15:49 03/03/2024 How to Write a Research Paper Abstract in 2024: Guide With Examples | Research.

com

Research • JAN 2, 2024

How to Write a Research Paper Abstract in 2024: Guide With

Examples

by Imed Bouchrika, Phd

Co-Founder and Chief Data Scientist

Jalalian (2012) states that writing an abstract is a vital part of any academic paper. Though it prefaces
the whole research, it is the last section of an academic paper that researchers write last. That is
because it serves as a summary of the study. Since that is the case, it should be easy. There are
researchers who feel that way, while there are those who find it to be a daunting task. That trivializes
their abstracts and leads them to commit a number of mistakes or inconsistencies with the text (Turner,
2009).

This article addresses the difficulty in writing an abstract, including those mentioned above, and
imparts knowledge on how to write an abstract for a research paper. We have segmented the article
into different sections, including the components and style of an abstract, for a step-by-step process.
This guide aims to walk the reader through the process of making a cohesive and effective research
abstract.

Writing a Research Paper Abstract Table of Contents

1. Abstract Definition and Overview

2. Sections of an Abstract
3. Writing Style
4. Types and Examples

1. Abstract Definition and Overview

Before we define what is abstract in research paper, let us trace the term’s roots. An abstract is derived
from the Latin abstractus, which means “drawn away." This etymology also applies to art movements
and music, including abstract expressionism, which means the revelation of the will of the artist (Drake,
1922).

From this, you can surmise what is an abstract in research: a takeaway from the research itself. Unlike a
research proposal or even a research proposal sample that encapsulates the outline of the entire of
research project yet to be conducted, an abstract is self-contained, independent of the corpus of the
https://research.com/research/how-to-write-a-research-paper-abstract 1/15
15:49 03/03/2024 How to Write a Research Paper Abstract in 2024: Guide With Examples | Research.com

study. A research abstract, however, should describe the problem, the methods used to explore the
problem, and the results of these processes. The exact components of the work will vary, depending on
the field (Jalalian, 2012), but all in all, it should be a concise summary of the entire paper (Slade, 1997). It
is also similar to an executive summary in a business report (Koopman, 1997).

An abstract is also typically written last, after you’ve learned how to write a conclusion for a research
paper, although it prefaces the paper. In general, your abstract should be able to:

Describe the paper.

State the problem or the key issue.
Carry the reader through the research methodology, what it has found, and what conclusion you
have reached from these findings.
Contain keywords to your method and content.

In addition, your abstract should not:

Evaluate, review, or defend the paper or your position.

Propose what you intend to study, accomplish, or find out.
Be lengthy and superfluous.

Finally, after reading an abstract, a reader should know why the study was conducted to begin with,
what the research has concluded, and how it can be applied or how it can be useful. This role in any
academic paper means the abstract is the single most-read part of any research article. As such, it
should cover all major points of the paper (Winker, 1999).

What Is the Purpose of an Abstract?

Writing an abstract is mostly a requirement for research papers, but it is not a requirement without a
purpose or merely for tradition. An abstract facilitates scanning the paper to determine whether the
reader finds it relevant to their own research or study. Using an abstract, a researcher doesn’t need to
pore through your entire paper to find the content they’re looking for; they simply have to look at your
abstract—conveniently placed before the article—to see if your study can provide them additional
information.

Abstract writing is also important for indexing. Internet repositories of academic papers use abstracts
to index to the full text of academic papers. Similar to meta descriptions in regular Google results,
abstracts should contain keywords to help the researcher find what they’re looking for. This has made
abstracting and indexing services (A&I) essential for the scientific, technical, and medical (STM) fields.

https://research.com/research/how-to-write-a-research-paper-abstract 2/15
15:49 03/03/2024 How to Write a Research Paper Abstract in 2024: Guide With Examples | Research.com

Who is the abstract for?

As mentioned earlier, searching a database is a highly time-consuming task. Therefore, most

researchers rely on abstracts so they can spend their time wisely looking for supporting data or
information. An abstract is thus useful for those who are also conducting research.

In addition, certain professionals, such as librarians or database administrators, also welcome great
abstracts. Keyword usage and succinct abstract writing help them to organize their indexes much
better. A well-written abstract can aid in the accurate categorization of your paper.

Furthermore, a review panel (such as for a conference) is also one of the audiences of an abstract. As
they would not be able to read your entire paper in one sitting, they can choose to look at your abstract
first to see if it is worth their time.

