Writing Abstracts & Summaries

Writing Abstracts & Summaries Jim Dubinsky Director, Undergraduate Studies D/English, Virginia Tech

Communication is essential to scientific enterprise • In 1995, the National Academy of Sciences recognized communication as necessary for conduct of research & fundamental to scientific enterprise itself (see On Being a Scientist). • Science Citation Index lists over 3000 peer-reviewed publications. • Each year, over 40,000 scientists apply for funding from National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

Shaping of Knowledge • Scientific experimentation and knowledge are governed by tacit beliefs and assumptions about what is factual, valid, and acceptable; these beliefs are social in nature. • Communication is central to growth of scientific knowledge in each discipline. • Persuasion is an integral part of scientific communication; it includes the use of sound arguments and an appropriate style of presentation, as well as acceptable theories, methods, and data.

Shaping Knowledge (cont.) • As social enterprise, scientific fields are also governed by explicit conventions and rules about what and how to communicate in science. • Collaboration and cooperation are essential to the development of scientific theories, research, and knowledge.

Thinking Rhetorically • Balances purpose, audience, and context • Focuses attention on-- • what the text should say • how the meaning should be presented (arrangement, delivery & style) • when the message should be delivered (kairos) • why that message and presentation strategy are appropriate

Writing is a Social Act “Every utterance is oriented on intercourse, on the hearer, on the reader, in a word, on another person, on social intercourse of any kind whatever.” Bakhtin & Medvedev (1985)

Understanding the rhetorical situation • Ask a few important questions: • Why is writer writing (purpose)? • Who are the readers of the text? • How will those readers read? • What situational constraints, if any, exist? • How will these constraints affect the role or identity the writer establishes? • What presentational strategies should the writer consider?

What is an Abstract? An abbreviated, accurate representation of the contents of a document, preferably prepared by its author(s) for publication with it. American National Standards Institute Taking an original article, understanding it, and packing it neatly into a nutshell without loss of substance or clarity. W. Ashworth

Qualities of Abstracts • Appear at beginning of most journal articles • Help readers decide whether article is pertinent • Used in indexing • May even appear on their own--abstract journals or online information services

When do people write abstracts? • when submitting articles to journals, especially online journals • when applying for research grants • when writing a book proposal • when completing the Ph.D. dissertation or M.A. thesis • when writing a proposal for a conference paper • when writing a proposal for a book chapter http://writingcenter.unc.edu/resources/handouts-demos/specific-writing-assignments/abstracts

To what uses may an abstract be put? • Serve as a current awareness source, providing rapid and accurate communication of professional knowledge. • Present a condensed and collective view of selected material for retrospective inquiry and access. Abstracts can enhance access to rare or historical data and information. • Provide native language summaries of text-based foreign language materials, which helps users to overcome language barriers and to select appropriate materials which can then be fully translated. • Provide textual descriptions of oftentimes non-textual information, such as numerical data. • Allow users to access and evaluate a larger volume of source data and information by providing summarized surrogates to search. • Allow users to evaluate individual source materials more easily by providing summaries of key data and information. http://www.ciesin.org/metadata/documentation/abstracts/guidelines.html

ABC Rule • ABC: Abstract, Body, Conclusion • derives from classical rhetoric (Aristotle’s Poetics--all writing should have a beginning, middle, and end) • Abstract: provides introductory & summary material • Body: all supporting details • Conclusion: gives readers necessary information to act.

Abstracts • Abstract helps readers by addressing the following issues: • Purpose: Why are you writing? • Scope/Methods: What work did you do? How? • Results: What did you learn? • Conclusions: What is the significance?

