Writing an abstract

UMass Chan Medical School eScholarship@UMassChan PEER Liberia Project UMass Medical School Collaborations in Liberia 2019-12-02 Writing an abstract Richard Ssekitoleko Yale University Let us know how access to this document benefits you. Follow this and additional works at: https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/liberia_peer Part of the Family Medicine Commons, Medical Education Commons, Scholarly Communication Commons, and the Scholarly Publishing Commons Repository Citation Ssekitoleko R. (2019). Writing an abstract. PEER Liberia Project. https://doi.org/10.13028/edax-w765. Retrieved from https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/liberia_peer/51 This material is brought to you by eScholarship@UMassChan. It has been accepted for inclusion in PEER Liberia Project by an authorized administrator of eScholarship@UMassChan. For more information, please contact Lisa.Palmer@umassmed.edu. Writing an abstract Richard Ssekitoleko USAID PEER/Liberia Workshop Objectives By the end of this talk, the participant should be in position to: • Define an abstract • Know the components of an abstract • Understand the steps for writing an abstract • Know the different formats of an abstract • Know the different sections of an abstract and what they contain Abstract • Brief summary or synopsis of the full manuscript • Found at the beginning of the manuscript right after the title • Usually followed by a list of author selected key words • Stand alone • Unbiased and honest • Should not be misleading • Original and not plagiarized • No abbreviations Why a good abstract? • With the title help form the initial impression of the article • For editors to decide whether to process the paper further • For reviewers to get initial impression to help decide if they will review article • Readers initially see the title and abstract and these help them decide if to read the whole article • Key component of applying for funding • Helps one land an oral or poster presentation at a conference. • May be the basis for winning awards to conferences Components of an abstract • Includes different sections • • • • • Background Purpose Methods Results Conclusion • List of selected key words at the end • Another approach is to answer questions; • • • • Why was the study done? How was the study conducted? What were the findings? What do the findings mean? Steps for writing an abstract • Usually written after completion of the manuscript • Decide on the journal of choice and then consult for abstract guidelines. • Suggested format • Word count or length • Writing font • Review examples of a journal’s published abstracts before writing your abstract Example: Abstract guideline Example: Abstract to the future virology journal Formats of an abstract • May be; • Structured • Information organized into sections • Sections identified by bolded headings • Unstructured • Headings stated as part of sentences • No bold headings • Typical length of abstracts • Journals give limit to length usually 250 words • Some electronic data bases may truncate abstracts beyond certain length Example: Structured abstract Example: Unstructured abstract Title • Reflects contents of the manuscript • Choose right name for your story • Conveys to readers the scope, design and goal of research • Should be free of jargon or unfamiliar acronyms Background • Introduces research problem • Problem: Monitoring critically ill patients in sub-Saharan Africa • Identifies key focus of the study • Focus: Use of vital signs to predict in-hospital mortality in sepsis patients • Answers the question; Why was this study done? • Tells you what is known • What gap does your study intend to address? Purpose • Focuses specifically on research questions • Do admission vital signs predict mortality in sepsis? • Hypothesis • Null hypothesis: No association • Alternative: Association • Aims/Objectives of the study Methods • Identifies the nature of data analyzed • How study was conducted • Quantitative study • Research design • Sample size • Setting • Variables • Approach to data analysis • Quantitative study • Philosophical approach • Participants • Context • Data collection methods • Approach to analysis Methods Results • Answers the question: What were the results? • For quantitative studies • If statistical tests were used then report results and level of significance • Report results even if they were non-significant • For qualitative studies • Report themes/Categories or resultant theory • Sets the stage for the conclusion of the study Conclusion • What do the findings mean? • Emphasize new and important aspects of the study • All the emphasis should be supported by the results or findings Key words • Choose words or phrases that communicate the central concept of the study or research • Careful selection facilitates retrieval of relevant studies • Key words are used for indexing • Key words are used for searching studies in data bases References • SOUSA, Valmi D. How to write an abstract for a manuscript publication. Acta paul. enferm. [online]. 2006, vol.19, n.3 [cited 2019-11-12], pp.5-8. • Sturgeon CM, Ditadi A. Let Me Speak! A Reviewers' Guide to Writing a Successful Meeting Abstract. Stem Cell Reports. 2018;11(6):1324–1326. doi:10.1016/j.stemcr.2018.11.016 • Bavdekar SB, Gogtay NJ. Writing an Abstract for a Research Manuscript: Providing an Honest, Succinct and Complete Summary. J Assoc Physicians India. 2015 Dec;63(12):64-67. • Journal of Clinical Virology; Author information pack • Asiimwe SB, Abdallah A, Ssekitoleko R. A simple prognostic index based on admission vital signs data among patients with sepsis in a resource-limited setting. Crit Care. 2015 Mar 16;19:86. doi: 10.1186/s13054-015-0826-8. • Ssekitoleko R, Kamya MR, Reingold AL. Primary prophylaxis for cryptococcal meningitis and impact on mortality in HIV: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Future Virol. 2013;8(9):10.2217/fvl.13.71. doi:10.2217/fvl.13.71 • Ssekitoleko R, Pinkerton R, Muhindo R, Bhagani S, Moore CC. Aggregate evaluable organ dysfunction predicts in-hospital mortality from sepsis in Uganda. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2011;85(4):697–702. doi:10.4269/ajtmh.2011.10-0692