2. What are the Sections of an Abstract?

A good abstract is concise and straightforward; it needs to impart as much information as possible in
the space of one paragraph. This is why sectioning it or writing its components piecemeal can be
effective. Writing a good one is essential in a track as a researcher, such as in philosophy careers.
Before one focuses on how to make an abstract in research, a researcher must first know its four parts:
the introduction, the methodology, the results, and the conclusion.

We explain them in more detailed terms below.

Introduction

https://research.com/research/how-to-write-a-research-paper-abstract 3/15
15:49 03/03/2024 How to Write a Research Paper Abstract in 2024: Guide With Examples | Research.com

The introduction answers the question, “What?" It consists of about two to three sentences that
summarize the article.

When writing the introduction, the first sentence should mention the core content of the paper, while
the second should be the background or context of the issue.

The introduction should state the research focus and define the importance of the research. If you
know how to write a thesis for a research paper, this is the part where you highlight your research
purpose. The researcher can do this by defining the gap in knowledge that the article aims to address
or the limitations or restrictions of previous studies. The introduction tackles the most important part
of the research in as economical a way as possible.

Additionally, ask yourself a few things when writing the introduction:

What problems does this study solve?

What is the main gap in knowledge that your study intends to fill?
Why are the results of this study important?

Third Sentence of the Introduction

The introduction also contains the third sentence, which addresses the significance of the research.
This statement answers the question “Why?" This element of the abstract is one of the most important
aspects that draw readers in the first place.

This section details the objective of the research, or what it aims to do, in the form of a hypothesis. You
can be more specific here as needed. You should also mind writing the significance of the research in a
way that is appropriate to your variables and data.

Funding agencies often look at the hypothesis and the significance of the research to judge whether the
study merits their attention or, most importantly, a grant. As more research is done to open up new
vistas of knowledge, so do funding, as visualized by the chart below.

https://research.com/research/how-to-write-a-research-paper-abstract 4/15
15:49 03/03/2024 How to Write a Research Paper Abstract in 2024: Guide With Examples | Research.com

U.S. Federal Funding Obligations for Research and Developmen

200

150

100

50

0
1995 2000 2005 2010 2015

Source: National Science Foundation Designed by

Methodology

This section answers the question “How?" This part details the processes and the methods used to
answer the “What" (Introduction) and the “Why" (Significance of the Research) questions stated earlier.

You should dedicate about three to four sentences to your methodology section. Here, you should
describe the following:

How the research was designed

Population (or subject) of the study
Setting of the study and other variables that might have influenced the results
How you chose the subject
Tools and techniques you used to arrive at your conclusion
How the findings were validated, defined as “the results of any external review, comparison with
guidelines developed by other groups, or clinical testing of guideline use (Hayward, 1993)."

Results

The results section, also known as the findings, is the climax of the abstract. This, in general terms,
answers the main thrust of the study. As such, it will contain, apart from the results, a statement of its
significance (and how it is so) and how it has changed (if at all) from the hypotheses put forth in the
third sentence.

https://research.com/research/how-to-write-a-research-paper-abstract 5/15
15:49 03/03/2024 How to Write a Research Paper Abstract in 2024: Guide With Examples | Research.com

In addition, the results should always be written in the past tense. While it will vary depending on the
methods you have used and the amount of data you have generated, it should never mention anything
beyond the scope of the study or what you yourself have found.

Make sure that you are only stating the results. Interpreting it should be in the next section, where you
can give the reader what the results mean and how it can affect the field of knowledge you are
researching in.

Conclusion

The conclusion is the final section of the abstract. It answers the question “So what?" This section
interprets what you have found in the previous section and states the overall implications of your
results. The conclusion describes what these findings mean for the long-term or the field in question. It
can also contain your recommendations based on your findings.

To write this section effectively, you can ask yourself a few more things, such as:

Can your results apply to other situations?

Did the results fill the gap in knowledge as described in the Introduction?
How are your findings similar to or different from related studies?
Would your results lead to another hypothesis?

That said, it’s easy to over-generalize or exaggerate the implications and significance of your results.
Avoid this by sticking to the data that the reader can actually find on the paper. Outline the key findings
and then string them together using a rational statement.

3. What is the Proper Abstract Writing Style?

Writing an abstract has several conventions on style. What further complicates things is that certain
publications have their own in-house style, confusing writers on how to proceed with writing. To make
it as simple as possible, we have chosen to follow the 7th edition of the American Psychological
Association (APA, 2020) as will be discussed further below.

https://research.com/research/how-to-write-a-research-paper-abstract 6/15
15:49 03/03/2024 How to Write a Research Paper Abstract in 2024: Guide With Examples | Research.com

In general, observe these guidelines:

Write in complete sentences and avoid informal or colloquial word choices.

