Writing Abstract in Academic Project: 7 important components of an Abstract for Your Research Project
Introduction
Abstracts are the primary means of disseminating research findings and contributions to the literature on the examined topic. Once a researcher has finished writing his research thesis or report, he or she typically has to produce an abstract. A scientific paper’s abstract is essential; in some cases, it is the only section readers read. A research project’s abstract is a one-paragraph overview.
In scholarly publications and conference programs, abstracts are published before papers. A manuscript’s aim and main ideas can be easily understood by readers of a journal abstract, which also helps other scholars decide whether it will be beneficial to read the complete paper. The abstract in a conference serves as an endorsement that the paper or presentation is worth the audience’s time.
The abstract enables readers to choose whether or not to read the entire project. Lecturers or professors might use the abstract to assess your study is effectiveness. It helps the conference organizer determine whether your project meets the requirements for presentation. Your abstract will be used by the conference audience, which consists of academics, administrators, peers, and speakers’ families, to determine whether or not to attend your session. Consider all of these readers while writing your abstract.
In continuation, an abstract is a concise and impactful phrase that sums up a larger work. The rest of the document shouldn’t have to be read by the reader to find a clarification of some ambiguous statement. It has to make sense on its own. In addition, the abstract is a written piece rather than a portion that has been excerpted, even though it might contain important terms from the bigger work.
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Readers who might be fascinated by a longer article can quickly determine whether it is worthwhile to read it by looking at the abstract. Additionally, several online indexes index larger publications using abstracts. As a result, abstracts should include terms and phrases that make searching simple.
An abstract’s main objective is to concisely convey your research endeavour’s significance, specifics, and passion. Even scientists who are unfamiliar with your field of study should be able to understand the abstract if it is intriguing and instructive. The passive voice should be avoided, and clear declarative statements should be used instead. Avoiding or limiting the usage of acronyms and abbreviations is also beneficial. Where acronyms and abbreviations are necessary, they should be defined in the first instance.
An abstract typically contains the following:
- A succinct overview of the subject you are researching.
- A justification of the topic’s relevance to your discipline or fields.
- A statement identifying the research deficit.
- A research goal(s) or question(s).
- A description of your research strategy and techniques.
- Your main point and your main results in brief.
- An explanation of how and why your research contributes to the field(s) under question.
Below are some guidelines for writing a Strong Abstract
First, draft the report
Write the abstract as soon as you finish drafting your research report. The whole picture of your accomplishments might not be immediately clear because thesis and dissertation work, particularly for postgraduate students in Nigeria, might be spread out over months or even years. Therefore, this issue is resolved by writing the thesis or dissertation first. One can effectively refresh his memory and condense the work’s components into a single document by writing it first.
The abstract, a brief description of the research, can then be written using the manuscript as a guide. If you’re stuck on where to begin, think about reading your work and underlining the key phrases in every section of your work, such as introduction, methodology, findings, discussion and conclusions. Then, when writing your abstract, use these sentences as an outline.
At this time, it’s also crucial to review the style rules for your desired journal to see what they say about abstracts. As an illustration, certain project works, as well as journals, demand an organized abstract with distinct sections, and the majority of journals have tight word count restrictions.
Review background information and State the problem
Your abstract’s initial section has a lot to offer. The reader must be informed within sentences of your abstract as to the purpose of your research. The following paragraph can then go on to discuss what knowledge is lacking in the area or what earlier scholars have done to try to solve the issue. Then let the reader know that you are describing the goal or purpose of your work by using language like “in this work, we intended to…” or ” we prove that…”.
If readers don’t understand the issue, they won’t care about the solution and they won’t understand the relevance of what you’ve discovered. In order to help readers understand why the problem is essential, the beginning of the abstract should include a statement about the study problem or question. Then you should provide your research as an answer to the query.
Describe your methodology
You have the opportunity to briefly describe the fundamental structure of your study in the methods part of your abstract. Although going into great depth is unnecessary, you should nevertheless quickly describe the main strategies employed.
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State your key findings
The findings segment of your abstract is probably more crucial than any other element, just as the abstract can be the most significant portion of your entire article. This is because your abstract’s primary purpose is to inform readers of your findings. As a result, the findings portion should be the longest in your abstract, and you should aim to provide as much information as possible.
The abstract, despite having a distinct writing style, is similar to a quick news report on your research, and news reports always have a major point. Create a few bullet points or “sound bites” regarding your most crucial data instead of trying to cram as many findings as you can into the abstract. Before creating a comprehensive paper, this is also helpful to undertake.
Identify a sizable audience.
Because you can never be sure who will find the abstract online and in database searches, it should be written with a larger audience in mind than the paper itself. As a result, it should be free of jargon and acronyms and include a summary of the research topic and sufficient background information for scientists working in fields other than your own.
Correct any writing mistakes.
People are less forgiving of grammatical mistakes and convoluted, difficult-to-read sentences when scanning content very fast, as with abstracts. Therefore, employ decent grammar, appropriate phrase structure, sentence transitions, and other elements. Your abstract should be easy to read, like meandering down a winding route. Readers won’t want to make the lengthier journey—reading your paper—if you have them wade through dense word forests.
Pick your keywords wisely.
Beyond the scope of this course, understanding how to select effective keywords—those that improve your paper’s likelihood of turning up in searches—is not covered. But make sure you speak with your advisor, your college’s librarian, or other people who may provide advice about this.
Wrap it up.
To create an intriguing and educational abstract: 1) Identify the issue; 2) solely discuss your primary findings, being sure to explain how they address the issue; Provide background information as necessary, state the research’s general significance, and make your writing as comprehensible and clear as you can. Then succinctly write your conclusion, avoiding making generalizations.