Structured Abstract, Keywords and Paper Type

An article starts with lines for the Title, for the Authors and for Author Affiliations. This is
followed at Emerald by a Structured Abstract, Keywords and Paper Type.

1 Structured Abstracts

History of Structured Abstracts

Emerald introduced structured abstracts to all journals in 2005. This development was
undertaken as part of our strategy of continuous improvement in the delivery and
dissemination of papers. Use of structured abstracts ensures that better information is
supplied and that there is more consistency across the journals and database. Ultimately,
readers and researchers searching the database are more likely to access the paper when
the abstract provides useful information. In the past, author-written abstracts were very
variable both in terms of content and quality. Structured abstracts ensure we no longer have
this problem.

Importance of Structured Abstracts

In an electronic environment, abstracts are more important that they have ever been.
Sometimes this "snippet" is the only thing a reader or researcher will see and it is the one
chance we have of persuading them to download the full text of the paper.

Advantages of Structured Abstracts

Structured abstracts have several advantages:
1. Easy to read
2. Easy to isolate sections of the abstract
3. Consistency and clarity
4. Quickly find the originality and value of the article
5. Faster literature search
6. More efficient evaluation of papers at the abstract level
7. Practitioners are enabled to quickly identify explicit practical implications
8. Researchers are enabled to quickly identify help with their research agenda
9. A requirement for authors to provide a link between research and practice
10. A unique approach which sets Emerald abstracts apart from others

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Structured abstracts will help the Editor in their preliminary review of a paper and will
certainly help the journal reviewers get an overview of a paper even before conducting the
review.

Writing Structured Abstracts

To produce a structured abstract for a journal at Emerald, the following sections have to be
written. There are four sections which are obligatory (Purpose, Design, Findings and Value);
the other two sections (Research limitations/implications and Practical implications) may be
omitted if they are not applicable to your paper.

Abstracts should contain no more than 250 words. Write concisely and clearly. The abstract
should reflect only what appears in the original paper.

Purpose of this paper What are the reason(s) for writing the paper or the aims
of the research?
Design/methodology/approach How are the objectives achieved? Include the main
method(s) used for the research. What is the approach
to the topic and what is the theoretical or subject scope
of the paper?
Findings What was found in the course of the work? This will
refer to analysis, discussion, or results.
Research If research is reported on in the paper this section must
limitations/implications be completed and should include suggestions for future
(if applicable) research and any identified limitations in the research
process.
Practical implications What are outcomes and implications for practice? What
(if applicable) possible applications and consequences are identified?
Not all papers will have practical implications but most
will. What changes to practice should be made as a
result of this research/paper?
Social implications What will be the impact on society of this research?
(if applicable) How will it influence public attitudes? How will it
influence (corporate) social responsibility or
environmental issues? How could it inform public or
industry policy? How might it affect quality of life?
What is original/value of paper What is new in the paper? State the value of the paper
and to whom.

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2 Keywords

Selecting Keywords
Researchers will be more likely to retrieve the paper when conducting a keyword search in
any database holding your paper when it is suitably tagged. Supply between 6 and 12
keywords for tagging your paper.

 Select keywords from a controlled list of keywords. Library of Congress Subject

Headings (LCSH) is such a controlled list. You can make use of FAST (Faceted Application
of Subject Terminology) derived from LCSH. Go to
http://experimental.worldcat.org/fast/assignfast

and start typing your intended keyword into the field. As you do, you are prompted with
related options from the controlled list. Select what makes sense for your article. Try
another word to find more controlled keywords. Keywords from a controlled list will
have a higher chance to be selected by someone searching for your paper.

 Select also free keywords. Your research is unique and cannot be described fully with
controlled keywords alone. Pick keywords which reflect the specificity of your paper. Try
your keywords in search engines like Google and see if search results are those you
expected. Check also at the bottom of Google's list what other people have entered on a
similar search. This information may give you more ideas.

