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Purdue OWL staff

Brought to you in cooperation with the Purdue Online Writing Lab

Writing Scientific Abstracts�

Rationale: Welcome to “Writing Scientific Abstracts.” This presentation is designed to acquaint your students with some guidelines for writing scientific abstracts. This presentation also contains an abstract example taken from the OWL Usability Research project. The ten slides presented here are designed to aid the facilitator in an interactive presentation of the elements of writing abstracts. This presentation is ideal for the beginning research methods course or for training purposes.

This presentation may be supplemented with OWL resources here: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/.

Directions: Each slide is activated by a single mouse click, unless otherwise noted in bold at the bottom of each notes page.

Writer and Designer: Purdue OWL

Updated by H. Allen Brizee, 2007; Arielle McKee, 2014

Developed with resources courtesy of the Purdue University Writing Lab

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Abstract: What is the Purpose?

Scientific abstracts:

introduce journal articles
inform readers about the article’s content
help readers decide whether or not to read article
overview conference programs, abstract collections, and book chapters

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Why Should I Know How to Write Abstracts?

Helps you present complex information in a clear, concise manner

Helps you read abstracts more effectively

Helps you conduct research

Helps you write abstracts for future publications

Helps you condense report information into a short format for database searches

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Qualities of an Effective Abstract

Effective Abstracts:

Are one or more well-developed paragraphs, which are unified, coherent, concise, and able to stand alone (200-300 words)

Use an introduction-body-conclusion structure in which the parts of the report are discussed in order: purpose, research questions, methods, findings, conclusions, recommendations

Follow strictly the chronology of the report

Add no new information - merely summarizes report

Contain stand-alone qualities - the abstract can be understood without reading the paper

Are intelligible to a wide audience

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How Do I Write an Abstract?

Writing an Abstract:

Remember that an abstract typically contains: topic, research question, methods, results, and conclusion.

Read your paper in its entirety. Keep the above categories in mind and underline key points (outlined in #1) as you read.

After you finish reading, create your abstract step-by-

step based on your underlined material.

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Writing the Parts of My Abstract

Step-by-Step Process:

Write 1-2 introduction sentences that explain topic, purpose, and research question(s).
Write 1-2 sentences describing your research methods (this may also include the type of data analysis you used).
Write 1-2 sentences describing the results / findings.
Write 1-2 sentences containing your conclusions and recommendations.

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Revising the Abstract

Read your abstract all the way through:

- add transition words to tie ideas together,

- eliminate unnecessary content and add in

things that are missing,

- correct errors in mechanics, and proofread.

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Example of a Scientific Abstract

Usability and User-Centered Theory for 21^st Century OWLs

By Dana Lynn Driscoll, H. Allen Brizee, Michael Salvo, and Morgan Sousa from The Handbook of Research on Virtual Workplaces and the New Nature of Business Practices. Eds. Kirk St. Amant and Pavel Zemlansky. Hershey, PA: Idea Group Publishing, 2008.

This article describes results of usability research conducted on the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL). The Purdue OWL is an information-rich educational website that provides free writing resources to users worldwide. Researchers conducted two generations of usability tests. In the first test, participants were asked to navigate the OWL and answer questions. Results of the first test and user-centered scholarship indicated that a more user-centered focus would improve usability. The second test asked participants to answer writing-related questions using both the OWL website and a user-centered OWL prototype. Participants took significantly less time to find information using the prototype and reported a more positive response to the user-centered prototype than the original OWL. Researchers conclude that a user-centered website is more effective and can be a model for information-rich online resources. Researchers also conclude that usability research can be a productive source of ideas, underscoring the need for participatory invention.

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Where Can Students Find More Help?

Purdue University Writing Lab

Heavilon 226

Web: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/

Phone: (765) 494-3723

Email: owl@owl.english.purdue.edu

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The End

Writing Scientific Abstracts

Brought to you in cooperation with the Purdue Online Writing Lab