How to write a good abstract for a scientific paper or conference presentation

Abstract

Abstracts of scientific papers are sometimes poorly written, often lack important information, and occasionally convey a biased picture. This paper provides detailed suggestions, with examples, for writing the background, methods, results, and conclusions sections of a good abstract. The primary target of this paper is the young researcher; however, authors with all levels of experience may find useful ideas in the paper.

Writing for Publication 101: Why the Abstract Is So Important

“…The only part of the manuscript that these reviewers see is the abstract. 6 A poor-quality abstract will likely dissuade the best experts from investing time and effort to review and improve the paper, thereby defaulting invitations to reviewers lower on the list and extending the time required for completion of peer review.…”

“…This should be the shortest abstract section; it should briefly describe what is already known about the subject area of the study and what is not known, the latter being the current study focus. 6 This section highlights clinical relevance, establishes rationale for the study, and clarifies study objectives/questions.…”

“…This section describes how the study was conducted, including study design, duration, sampling technique, sample size and subgroup size(s), nature of treatments or interventions administered, data collection tools, primary outcome measure and how it was determined, and data analysis. 6 • Results. This is often considered the most important section of the abstract because anyone reading an abstract does so primarily to determine the findings.…”

“…This is often considered the most important section of the abstract because anyone reading an abstract does so primarily to determine the findings. The greatest amount of space should therefore be allocated for the Results to afford as much detail and precision as the maximum word count allows, 6 including sample size, subgroup size(s), and dropout rates. Provide actual quantitative results for all main outcomes, important negative outcomes, and, if possible, the most important secondary outcomes, each with its respective statistical significance value.…”

“…Provide actual quantitative results for all main outcomes, important negative outcomes, and, if possible, the most important secondary outcomes, each with its respective statistical significance value. 6 Include numerical results and their statistical support (eg, means, standard deviations, P values, relative risks, effect sizes, confidence intervals, odds ratios). 9 • Conclusion(s).…”