2. Abstract
•To be covered
- Abstract – what, why, who, when, how?
- Abstract - Extra Information
- Abstract - Procedure
3. Abstract – What?
- The abstract of a thesis or article is a short
summary that explains the main argument(s),
topic(s) or findings.
4. Abstract – Why?
- To give readers a quick identification of the
basic content of the thesis.
- There should be no need to look elsewhere in
the thesis for an understanding of what is said
in the abstract.
5. Abstract – Who?
- Written by you for the reader who may have
no idea of the area your abstract covers
- You need to make the abstract
understandable & easy to read
- KISS
“Keep It Simple Stupid” or
“Keep it short & Simple”
6. Abstract – When?
- Written after your thesis
- After thinking through the objective (reason
for research) how you carried out the research
your conclusions and recommendations
- Sumarising the key points of the above
7. Abstract – How?
• Some considerations first
- The abstract should be very concise – the
maximum length being 50% of one page
(outside of the header formatting and
keywords line)
- Written in the past tense “the purpose of the
research was to”
- Cannot use first person singular “I” or “We”
Can use “The author”
8. Abstract – How?
• Some considerations first
- British English or
American English but not both
- No abbreviations or acronyms e.g. “MRI”
if you can help it
- However if you need to use explain first in full
form then use the short version e.g.
“Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)” then
just “MRI”
9. Abstract – How?
• Some considerations first
- Do not translate direct from your language to
English
- Do not copy the same structure as your
own language abstract
10. Abstract – How?
• Some considerations first
- The abstract can be written as one large
paragraph, or for easy reading you can use
paragraphs for each section of the content.
- Paragraph 1: objectives and scope
- Paragraph 2: description of the methods used
- Paragraph 3: a summary of the results
- Paragraph 4: recommendations
11. Abstract – How?
• Paragraph 1: objectives and scope
- What was the aim of your research?
What were you trying to find out?
- “The purpose of this study was to….”
Identify, discover, clarify (only if research
completed previously) etc
- E.G. “The purpose of this study was to identify
what influences fashion has on teenagers”
12. Abstract – How?
• Paragraph 1: objectives and scope
- Explain a little about why your carrying out the
research or for who
- Why?
The author has a deep interest in teenage
fashion trends and wished to gain increased
knowledge of this fashion segment
- Who? The research was commissioned
(requested, paid) by ……
13. Abstract – How?
• Paragraph 2: description of the
methods used
- What were your research methods?
How did you carry out your research?
- “Both qualitative and quantitative research
methodology was utilised in this study”
14. Abstract – How?
• Paragraph 2: description of the
methods used
- Qualitative
Information too difficult or expensive to qualify;
value judgments typically involving group
discussions or personal interviews.
Often used when the research is looking to
uncover more detailed information from
research e.g. interviewing respondents to gain a
deeper insight rather than just have them tick a
box.
15. Abstract – How?
• Paragraph 2: description of the
methods used
- Quantitative
Research findings which can analysed and
expressed numerically, often large sample
surveys.
Often used when the research questions are
simple and do need a detailed explanation.
Used when large number of respondents
needed to provide statistical analysis.
16. Abstract – How?
• Paragraph 2: description of the
methods used
- If you carried out interviews or a survey:
How many? With who? Why (explanatory)?
- E.G. Eighty (80) questionnaires were sent to
teenagers in X school. The response rate was
ninety (90.5) percent. Five teenagers were
personally interviewed.
17. Abstract – How?
• Paragraph 3:a summary of the
results
- What results did you discover from your
research (not opinions)
- E.G. Sixty percent of respondents indicated
that fashion influences their choice in friends.
- The results must come from the research you
carried out or information if your thesis was
a practical study.
18. Abstract – How?
• Paragraph 4: recommendations
- What recommendations or conclusions can
you provide.
- E.G. Conclusion: Teenagers appear to be
strongly influenced by fashion and in particular
fashion promotion by music stars.
- E.G. Recommendation: It is recommended
that fashion companies use music stars to
promote their products to teenagers.
19. Abstract – How?
• Keywords
- Only six to seven maximum
- Only those that appear in your abstract
20. Abstract – Extra Info
•Common Mistakes
- Common mistakes are noted online
- Useful words, guidelines & an example
abstract appear in my website
21. Abstract – Extra Info
•Other Information sources
Writing abstracts (Details what an abstract is,
qualities and steps for writing a good abstract
and common mistakes.)
http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/bizwrite/abstracts.html
What is an abstract? & how to write an abstract
http://www.rpi.edu/web/writingcenter/abstracts.html
http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/abstract
s.html
