A.

Defenision
An abstract is a brief summary of research article, thesis, review, conference proceeding, or any
in depth analysis of parcular subject and is often used to help the reader quickly ascertain the
papers purpose. When used, an abstract always appears at the beginning of a manuscript or
typescript, acting as the point-of-entry for any given academic paper or paten application.
Abstracting and indexing service for various academic disciplines are aimed at compiling a body
of literature for that particular subject.
The terms précis or synopsis are used in some publications to refer to the same thing that other
publications might call an abstract. In management reports, an executive summary usually
contains more information (and often more sensitive information) than the abstract does.

B. Purpose and limitation

Academic literature uses the abstract to succinctly communicate complex research. An abstract
may act as a stand-alone entity instead of a full paper. As such, an abstract is used by many
organizations as the basis for selecting research that is proposed for presentation in the form of a
poster, platform/oral presentation or workshop presentation at an academic conference. Most
literature database search engines index only abstracts rather than providing the entire text of the
paper. Full texts of scientific papers must often be purchased because of copyright and/or
publisher fees and therefore the abstract is a significant selling point for the reprint or electronic
form of the full text.[2]

The abstract can convey the main results and conclusions of a scientific article but the full text
article must be consulted for details of the methodology, the full experimental results, and a
critical discussion of the interpretations and conclusions.

An abstract allows one to sift through copious numbers of papers for ones in which the researcher
can have more confidence that they will be relevant to his or her research. Once papers are chosen
based on the abstract, they must be read carefully to be evaluated for relevance. It is generally
agreed that one must not base reference citations on the abstract alone, but the content of an entire
paper.

According to the results of a study published in PLOS Medicine, the "exaggerated and
inappropriate coverage of research findings in the news media" is ultimately related to
inaccurately reporting or over-interpreting research results in many abstract conclusions.[3] A
study published in JAMA concluded that "inconsistencies in data between abstract and body and
reporting of data and other information solely in the abstract are relatively common and that a
simple educational intervention directed to the author is ineffective in reducing that
frequency."[4] Other "studies comparing the accuracy of information reported in a journal
abstract with that reported in the text of the full publication have found claims that are
inconsistent with, or missing from, the body of the full article."[5]
C. Abstract function
Basically the abstract function in a paper is to the explain briefly about the general description of
a study. In detail, the abstract function is as follows:
1. Main components of research reports
Abstract is one of the main components in a research report. With the abstract, the reader
cand find out what is the essence or result of a research report.
2. Overview of the contents of the research report
In the abstract of a study explains the general description of the contens of research report
made by the author. That way, the research report will be easier to study.
3. Material consideretions for readers
The abstract also helps the reader to consider wether or not read the entire contents of a
research report.

D. Abstract features
1. Use one or several good paragraphs, is a single unit, coherent, consise and stand alone.
2. Follow chronologically in writing
3. There is a logical transition between the information given
4. Do not add new information, only summarize the report / writing
5. Can be undersrtood by many readers

E. Copy right
Abstracts are protected under copyright law just as any other form of written speech is
protected.[citation needed] However, publishers of scientific articles invariably make abstracts
freely available, even when the article itself is not. For example, articles in the biomedical
literature are available publicly from MEDLINE which is accessible through PubMed.

F. Structure
An academic abstract typically outlines four elements relevant to the completed work:

-The research focus (i.e. statement of the problem(s)/research issue(s) addressed);

-The research methods used (experimental research, case studies, questionnaires, etc.);
-The results/findings of the research; and
-The main conclusions and recommendations

It may also contain brief references,[6] although some publications' standard style omits
references from the abstract, reserving them for the article body (which, by definition, treats the
same topics but in more depth).

Abstract length varies by discipline and publisher requirements. Typical length ranges from 100
to 500 words, but very rarely more than a page and occasionally just a few words.[7] An abstract
may or may not have the section title of "abstract" explicitly listed as an antecedent to content.
Abstracts are typically sectioned logically as an overview of what appears in the paper, with any
of the following subheadings: Background, Introduction, Objectives, Methods, Results,
Conclusions.[citation needed] Abstracts in which these subheadings are explicitly given are often
 called structured abstracts. Abstracts that comprise one paragraph (no explicit subheadings) are
often called unstructured abstracts.

