8/12/2019 WritingaResearchAbstract CompI B

1/2

Writing a Research Abstract

The scientific abstract is usually divided into five unique sections: Title and Author Information, Objective,

Methods, Results, and Conclusions. The folloin! "ara!ra"hs summari#e hat is e$"ected in each of these

sections.

1.Title and Author Information:The title should summarize the abstract and convince the reviewers that the topic is important, relevant, and

innovative. Some organizations require a special format for the title, such as all uppercase letters, all bolded, or in

italics. Be sure to chec the instructions.

!ollowing the title, the names of all authors and their institutional affiliations are listed. "t is assumed the first

author listed will mae the oral presentation. This information is alwa#s included with the abstract instructions.

2.Introduction:This usuall# consists of several sentences outlining the question addressed b# the research. $ae the first

sentence as interesting and dramatic as possible. "f space permits, provide a concise review of what is nown

about the problem addressed b# the research, what remains unnown, and how #our research pro%ect fills thenowledge gaps. The final sentence describes the purpose of the stud# or the stud#&s a priori h#pothesis.

3.Methods:The following areas are specificall# mentioned and his must be written in a concise #et detailed manner'

a. Research design

b. Research setting

c. (umber of patients enrolled in the stud# and how the# were selectedd. A description of the intervention )if appropriate*

e. A listing of the outcome variables and how the# were measured.

f. !inall#, the statistical methods used to anal#ze the data are described.

4.Results:This section begins with a description of the sub%ects that were included and e+cluded from the stud#. !or those

e+cluded, provide the reason for their e+clusion. (e+t, list the frequencies of the most important outcome

variables. "f possible, present comparisons of the outcome variables between various subgroups within the stud#

)treated vs. untreated, #oung vs. old, male vs. female, and so forth*. "f table are allowed, this t#pe of data can be

efficientl# presented in a table. (umerical results should include standard deviations or - confidence limits

and the level of statistical significance. "f the results are not statisticall# significant, present the power of #our

stud# )beta/error rate* to detect a difference.

5. Conclusion:State concisel# what can be concluded and its implications. The conclusions must be supported b# the data

presented in the abstract0 never present unsubstantiated personal opinion. "f there is room, address the

generalizabilit# of the results to populations other than that studied and the weanesses of the stud#.

Avoid the use of medical jar!on and e$cessive reliance on abbreviations. %imit abbreviations to no more than

three and favor commonly used abbreviations. Alays s"ell out the abbreviations the first time they are

mentioned unless they are commonly reco!ni#ed.&

1American 2ollege of 3h#sicians' Writing a Research Abstract. $arch 1, 4511,6http'77www.acponline.org7residents8fellows7competitions7abstract7prepare7res8abs.htm9

1

8/12/2019 WritingaResearchAbstract CompI B

2/2

:+ample Abstract

Seborrheic ;ermatitis in 3atients with Acquired "mmunodeficienc# S#ndrome.

Barbara $. $athes, $; )Associate*0 $argaret ;ouglass, $;.

;epartment of ;ermatolog#,

patients with the most severe grades of seborrheic dermatitis were compared to patients with mild or noseborrheic dermatitis for short term mortalit#. 2omparisons were anal#zed with chi square and relative ris

calculations.

Results: :ighteen patients with A";S and 14 patients with drug abuse. :ight# percent )1-71?* of A";S/ and @4 )-714*

of /infected*. The severit# of

seborrheic dermatitis seemed to be associated with short/term prognosis. =f the D patients who died during the

stud#, developed severe seborrheic dermatitis within si+ months and 4 developed moderate seborrheicdermatitis within a #ear of their deaths )relative ris 4.-, - 2" 1.E.*. =f the -