In any case, avoid overarching terms like "Aerospace" unless the paper discusses the topic
with such a wide focus. Include also the most common term for your concept. Do not make
up new terms for an old concept. Try to think broadly; if the paper discusses manufacturing
concepts in an aeronautical factory it may be worthwhile supplying the industry as a
keyword. If an activity/research takes place in a particular country then supply the country's
name as a keyword.

Using Keywords
The use of keywords is not limited to the one line below the abstract of your article.
Keywords (the key words of your paper) have to be used also in the title, the abstract and in
the body of the text. This is the topic of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Search engines
rank articles according to the occurrence of keywords in title, abstract and body. The
keywords given in the keyword line under the abstract may however be important in certain
databases like Emerald Insight: http://www.emeraldinsight.com . For more information on
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) see: http://SEO.AircraftEngineering.AT !!!

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3 Article Classification (Paper Type)

Please choose a category for your paper. Pick the category which most closely describes your
paper. We understand that some papers can fit into more than one category but it is
necessary to assign your paper to one of the categories - these are listed and will be
searchable within the database Emerald Insight.

 Research paper: This category covers papers which report on any type of research
undertaken by the author(s). The research may involve the construction or testing of a
model or framework, action research, testing of data, market research or surveys,
empirical, scientific or clinical research.

 Viewpoint: Any paper where content is dependent on the author's opinion and
interpretation, should be included in this category; this also includes journalistic pieces.

 Technical paper: Describes and evaluates technical products, processes or services.

 Conceptual paper: These papers will not be based on research but will develop and test
hypotheses. The papers are likely to be discursive and will cover philosophical discussions
and comparative studies of others' work and thinking.

 Case study: Case studies describe actual interventions or experiences within

organizations. They may well be subjective and will not generally report on research. A
description of a legal case or a hypothetical case study used as a teaching exercise would
also fit into this category.

 Literature review: It is expected that all types of paper cite any relevant literature so this
category should only be used if the main purpose of the paper is to annotate and/or
critique the literature in a particular subject area. It may be a selective bibliography
providing advice on information sources or it may be comprehensive in that the paper's
aim is to cover the main contributors to the development of a topic and explore their
different views.

 General review: This category covers those papers which provide an overview or
historical examination of some concept, technique or phenomena. The papers are likely
to be more descriptive or instructional ("how to" papers) than discursive.

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4 Sample Article with
Structured Abstract, Keywords and Paper Type

Coupling of static and dynamic fuselage design

Dominik B. Schwinn
Institute of Structures and Design, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Stuttgart, Germany

Purpose – The paper presents a methodology for the evaluation of transport aircraft
fuselages constructed in a semi-monocoque design.
Design/methodology/approach – A fuselage barrel was computed statically and dynamically
using finite element methods. Static analysis was conducted using a global/local approach in
which the section loads of the global model were used as load introduction in the local
model. Subsequently, a crash analysis was performed, and the results from both disciplines
were evaluated by either an optimization or parameter variation algorithm.
Findings – The presented process chain has been developed for use in preliminary design
stages to assess aircraft configurations with regard to statics and dynamics. Parameter
variation and optimization were conducted, proving functionality of the methodology.
Research limitations/implications – In this early stage of methodology development only
one exemplary static load case is considered and the fuselage design is limited to a constant
section.
Practical implications – The presented process chain shows an approach to couple different
disciplines to reduce the analysis time in aircraft preliminary design phase.
Originality/value – This methodology couples static design and crashworthiness aspects at
an early design stage to avoid time- and cost-intensive redesign in subsequent detailed
design stages. The process chain introduced in this paper uses a parameterized approach,
making this methodology applicable for each fuselage in semi-monocoque design.

Keywords Airplanes, Fuselage, Crashworthiness, Airframes, Design, Construction,

Engineering, Finite element method, Multidisciplinary design optimization, Transport
aircraft, Monocoque construction, Structural dynamics

Article Type Research paper

This example is taken from a "real" article published in "AIRCRAFT ENGINEERING and
Aerospace Technology" (AEAT): http://doi.org/10.1108/AEAT-12-2013-0231 . The keywords
have been modified to better show the principles explained here.