1 Writing an Abstract Dr Paul Holland

2 What is an Abstract? Essentially the abstract is the most important part of a paper. Essentially the abstract is the most important part of a paper. An abstract summarises the main points of the paper. An abstract summarises the main points of the paper. The abstract creates interest in your topic and encourages people to read on. Often people will ONLY read the abstract so make it attractive! The abstract creates interest in your topic and encourages people to read on. Often people will ONLY read the abstract so make it attractive! Dr Paul Holland

3 An abstract should represent as much of the quantitative and qualitative information from your paper as possible. An abstract should represent as much of the quantitative and qualitative information from your paper as possible. An abstract should be dense with information yet readable, well organised, brief and self-contained (Taylor & Rose, 1997). An abstract should be dense with information yet readable, well organised, brief and self-contained (Taylor & Rose, 1997). An abstract should not contain waffle. Rather it should be a succinct summary of your exact findings (Costa-Pierce, n.d.). An abstract should not contain waffle. Rather it should be a succinct summary of your exact findings (Costa-Pierce, n.d.). Dr Paul Holland

4 Contents of an Abstract An abstract should be approximately words and include the following: An abstract should be approximately words and include the following: 1)Purpose – introduce the topic and explain why you did the research. 2)Methods – what did you do and how did you do it? 3)Results – what did you find? 4)Conclusions – what conclusions can be drawn from your research? 5)Relevance – how does your research relate to your field of inquiry? Dr Paul Holland

5 A good abstract is: Accurate Accurate only include information that appears in your main body of work. only include information that appears in your main body of work. does your research extend upon or replicate the work of others. does your research extend upon or replicate the work of others. correctly reflect the purpose and content of your paper correctly reflect the purpose and content of your paper Dr Paul Holland

6 Self-contained Self-contained everything must be explained to the reader…they should not have to look elsewhere. everything must be explained to the reader…they should not have to look elsewhere. define all abbreviations and acronyms used. define all abbreviations and acronyms used. spell out names of tests/measurements. spell out names of tests/measurements. define unique terms. define unique terms. Dr Paul Holland

7 Concise and specific Concise and specific do not repeat the title. do not repeat the title. make each sentence as informative as possible. make each sentence as informative as possible. avoid personal pronouns. avoid personal pronouns. begin with the most important information. begin with the most important information. use active voice e.g. 25 participants were tested vs. the study tested 25 participants. use active voice e.g. 25 participants were tested vs. the study tested 25 participants. Dr Paul Holland

8 Non-evaluative Non-evaluative report your findings…do not evaluate them. report your findings…do not evaluate them. do not add to what is included within your main body of work. do not add to what is included within your main body of work. Dr Paul Holland

9 Coherent and readable Coherent and readable use key words from your paper. use key words from your paper. avoid jargon. avoid jargon. utilise short sentences. utilise short sentences. write clearly. write clearly. use active rather than passive voice. use active rather than passive voice. Dr Paul Holland

10 An example of an abstract The second year of life is marked by changes in the robustness of recall memory. Both retrieval and storage processes have been implicated as the major source of age-related improvements in recall. Children 13 to 20 months of age were matched for levels of learning and laboratory events (thereby eliminating encoding as a source of developmental difference) and tested for recall after delays as long as 6 months. In Experiment 1, 16-month-olds evidenced less Dr Paul Holland

11 loss of information and more relearning than 13-month-olds. In Experiment 2, 20-month-olds evidenced less loss of information and more relearning than 16-month-olds. Patterns of performance across test trials and in relearning implicate a decline in susceptibility to storage failure as the primary source of the observed developmental trend (Bauer, 2005, p.41). Title of article: Developments in declarative memory: Decreasing susceptibility to storage failure over the second year of life. Dr Paul Holland

12 References Bauer, P.J. (2005). Developments in declarative memory: Decreasing susceptibility to storage failure over the second year of life. Psychological Science, 16(1), Costa-Pierce, B. (n.d.). Writing a smashing abstract takes practice. Retrieved February 28, 2006, from Taylor, D., & Rose, J.B. (1997). Writing an abstract in the health sciences and social work. Retrieved February 28, 2006, from Dr Paul Holland