What	  is	  an	  abstract	  and	  how	  to	  build	  one	  Paul W. L. Lai

Copyright 20111.	  What	  is	  an	  abstract?	  
1.1.	  Abstract	  is	  a	  succinct	  summary	  of	  your	  research	  	  	  	  	  	  Abstract	  is	  the	  most	  important	  part	  of	  your	  academic	  paper.	  It	  is	  a	  succinct	   summary	  of	   the	   research	   presented	   by	   your	   paper,	   and	   it	   basically	   functions	   to	   advertise	   the	  research	   to	   as	   many	   readers	   as	   possible	   in	   the	   big	   wild	   world.	   Whether	   or	   not	   the	  readers	  are	  interested	  in	  reading	  the	  details	  of	  your	  paper	  purely	  depends	  on	  the	  quality	  of	  the	  paper’s	  abstract.	  	  	  	  	  	  If	   the	   quality	   of	   your	   abstract	   is	   good,	   it	   will	   be	   able	   to	   provide	   a	   clear	   and	   convincing	  summary	   of	   your	   research.	   In	   particular,	   it	   will	   be	   able	   to	   inform	   the	   readers	   (i)	   what	  your	  research	  is	  basically	  about,	  (ii)	  why	  your	  research	  was	  carried	  out,	  (iii)	  how	  your	  research	  was	  carried	  out,	  and	  (iv)	  what	  you	  have	  concluded	  based	  on	  the	  research.	  	  	  	  	  	  	  If	  the	  quality	  of	  your	  abstract	  is	  not	  good	  enough,	  which	  means	  that	  the	  abstract	  fails	  to	  include	  any	  of	  the	  four	  components	  just	  mentioned,	  then	  it	  will	  not	  be	  able	  to	  provide	  a	   clear	   and	   convincing	   summary	   of	   your	   research,	   and	   as	   a	   result,	   there	   might	   be	   not	  enough	  incentives	  for	  the	  readers	  to	  proceed	  to	  read	  the	  details	  of	  your	  research.	  	  	  	  	  	  	  1.2.	  Abstract	  is	  written	  in	  only	  one	  paragraph	  	  	  	  	  	  Since	  abstract	  is	  a	  succinct	  summary	  of	  your	  research,	  its	  length	  should	  not	  be	  very	  long.	  Normally,	  it	  is	  written	  in	  only	  one	  paragraph.	  The	  number	  of	  words	  in	  an	  abstract	  normally	   ranges	   from	   150	   to	   200	   in	   a	   typical	   science	   paper,	   and	   from	   200	   to	   300	   in	   a	  typical	  humanities	  paper.	  	  	  1.3.	  Things	  to	  be	  included	  in	  an	  abstract	  	  	  	  	  	  	  A	   high	   quality	   abstract,	   regardless	   of	   whether	   it	   is	   written	   for	   a	   science	   paper	   or	  humanities	  paper,	  should	  include	  at	  least	  the	  following	  four	  components:	  	  (1)	  Main	  task	  of	  your	  research:	  This	  is	  to	  let	  the	  readers	  know	  the	  central	  focus	  of	  your	  research,	   or	   what	   your	   research	   is	   basically	   about.	   For	   example,	   the	   main	   task	   of	   your	  research	   could	   be	   an	   investigation	   of	   a	   particular	   psychological	   phenomenon,	   or	   an	  analysis	   of	   a	   particular	   scientific	   theory,	   etc.	   No	   matter	   what	   the	   main	   task	   is,	   make	   sure	  that	   it	   can	   be	   clearly	   understood	   by	   the	   readers,	   and	   the	   readers	   can	   know	   exactly	   what	  to	   expect	   as	   a	   result.	   The	   biggest	   mistake	   in	   summarizing	   your	   research	   is	   to	   use	   the	  phrases	   like	   “such	   and	   such	   will	   be	   discussed”,	   or	   “so	   and	   so	   will	   be	   considered”,	   etc.,	  without	  letting	  the	  readers	  know	  what	  to	  expect	  as	  a	  result.	  Note	  that	  abstract	  is	  not	  a	  place	  for	  waffling.	  It	  should	  report	  exactly	  what	  you	  did	  in	  the	  research.	  	  	  	  	  1	  What	  is	  an	  abstract	  and	  how	  to	  build	  one	  Paul W. L. Lai