Avoid writing from a personal point of view or offering your opinion.
Do not include information that the reader cannot find in your paper.
Minimize acronyms or jargon unless you explain them first.
Steer clear of tautological arguments and restating the paper’s title.
Do not stoop to condescension by pointing out common knowledge.

Here is a checklist of requirements as far as the APA-recommended abstract writing style is concerned.

Composition

When writing your abstract, your biggest focus is to write as clearly and as concisely as possible.
Economy of words thus takes on a more crucial role. Writing it in a declarative tone (or active voice)
can thus cut down on words while conveying the same meaning.
When you are writing about institutions or organizations in a language other than English, use their
full names in their native language.
Write titles (such as book or film titles) in their original language, followed by an English translation
in parentheses if the reader is unlikely to know what it is.
Cite sources in in-text APA format (author’s last name, year).
When stating objectives or hypotheses, it is ideal to use infinitives.

Formatting

https://research.com/research/how-to-write-a-research-paper-abstract 7/15
15:49 03/03/2024 How to Write a Research Paper Abstract in 2024: Guide With Examples | Research.com

The APA recommends legible and accessible fonts. You can use any of the following: 11-point
Calibri, 11-point Arial, 10-point Lucida Sans Unicode, 12-point Times New Roman, 11-point Georgia,
or 10-point Computer Modern.
On the first line, centered and in bold, write “Abstract" (without the quotes).
One line below it, write the text as a single paragraph, double-spaced.
Set a 1-inch (2.54 centimeter) margin on all sides.
The running head should be aligned to the left at the top of the page.
The abstract should be on the second page of the paper (the first one is reserved for the title).
Avoid indentations, unless you must include a keywords section at the end of the abstract. In this
case, indent the first line and italicize the section label (keywords) while leaving the contents
themselves without formatting.

Length

Abstracts should at least be 150 words long but never exceed 250 words. However, account for the
length of the study and the data collected and analyzed. A whole dissertation will take up to 250 words,
while a shorter one may merit about 150-160 words. The type of abstract will also play a role in length
considerations.

If you are writing a paper as a student, your institution or professor may require a specific word count
requirement.

Breaking down an abstract into its constituent parts and the composition of an abstract can best be
described by the chart below:

Parts of an Abstract

15%
25%
Introduction

Methodology

Results
35%
Conclusion
25%

Source: Carnegie Mellon University IMRAD Designed by

https://research.com/research/how-to-write-a-research-paper-abstract 8/15
15:49 03/03/2024 How to Write a Research Paper Abstract in 2024: Guide With Examples | Research.com

Keywords

Keywords, like in search engines, help indexers (like the aforementioned librarian) find the relevant
paper. If your abstract misuses—or worse, does not use—keywords, the database will not be able to
look your paper up no matter how great or ground-breaking your research. This is why it pays to use
the relevant keywords to help readers find your manuscript and allow it to be cited.

Choosing keywords is a study in itself. In general, however, effective keywords should represent the
content of your paper and be specific to your discipline or industry. Mahboobi et al. (2010) recommend
that keyword selection should be no less than three and no more than 10.

The APA recommends the formatting for your keywords:

Use the same font choice, spacing, and page placement as the abstract.
Place the “Keywords" (without the quotes) label one line below the abstract, in italic but not in bold.
Indent the first line of the keywords, written one line below the label.
Write in lowercase, except proper nouns.
Separate keywords with a comma and space.
List keywords in any order you choose.
If the keywords run into a second line, you need not indent the second line.

These instructions are for the abstract only but can be applicable to other parts of your research paper.
However, you can make certain you are following the right format by checking the full APA format
guidelines.

4. Abstract Types and Examples

Most researchers and studies use one of the two major types of abstracts: descriptive and informative
(Kilborn, 1998). We look at how they differ below.

Descriptive

Descriptive abstracts, as you can glean from its name, describes the type of information about the
work. Of the two major types, descriptive abstracts are infrequently used in research papers because of
their dearth of information. It may, however, contain keywords and some information about the
purpose, scope, and methodology of the research.