G. Example
Example taken from the Journal of Biology, Volume 3, Issue 2.:[8]

The hydrodynamics of dolphin drafting

by Daniel Weihs, Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology,

Haifa 32000, Israel.

Abstract:

Background Drafting in cetaceans is defined as the transfer of forces between individuals

without actual physical contact between them. This behavior has long been surmised to explain
how young dolphin calves keep up with their rapidly moving mothers. It has recently been
observed that a significant number of calves become permanently separated from their mothers
during chases by tuna vessels. A study of the hydrodynamics of drafting, initiated inmechanisms
causing the separation of mothers and calves during fishing-related activities, is reported here.

Results Quantitative results are shown for the forces and moments around a pair of unequally
sized dolphin-like slender bodies. These include two major effects. First, the so-called Bernoulli
suction, which stems from the fact that the local pressure drops in areas of high speed, results in
an attractive force between mother and calf. Second is the displacement effect, in which the
motion of the mother causes the water in front to move forwards and radially outwards, and water
behind the body to move forwards to replace the animal's mass. Thus, the calf can gain a 'free
ride' in the forward-moving areas. Utilizing these effects, the neonate can gain up to 90% of the
thrust needed to move alongside the mother at speeds of up to 2.4 m/s. A comparison with
observations of eastern spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) is presented, showing savings of
up to 60% in the thrust that calves require if they are to keep up with their mothers.

Conclusions A theoretical analysis, backed by observations of free-swimming dolphin schools,

indicates that hydrodynamic interactions with mothers play an important role in enabling dolphin
calves to keep up with rapidly moving adult school members.

© 2004 Weihs; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article: verbatim copying
and redistribution of this article are permitted in all media for any purpose, provided this notice is
preserved along with the article's original URL

H. Abstract type
- Informative
The informative abstract, also known as the complete abstract, is a compendious summary of a
paper's substance and its background, purpose, methodology, results, and conclusion.[9][10]
Usually between 100 and 200 words, the informative abstract summarizes the paper's structure,
 its major topics and key points.[9] A format for scientific short reports that is similar to an
informative abstract has been proposed in recent years.[11] Informative abstracts may be viewed
as standalone documents.[9]

- Descriptive
The descriptive abstract, also known as the limited abstract or the indicative abstract, provides a
description of what the paper covers without delving into its substance.[12] A descriptive abstract
is akin to a table of contents in paragraph form.[12]

I. Abstract quality assessment

Various methods can be used to evaluate abstract quality, e.g. rating by readers, checklists (not
necessary in structured abstracts), and readability measures (such as Flesch Reading
Ease).[14][18]
References
Notes

Gary Blake and Robert W. Bly, The Elements of Technical Writing, pg. 117. New York:
Macmillan Publishers, 1993.ISBN 0020130856
Gliner, Jeffrey A.; Morgan, George A. (2000). Research Methods in Applied Settings: An
Integrated Approach to Design and Analysis. Mahwah, NJ: Psychology Press. ISBN 978-0-8058-
2992-1.[page needed]
Yavchitz, Amélie; Boutron, Isabelle; Bafeta, Aida; Marroun, Ibrahim; Charles, Pierre; Mantz,
Jean; Ravaud, Philippe; Bero, Lisa A. (11 September 2012). "Misrepresentation of randomized
controlled trials in press releases and news coverage: a cohort study". PLOS Medicine. 9 (9):
e1001308. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001308. PMC 3439420. PMID 22984354.
Pitkin, Roy M.; Branagan, Mary Ann (15 July 1998). "Can the accuracy of abstracts be improved
by providing specific instructions? A randomized controlled trial". JAMA. 280 (3): 267–9.
doi:10.1001/jama.280.3.267. PMID 9676677.open access
Hopewell, Sally; Clarke, Mike; Moher, David; Wager, Elizabeth; Middleton, Philippa; Altman,
Douglas G; Schulz, Kenneth F; von Elm, Erik (22 January 2008). "CONSORT for reporting
randomized controlled trials in journal and conference abstracts: explanation and elaboration".
PLOS Medicine. 5 (1): e20. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0050020. PMC 2211558. PMID
18215107.open access