An abstract is the summary version of an original document. In most cases, it is the channel of communication between the author and the potential user. To elaborate abstracts therefore, requires a broad knowledge of the field, as well as the skills to analysis and summarise the content of a document.
Effective abstracts allow to identify the content of a document without reading it.
Its use must help to identify the relevance of the original document so as to decide whether to acquire it and read it in full. Types of abstracts. Analytic or informative abstracts provide relevant information regarding for example the objectives, methods, results and conclusions of research documents. Indicative or descriptive abstracts are those providing a mere description of the document. They state the theme of research or discussion for example, without really providing results or factual data.