Effective Abstracts • Include full citation of the source • Use one or more well-developed paragraphs, which are unified, coherent, concise, and able to stand alone (200-500 words) • Use an introduction-body-conclusion structure in which the parts of the report are discussed in order: purpose, research questions, methods, findings, conclusions, recommendations • Follow strictly the chronology of the report • Add no new information - merely summarizes report • Contain stand-alone qualities - the abstract can be understood without reading the paper • Are intelligible to a wide audience

Types of Abstracts • Descriptive: tells what paper is about without revealing any of the findings. Sounds like a statement of organization. May read like an expanded title. • Used for research reviews, conference reports • Informative: usually has most of elements of descriptive abstract but also provides specific data and results. • Used for research reports

Informative Abstract • Usually contains/represents full argument of the report • topic and purpose of study • methods used • results obtained • conclusions drawn • Must be condensed (5% or less of total length of full paper)

Abstract (cont.) • If report follows Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion (IMRAD), usually abstract will as well: • Topic introduced in present tense (usually a sentence or two) • Background/need for study (usually w/o references to prior work) • Methods and results described in past tense • Major conclusions and implications in present tense (Olsen & Huckin; AIP 1990; CBE 1994)

Constructing the Abstract (first steps) • Focus on the basic features • Identify relevant information • Extract, organize, and reduce the relevant information into a coherent whole • Refine the abstract through editingand proofreading The Art of Abstracting by Edward T. Cremmins(pp. 15-17)

Writing the Parts of an Abstract • Choose a title that indicates the topic of the paper. • Purpose: State the topic or research question(s). Highlight relevant past research. • Important Specifics: • Describe research methods (this may also include the type of data analysis used). • Describe the results and/or findings. • Present conclusions, recommendations or implications.

Revising the Abstract • Read your abstract all the way through: • add transition words to tie ideas together, • eliminate unnecessary content and add in things that are missing, • correct errors in mechanics, and • proofread.

Example of a Scientific Abstract Usability and User-Centered Theory for 21st Century OWLs By Dana Lynn Driscoll, H. Allen Brizee, Michael Salvo, and Morgan Sousa from The Handbook of Research on Virtual Workplaces and the New Nature of Business Practices. Eds. Kirk St. Amant and Pavel Zemlansky. Hershey, PA: Idea Group Publishing, 2008. This article describes results of usability research conducted on the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL). The Purdue OWL is an information-rich educational website that provides free writing resources to users worldwide. Researchers conducted two generations of usability tests. In the first test, participants were asked to navigate the OWL and answer questions. Results of the first test and user-centered scholarship indicated that a more user-centered focus would improve usability. The second test asked participants to answer writing-related questions using both the OWL website and a user-centered OWL prototype. Participants took significantly less time to find information using the prototype and reported a more positive response to the user-centered prototype than the original OWL. Researchers conclude that a user-centered website is more effective and can be a model for information-rich online resources. Researchers also conclude that usability research can be a productive source of ideas, underscoring the need for participatory invention.

Example of Informative Abstract Technology for fast-cure concrete, used in other construction areas in the past, recently found application in highway pavement. During July 1986, a 4-in. (10.2-cm) concrete overlay was applied to 7 mi. (11.2 km) of U. S. Highway 71 north of Storm Lake, Iowa. The project team developed a new type of concrete mix that cures fast to allow traffic onto the road in only 24 hours. This innovation provides an example of cooperative government-industry effort and successful procurement policies implemented by a government agency. Initiated as a response to competition from other materials, the development of fast-track concrete illustrates the process and involvement of many organizations in product innovation. This paper describes the development of paving technologies in Iowa, the formation of an industry association, and the innovation process to bring about technical improvements and cost competitiveness. The implications section describes elements of government policy to foster an increased rate of innovation in U.S. public construction, including supporting increased technical capability, using demonstration projects, encouraging competing technologies.

Descriptive Abstract This progress report summarizes the XXXXX Laboratory work performed for the Reactor Development Program during January 1997 in the following research and development areas: Experimental Breeder Reactor No. XI (EBR-XI), LMFBR Design Support, Instrumentation and Control, Reactor Physics, Reactor Safety, Energy and Environmental Systems, and Other Fast Breeder reactors.

Descriptive Abstract #2 This report examines factors affecting fuel demand in International Energy Agency member countries, describing how regulatory measures to limit pollution by passenger cars have affected fuel use. “Fuel Efficiency of Passenger Cars.”International Energy Agency Report 92-64-1243-8 (1991).

Sample Abstract Modern solar systems for converting the sun’s energy into heat are gradually coming into wider use, but the efficiency of various system components has inhibited the growth of the industry. This paper is a study of a dual method for concentrating the sun’s rays and of removing more heat from the circulating medium. The efficiency of the design is shown to be higher than than of the Wooster system. The design improvements show new potential for solar energy applications.

