Writing a StructuredResearch AbstractKatie Prentice, MSIS, AHIPBriscoe LibraryUT Health Science Center Librariesaskalibrarian@uthscsa.edu

Questions?• Research started?• How is it going?

What’s a research abstract?• Essentially, an organized (often limited in length)

description of your research question and project.

Why not a regular “English class” abstract?By following a specific structure,

readers can clearly and quickly understand your research objectives.

Check for specifics• Conferences, meetings and journals usually have

specific abstract requirements• Word limits of 250-300 words total are common• Sometimes “blinded” abstracts are used in

submissions • This means no mention of author names, places or

institutional affiliations• Sometimes blinded abstracts are tricky to write

Next: Abstracts from PubMed• The next several slides illustrate how the

structured abstracts help readers quickly and easily understand the content of the article.

Traditional Parts of the Abstract

• Objective(s)• Methods• Results• Conclusions

• Context• Background • Aim• Findings• Interpretation

Other possible sections: Design, Population, Setting, Participants, Intervention (method), Main Outcome Measures 

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Objective• Envision your research question • Consider the purpose of your research• What do you want to learn or show/share?

“To determine the level of volume targeting (VT) associated with the lowest work of breathing (WOB) for prematurely born infants being ventilated with acute respiratory distress.” (PMID: 20688862)

Methods• Accurately, briefly, and concisely summarize how

your project will attempt to answer to your question

• What type of research did you do? • Sometimes includes SETTING and POPULATION

“Infants were studied first without VT (baseline). Volume targeted levels of 4 ml/kg, 5 ml/kg and 6 ml/kg were then delivered in random order. After each VT level, the infants were returned to baseline. Each step was maintained for 20 minutes.”

Results• Describes what you have discovered/learned• Be precise: quantify your results• Results of any statistical analysis should be

reported

“The mean PTPdi was higher at a VT level of 4 ml/kg (median 154 cm H(2)O·s/min) compared to baseline (median 112 cm H(2)O·s/min) (p<0.001) and a VT level of 6 ml/kg (median 89 cm H(2)O·s/min) (p<0.001).”

Conclusions• What did you learn?• Should not introduce any information or ideas not

already described in your abstract• Usually one or two sentences in length• Can include an evaluation of your research and

areas for further research projects

“The authors' results suggest that, during acute respiratory distress, a VT level of at least 5 ml/kg rather than a lower level might avoid an increased WOB.”

So again… A ‘real’ abstract:

Effective abstracts…• Use clear paragraphs, which are coherent,

concise, and able to stand alone• Match the chronology of the paper (or poster)• Provide logical connections• Add no new information• Is understandable to a wide audience

Abstract Checklist• Formulate a research QUESTION, refining it as you

work on your research• Consider the METHODS you will use to answer the

question• Think about including population, setting, research design,

and if you will have an intervention

• Once you have carried out your research, analyze the data you have collected and summarize it in your RESULTS section.

• Finally, prepare your CONCLUSION• Think about what you learned and what it means to the

readers of your work