1. Writing an Abstract
Thursday, May 30

2. Overview Definition Importance 150-200 words
Brief, comprehensive summary of the contents of the article
Allows readers to survey the contents of an article quickly
Importance
First contact of article in literature search
Readers frequently decide based on the abstract to read the remainder of the article
words

3. A good abstract is… Accurate Nonevaluative Coherent and readable
Concise

4. Accurate Correctly reflect the purpose and content of the article
Do not include extraneous information that is not in the body of article
If the study extends or replicates previous research, mention in abstract
Tip: compare abstract to an outline of the article’s headings to verify accuracy

5. Nonevaluative Report rather than evaluate
Do not add to or comment on what is in the body of the manuscript

6. Coherent and readable Write in clear and concise language Verb tense
Present – talk about general facts, the paper itself or an analysis of findings
Past – to talk about actual results

7. Concise Make each sentence maximally informative – but also brief
Highlight most important parts
Do not repeat the title
Use specific keywords relevant to your project

8. Empirical Study STEM group, Luis, Shalane
Problem under investigation
Participants (demographics) or animals (genus & species)*
Essential features of study method
Basic findings – effect sizes and confidence intervals, statistical significance
Conclusions and implications or applications

9. Rapid Review/Meta-Analysis Destanee & Josh
The problem or relation(s) under investigation
Study eligibility criteria (inclusion criteria)
Main results/themes
Conclusions and limitations
Implications for theory, policy, and/or practice

10. Historiography Jawaun
Present the basic idea you want to convey through your paper
Identify the problem/gap in literature
Identify how your project will fill in the gap
Material used in project
Approaches to make connections within material
Conclusions drawn from material
Implications