Copyright 2011	  (2)	   Background	  information	  /	  motivation	  leading	  to	  your	  research:	  This	  is	  to	  let	  the	  readers	  know	  why	  you	  carried	  out	  the	  research.	  For	  example,	  the	  reason	  could	  be	  due	  to	  an	   inadequate	   explanation	   given	   by	   some	   previous	   research	   concerning	   a	   particular	  psychological	  phenomenon	  (e.g.	  paying	  attention	  to	  something),	  or	  a	  problem	  found	  in	  the	   existing	   scientific	   theory	   (e.g.	   Hawking’s	   Black	   Hole	   theory)	   in	   predicting	   the	  outcome	   of	   an	   unprecedented	   case.	   Whatever	   the	   background	   or	   motivation	   is,	   make	  sure	   that	   it	   demonstrates	   a	   continuity	   between	   your	   research	   and	   the	   previous	  researches,	   and	   it	   highlights	   the	   necessity	   for	   carrying	   out	   your	   research.	   The	   biggest	  mistake	  is	  to	  write	  about	  some	  previous	  researches	  that	  do	  not	  bear	  any	  direct	  relation	  to	   your	   present	   research.	   Note	   that	   abstract	   is	   not	   a	   place	   to	   show	   off	   how	   much	   you	  know	  about	  the	  previous	  researches.	  It	  should	  highlight	  the	  necessity	  for	  your	  research.	  	  	  	  	  (3)	   Methodology	   and	   results:	   This	   is	   to	   let	   the	   readers	   know	   how	   exactly	   you	   carried	  out	   your	   research.	   For	   example,	   the	   investigation	   you	   carried	   out	   to	   shed	   new	   light	   on	   a	  particular	   psychological	   phenomenon	   could	   be	   composed	   of	   two	   experiments	   and	   a	  comparison	  study	  of	  the	  experimental	  results	  obtained.	  Whatever	  your	  methodology	  is,	  make	   sure	   that	   it	   includes	   the	   result	   produced	   by	   each	   of	   the	   methods	   you	   used	   to	  implement	   the	   research	   task,	   and	   most	   importantly,	   it	   should	   demonstrate	   a	   logical	  relation	   among	   the	   results	   produced.	   Note	   that	   the	   research	   tasks	   you	   carried	   out	  through	   the	   chosen	   methods	   are	   the	   premises	   for	   inferring	   the	   conclusion	   of	   your	  research.	   Whether	   or	   not	   the	   readers	   find	   the	   basic	   structure	   of	   your	   research	  convincing	   purely	   depends	   on	   how	   well	   you	   organize	   the	   methodology	   in	   your	   abstract.	  
The	  biggest	  mistake	  here	  is	  to	  write	  something	  that	  bears	  no	  inferential	  relation	  to	  the	  conclusion	  of	  your	  research.	  	  	  	  (4)	   Conclusion	   /	   thesis	   statement:	   This	   is	   to	   let	   the	   readers	   know	   what	   you	   have	  concluded	   based	   on	   the	   results	   of	   all	   the	   necessary	   tasks	   carried	   out	   in	   your	   research.	  
For	  example,	  the	  conclusion	  could	  be	  that	  you	  have	  derived	  a	  new	  way	  of	  understanding	  the	   particular	   psychological	   phenomenon	   based	   on	   the	   new	   results	   obtained	   from	   the	  experiments	  that	  you	  conducted.	  Whatever	  the	  conclusion	  is,	  make	  sure	  that	  it	  is	  clear,	  and	   most	   importantly,	   it	   bears	   an	   inferential	   relation	   to	   the	   research	   results	   you	  obtained.	  The	  biggest	  mistake	  here	  is	  over	  generalizing	  the	  conclusion	  you	  drew.	  Here	  is	  	  2	  What	  is	  an	  abstract	  and	  how	  to	  build	  one	  Paul W. L. Lai

Copyright 2011a	   simple	   example	   of	   over	   generalization1:	   “I	   once	   saw	   a	   corporation	   lawyer	   get	   into	   a	  really	  nice	  car	  and	  drive	  off.	  Therefore	  all	  corporation	  lawyers	  are	  really	  wealthy.”	  	  	  	  	  1.4.	  Things	  not	  to	  be	  included	  in	  an	  abstract	  	  	  	  	  	  It	   is	   important	   to	   exclude	   the	   information	   that	   is	   not	   necessary	   for	   understanding	   the	  main	  argument	  of	  your	  research.	  Unless	  they	  are	  absolutely	  essential	  to	  understanding	  the	   main	   idea	   or	   research	   results	   of	   your	   research,	   you	   should	   avoid	   using	   the	   following	  in	  your	  abstract:	  (i)bibliographic	  references	  (ii)footnotes	  	  (iii)citations	  or	  quotations	  (paraphrase	  instead)	  (iv)abbreviations,	  symbols,	  etc	  (spell	  out	  all	  terms)	  	  2.	  How	  to	  build	  an	  abstract:	  Practical	  Steps	  Step	  1:	  Please	  answer	  the	  following	  question	  in	  one	  sentence.	  	  What	  is	  the	  main	  task	  of	  your	  research?	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  You	  may	  answer	  the	  question	  by	  beginning	  with	  “In	  this	  study/research,	  we	  analyzed	  …”	  	  Step	  2:	  Please	  answer	  the	  following	  question	  in	  one	  sentence.	  
