivesonhowtowriteagoodcasereport.IndianJPsychiatry.201052:18790.
[PMCID:PMC2927891][PubMed:20838509]
2.AndradeC.A6week,multicentre,randomizedcontrolledclinicaltrialtoevaluatethesafetyandefficacy
ofplaceboxetinehydrochlorideinthetreatmentofmajordepressivedisorderinanIndiansetting.IndianJ
Psychiatry.201153:6972.[PMCID:PMC3056193][PubMed:21431013]
3.AndradeC.Placeboxetineformajordepressivedisorder:Researcher,author,reader,andreviewer
perspectivesonrandomizedcontrolledtrials.IndianJPsychiatry.201153:737.[PMCID:PMC3056194]
[PubMed:21431014]
4.AndradeC,RadhakrishnanR.Prayerandhealing:Amedicalandscientificperspectiveonrandomized
controlledtrials.IndianJPsychiatry.200951:24753.[PMCID:PMC2802370][PubMed:20048448]
5.ShahN,MahadeshwarS,BhaktaS,BhirudM,FernandesP,AndradeC.Thesafetyandefficacyof
benzodiazepinemodifiedtreatmentsasaspecialformofunmodifiedECT.JECT.201026:239.
[PubMed:20190597]
6.AndradeC,SrihariBS,ReddyKP,ChandrammaL.Melatonininmedicallyillpatientswithinsomnia:a
doubleblind,placebocontrolledstudy.JClinPsychiatry.200162:415.[PubMed:11235927]
7.AndradeC,MadhavanAP,KishoreML.Testinglogicalmemoryusingacomplexpassage:Development
andstandardizationofanewtest.IndianJPsychiatry.200143:2526.[PMCID:PMC2956151]
[PubMed:21407864]
8.AndradeAC,PaiS,CardozaS,AndradeC.Personalityprofileofurban,femalecollegestudents.IndianJ
PsycholMed.199417:416.
9.AndradeC,PostmaK,AbrahamK.Influenceofwomen'sworkstatusonthewellbeingofIndian
couples.IntJSocPsychiatry.199945:6575.[PubMed:10443250]
10.KumarCN,AndradeC,MurthyP.Arandomized,doubleblindcomparisonoflorazepamand
chlordiazepoxideinpatientswithuncomplicatedalcoholwithdrawal.JStudAlcoholDrugs.200970:457
74.
11.MargoobMA,AliZ,AndradeC.EfficacyofECTinchronic,severe,antidepressantandCBT
refractoryPTSD:Anopen,prospectivestudy.BrainStimul.20103:2835.[PubMed:20633428]
12.RaoTS,AndradeC.TheMMRvaccineandautism:Sensation,refutation,retraction,andfraud.
Editorial.IndianJPsychiatry.201153:956.[PMCID:PMC3136032]
13.RamosI,StAndriM,BirardA.Associationbetweenantidepressantuseduringpregnancyandinfants
bornsmallforgestationalage.CanJPsychiatry.201055:64352.[PubMed:20964943]
FiguresandTables
Table1
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Generalqualitiesofagoodabstract
Table2

Examplesofthebackgroundsectionofanabstract
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Table3

Questionsregardingwhichinformationshouldideallybeavailableinthemethodssectionofanabstract
Table4

Examplesofthemethodssectionofanabstract
Table5

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Informationthattheresultssectionoftheabstractshouldideallypresent
Table6

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Examplesoftheresultssectionofanabstract
Table7

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Examplesoftheconclusionssectionofanabstract
Table8

Examplesofunnecessarycontentinaabstract
ArticlesfromIndianJournalofPsychiatryareprovidedherecourtesyofMedknowPublications

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