When the research work is already completed, and everything is made up together, it only remains a research abstract writing and corrections. As we meet people by their appearance, any research is estimated by its short abstract. And very often this final part causes the author's creative stupor.
What is an Abstract in a Research Paper and Why It Is so Important
A good thesis not only briefly describes the content and essence of your research work but also stimulates the target audience to pay attention and spend their time on familiarization. Responding shortly to the question of what is an abstract in a research paper, we can designate it as a short preview, where all the key points are highlighted.
Often, the editorial boards of journals make the decision regarding whether the research will be published or not by reading only the abstract of it. So, the success of the work and its popularity depends much on this short first part. As well as the first impression and overall evaluation of the assessment of the teacher, if this is a student's work. In any Internet publication, the reader is the first to whom an abstract is shown, and he will be able to look at all the work only when he passes to reading. That is why it's important to use keywords in the abstract, according to which the reader will find your work by the search platform like Google.
To complement the research abstract definition, let's define its standard features: it looks like a small summarizing, generally in one paragraph consisting of nearly 300 words and even less, consisting of the key semantic components:
- The major purpose and investigated problems;
- design form;
- key results;
- general conclusions based on research data.
The thesis must be written without any reflective experiences of the author. That is not a conversation with a friend in the kitchen about the importance of your research. It is the paragraph that will give the teacher or reader information about how seriously you came to this work and how much effort was spent on it.
Purpose of an Abstract in a Research Paper is Determined by its Type
The abstract can determine the value of the study in several variants. It depends on the task that the author of the study was facing. The purpose of an abstract in a research paper depends on its type. Four general types of it:
- The informative abstract is one of the most common, especially for college students. It indicates a critical evaluation of the final data and their description. Like a mirror image, for which the text is hidden, like a wrap. Here, the researcher describes and explains the major argumentations and key results he got, the purpose, scope, used methodology. The author makes his conclusions and gives recommendations on the application of the paper. Mostly the volume does not exceed three hundred words.
- The descriptive abstract is the shortest content written in the theses, literally as the content skeleton of a book, but only by chapters, only write a brief description of them in a few words. There is no evaluation or reasoning about the research. This kind of abstract in a research paper includes simply significant points, the purpose, which was mainly put by the author, its scale, and base value. That can be a work plan, not a generalization, with a volume of about a hundred words.
- Highlight Abstract is written specifically to engage the audience to read. It does not give an overall picture and does not reflect the whole essence of the research, but spark the reader's interest, stops attention from the first words. This option is rarely used in academic professional writing for scientific purposes, and it is more typical for works aimed at the Internet audience of popular science magazines.
- Critical Abstract is not used quire often. It indicates the extent, to which all the data of all research corresponds to reality, its level of reliability and completeness of information. Also, the comparison of this work with analogs can be made. The average volume is four or five hundred words, including comments.
Do not exaggerate, write in essence and honestly. In the thesis of any type, there should be no false advertising information.
How to Write an Abstract for a Research Paper Correctly
Proceed to this final stroke only after you have finished to make out and integrate your research into one paper and wrote all the meaningful conclusions. Determine for yourself the fundamental hypotheses or objectives, identify the inferences that are indicated in your Introduction and Conclusion. Analyze the section about the Methods in the key of definitions and describe it in one or two sentences. Select the main and most important achievement from the Results section, which is applicable and useful, emphasize the importance of time spent on work.
Collect all this data in one paragraph on the semantic sequence: Introduction, then Methods, afterward, show the Results, and not modest Conclusions. Check how strong the significance is. You do not have to write about the details of the paper on any of the sections. Do not use abbreviations, which are not so necessary. Do not discuss the literature that was used. Avoid details and descriptions of the whole essence of the methods, and this should be a simple summary.
Think good how to start an abstract for a research paper, considering that it must be short and informative input, written in simple words, explaining the purpose of your entire article and its main significance.
Abstract Format for Research Paper has a Basic Structure
So, all the information should be placed into 150 to 300 words, ideally up to 250. The brevity of the presentation is the primary criterion of the abstract quality. It must be a single whole paragraph of the text. Unlike all paper, the first line of the abstract format for research paper leaves from the edge no more than five spaces.
You must trace the semantic connection in the written sentences, consistent presentation of thoughts is mandatory. It is difficult to achieve, describing all parts of your work at once. But catch the thread and trace it.
Writing an abstract for a research paper, all the content of the work must be in one font. If you did not have a brief of recommendations on the design, use a classic Times New Roman with the size of the pin equal 12, margins 1. A long title is not allowed. Ideally, this sentence is up to 50 words long, all meaningful words are written with a capital letter. The headline itself and the paragraph of your thesis itself should not be separated by a large indent. Do not use different types of selection, such as underlined or bold text, uppercase text.