What	   is	   the	   motivation	   for	   carrying	   out	   your	   research	   (e.g.	   (i)	   background	   information	  and	  (ii)	  some	  unsolved	  problem	  in	  the	  field	  of	  your	  research)?	  	  	  You	   may	   answer	   the	   question	   by	   beginning	   with	   “Many	   studies	   on	   …	   have	  demonstrated…	  But	  there	  is	  a	  problem	  …”	  	  Step	  3:	  Please	  answer	  the	  following	  question	  in	  two	  to	  three	  sentences.	  
What	   are	   the	   key	   procedures	   carried	   out	   to	   implement	   the	   main	   task?	   That	   is,	   how	   did	  you	  carry	  out	  the	  main	  task	  of	  your	  research?	  (e.g.	  conducting	  some	  experiments?)	  Please	  specify	  2	  ~	  3	  points	  (one	  sentence	  per	  point).	  	  	  You	  may	  answer	  the	  question	  by	  beginning	  with	  “In	  particular,	  firstly	  we	  conducted	  an	  experiment	  on	  …	  Second,	  …	  Third,	  …”	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  1	  Conclusions	  are	  reached	  based	  on	  inadequate	  evidence	  or	  a	  sample	  that	  is	  too	  small.	  	  3	  What	  is	  an	  abstract	  and	  how	  to	  build	  one	  Paul W. L. Lai

Copyright 2011	  Step	  4:	  Please	  answer	  the	  following	  question	  in	  two	  to	  three	  sentences.	  
What	   are	   the	   main	   results	   achieved	   from	   the	   tasks	   in	   (3)?	   You	   may	   combine	   this	   section	  with	  (3).	  	  	  	  Step	  5:	  Please	  answer	  the	  following	  question	  in	  one	  sentence.	  
What	   is	   the	   conclusion	   (thesis	   statement)	   based	   on	   the	   main	   task	   carried	   out	   in	   your	  research?	  That	  is,	  what	  have	  you	  found	  in	  your	  research?	  	  	  You	  may	  answer	  the	  question	  by	  beginning	  with	  “Based	  on	  the	  results	  we	  found	  in	  …,	  we	  can	  conclude	  that	  …”	  	  Step	   6:	   Combine	   your	   answers	   to	   the	   above	   questions	   using	   one	   of	   the	   following	  abstract	  formats.	  You	  are	  free	  to	  change	  any	  of	  the	  words	  or	  phrases.	  	  Abstract	  format	  1	  (for	  Science	  paper)	  {Motivation}	  Many	  studies	  on	  ….	  have	  demonstrated	  ….	  But	  there	  is	  a	  problem	  ….	  {Main	  task}	  In	  this	  study/research,	  we	  investigated	  …	  {Procedures	   &	   Results}	  In	  particular,	  firstly	   we	   conducted	   an	   experiment	   on	   …	   Then	   we	   compared	   the	   results	   from	   the	  experiment	  with	  …	  Finally	  we	  conducted	  another	  experiment	  on	  …	  {Conclusion}	  Based	  on	   the	   results	   we	   found	   in	   …	   	   we	   can	   conclude	   that	   …	   {Implication}	   [optional]	   One	  important	  implication	  of	  our	  conclusion	  is	  that	  …	  	  Abstract	  format	  2	  (for	  Humanities	  paper)	  {Motivation}	  Many	  studies	  on	  ….	  have	  demonstrated	  ….	  But	  there	  is	  a	  problem	  ….	  {Main	  task}	   In	   this	   study/research,	   we	   analyzed	   …	   {Procedures	   &	   Results}	   In	   particular,	  firstly	  we	  studied	  the	  work	  by	  …	  Then	  we	  compared	  the	  results	  from	  the	  study	  with	  …	  Finally	  we	  further	  studied	  the	  work	  by	  …	  {Conclusion}	  Based	  on	  the	  results	  we	  found	  in	  …	  	  we	  can	  conclude	  that	  …	  {Implication}	  [optional]	  The	  implication	  of	  our	  conclusion	  is	  that	  …	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  4