More Informative Abstracts
Authors: Douglas G. Altman, Martin J. Gardner
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1987)

Letters and Corrections1 November 1987More Informative AbstractsDOUGLAS G. ALTMAN, B.SC., MARTIN J. GARDNER, B.SC., Ph.D.DOUGLAS G. ALTMAN, B.SC.Search for more papers by this author, MARTIN J. GARDNER, B.SC., Ph.D.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-107-5-790_2 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptTo the editor: Many abstracts of published papers are uninformative, or even misleading (1); suggestions for improvement are welcome. We wish to comment on a recent proposal by an ad hoc working group for more informative abstracts for clinical articles (2).The working group has suggested that abstracts include key information on objectives, design, setting, patients or other participants, interventions, measurements and main results, and conclusions. However, we believe authors should state their primary outcome measures or endpoints, and other (secondary) outcomes of interest (3), and at least the main outcome measures should be identified and reported in the abstract....References1. POCOCKHUGHESLEE SMR. Statistical problems in the reporting of clinical trials: a survey of three major medical journals. N Engl J Med. 1987;317:426-32. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. . A proposal for more informative abstracts of clinical articles. Ann Intern Med. 1987;106:598-604. LinkGoogle Scholar3. ALTMANGOREGARDNERPOCOCK DSMS. Statistical guidelines for contributors to medical journals. Br Med J. 1983;286:1489-93. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. ANDERSENWESTO'DELLVIACLAYPOOLKOTZIN PSJCRB. Weekly pulse methotrexate in rheumatoid arthritis: clinical and immunologic effects in a randomized, double-blind study. Ann Intern Med. 1985;103:489-95. LinkGoogle Scholar5. GARDNERALTMAN MD. Confidence intervals rather than p values: estimation rather than hypothesis testing. Br Med J. 1986;292:746-50. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited ByReview of the first 20 years of the Evidence‐Based Medicine Committee of the Japan Society for Oriental MedicineThe AbstractAnalysis of Abstracts from the Medical Theses Written in Macedonian Language and Proposal of Standards for Abstract PreparationDuplicate publication cases in the field of Kampo (Japanese herbal medicine) in JapanHow to Write Abstractor's Comments on Structured Abstract of RCT in KampoAcceptance of Structured Abstracts by Medical Investigators : An Questionnaire SurveyReporting of numerical and statistical differences in abstractsTitle, Authors, and AbstractQuality Assessment of Pharmacoeconomic Abstracts of Original Research Articles in Selected JournalsMore Informative Abstracts RevisitedReading medical English abstracts: a genre study of the interaction between structural variables and the reader's linguistico-conceptual competence (L2)More Informative Abstracts RevisitedR. Brian Haynes, MD, PhD, Cynthia D. Mulrow, MD, MSc, Edward J. Huth, MD, Douglas G. Altman, BSc, Martin J. Gardner, PhDTesting overseas doctors.Structured abstracts. 1 November 1987Volume 107, Issue 5Page: 790-791 Issue Published: 1 November 1987 PDF DownloadLoading ...