This type is very short, often just a few lines, or about 100 words or less. It makes no pretensions on the
veracity of the work nor does it provide results and/or conclusions and implications of the research.
Jalalian (2012), in his paper “Writing an eye-catching and evocative abstract for a research article: A
comprehensive and practical approach," uses a descriptive abstract. Here is his example of abstract in
research:

https://research.com/research/how-to-write-a-research-paper-abstract 9/15
15:49 03/03/2024 How to Write a Research Paper Abstract in 2024: Guide With Examples | Research.com

Informative

Most people who write abstracts (and those who read them) encounter the other type, called an
informative abstract. This type does more than just describe a paper; it expresses and explains the
arguments, evidence, and results of the study. Like a descriptive abstract, it contains the scope and
questions, but it also includes the findings and the implications of the research.

Here is a research paper abstract example based on an experiment by Palmquist, M., & Young, R.
(1992).

Informative abstracts take on a more important role in medicine as well, whereas some physicians and
clinicians refer to it as structured abstracts (Haynes, 1990). With a structured abstract, authors are
required to systematically “disclose the objective, basic research design, clinical setting, participants,
interventions (if any), main outcome measurements, results, and conclusions; and for literature reviews
the objective, data sources, methods of study selection, data extraction and synthesis, and
conclusions." In this context, research design meaning refers to the overall strategy or plan that
researchers employ to address their research questions or objectives.

A structured abstract in research paper may also help cut down on bibliographic utility expenses that
academic libraries, which are common research repositories, maintain for these papers. These
expenses, while small compared to their operating costs, are still remarkably high, as you can see
below.

Academic Library Expenses in the United States

600

400

282.94

200 223.99

71.92
51.73
90.58
53.08
0
Private Public

Operating Expenses Bibliographic utilities and references Computer hardware an

Source: NCES; Institute of Education Sciences, 2012 Designed by

How to Structure an Interesting Abstract?

https://research.com/research/how-to-write-a-research-paper-abstract 10/15
15:49 03/03/2024 How to Write a Research Paper Abstract in 2024: Guide With Examples | Research.com

The abstract is a brief summary of your paper, but it is one of the most important—if not the most.
However, writing one is never easy. Some amateurs often write it first, thinking that it “teases" what
follows (the paper itself), but it should instead be treated as a spoiler (Halpern and Phelan, 2017).
Fortunately, there are now technologies you can utilize, such as paper writing software, to help you
come up with a good research abstract.

The pithy, straightforward style of the abstract lends itself well to a well-written, well-researched study.
If your paper does not have definitive results or the objective of the research itself is questionable, so
would your abstract. Therefore, write only the abstract after you have seen your findings and
interpreted them in a larger context.

Careful attention and detail can help you on your way to writing an effective, interesting abstract. Not
only could you appeal to scientific journals, but you could also make a favorable impression on faculties
when applying for Ph.D. degrees.

References:

1. American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological

Association (7th ed.). Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000
2. Drake, W. (1922). Poetry Lore 33. The Life and Deeds of Dada. Retrieved
from https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9781349077908
3. Halpern, F. and Phelan, J. (2017). Inside Higher Ed. Writing an Effective Abstract: An Audience-Based
Approach. Retrieved from https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2017/02/23/importance-writing-
effective-abstract-when-you-submit-journal-article-essay
4. Haynes, B., et al. (1990). Annals of Internal Medicine. More Informative Abstracts Revisited.
Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-113-1-69
5. Hayward, R., et al. (1993). Annals of Internal Medicine. More Informative Abstracts of Articles
Describing Clinical Practice Guidelines. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-118-9-
199305010-00012
6. Jalalian, M. (2012). Electronic Physician, 2012;4(3). Writing an eye-catching and evocative abstract for a
research article: A practical approach. (p. 520-524). Retrieved from
http://www.ephysician.ir/2012/520-524.pdf
7. Kilborn, J. (1998). St. Cloud University, LEO. Writing Abstracts. Retrieved from
http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/bizwrite/abstracts.html
8. Koopman, P. (1997). Carnegie Mellon University. How to Write an Abstract. Retrieved
from http://users.ece.cmu.edu/~koopman/essays/abstract.html
9. Mahboobi, H. et al. (2010), Australasian Medical Journal. 2010;1:1802. Designing a research
mentorship program (RMP) to enhance research productivity at Ebne-Sina Psychiatric hospital. Retrieved
from https://doi.org/10.4066/AMJ.2010.192
10. Palmquist, M., & Young, R. (1992). Written Communication, 9(1). The Notion of Giftedness and Student
Expectations About Writing. (pp. 137-168). Retrieved
from https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0741088392009001004
https://research.com/research/how-to-write-a-research-paper-abstract 11/15