Evaluating the Sample • Writer cares little for readers • Sentence 1 sets the stage, but it is gratuitous for knowledgeable audience • Sentence 2 is misguided attempt to be clear, avoiding use of appropriate terms such as “solar collector” and “heat transfer”--likely terms for literature search. • Sentence 3 is ambiguous (is efficiency determined theoretically, experimentally, or both? How is efficiency measured?) • Citing Wooster article violates principle of complete, easy-to-read information. • It is short (79 words).

Revised Abstract The successful design of cost-effective solar energy systems depends mainly on the development of higher conversion efficiencies. A theory is given or the thermal performance of a new solar collector array that combines reflected and refracted light rays. The theory is applied to the design of a complete system for solar heating of a building. Dynamic operating characteristics for a one-month interval are given for the collector array and heat transfer devices and cost efficiency is compared with that of conventional design.

Use References Carefully • Don’t “handwave” The development of this widget has not been successful in the past because of the thermal mismatch14 in the glass-to-metal seals. Not clear here how the reference to R.F. Bond’s Glass-to-Metal Sealing Techniques is being used. Does Bond discuss 1) the nature of thermal mismatches in glasses bonded to metals, 2) the poor choice of materials that results in thermal mismatches, or 3) the thermal mismatch problems that occurred in the bonding of a specific widget.

Better Use of Reference to Bond • The development of this widget has not been successful in the past because, as noted by Bond,14 the bonding of testalloy to Cornea Glass No. 13 results in a slight thermal mismatch and leakage in the normal range of operating temperatures.

Sentence Placement • Where you place citation in a sentence can affect the meaning. We have examined a digital method of spread-spectrum modulation for multiple-access satellite communication and for digital mobile radio telephony.1,2 ----------------------------- • Better Placement We have examined a digital method of spread-spectrum modulation for use with Smith’s development of multiple-access satellite communication1 and with Brown’s technique of digital mobile telephony.2

Reader Benefits • Careful and correct use of literature references will improve the quality and readability of any report. • Readers benefit because they are directed to a pertinent source you have chosen carefully and used effectively to enhance or expand upon a key point.

Exercise – read and revise Observations on the skin tumors in workers exposed to coal tar in a charcoal briquette factory were reported. Six of 10 cases of tar tumors occurred inside the factory and four occurred on the outside. All of the skin tumors involved the face. The principal localizations, in decreasing order of incidence, were the nose (8 localizations), the eyelids (7 localizations), the lips (4 localizations), and the ears (2 localizations). The tumors appeared after widely varying periods of exposure, ranging from 1 year to 43 years. The histologic variety of these tumors were independent of the duration of exposure. In half the cases, there were multiple tumors. Three major types of tumors revealed by histologic results were keratoacanthoma, papilloma, and epithelioma. All these tumors were curable with therapeutic methods now available: electrocoagulation and radiotherapy. In comparing the delay in appearance of tumors as a function of job assignment, it was noted that the 5 patients showing tumors within the first 10 years of exposure were those most highly exposed to coal tar.

Read and revise The personality characteristics of adolescent drug abusers were studied in a comparison of an adolescent drug abusing group and an adolescent nondrug abusing group from middle and upper middle classes. The variable of sex was also studied. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) was used to evaluate personalities. Results showed that there were certain personality characteristics which distinguished adolescent drug abusers from nonabusers. Drug abusers were more nonconforming, tended to reject social conventions and lacked the ability to form satisfactory emotional relationships. No difference was found between male and female users based on MMPI scales.

Summary • Before you write • Skim (read the article to get an overview) • Look for advance organizers such as • preview statements, introductions, headings, illustrations, titles, and conclusions • Reread the article slowly • Underline key points/terms • Highlight main idea/writer’s purpose • Jot down questions • Label main parts (intro, body, conclusion) • Reread only highlighted / underlined material

Summary (cont.) • When you write the Summary • List the main ideas from the article w/o looking back at it often. Translate into your own words (paraphrasing). • Reread the article and check your main ideas for completeness. • Reread your list of main ideas and draft a short summary of about one paragraph that restates the main ideas of entire article in your own words. • Reread the article and check it against the draft for completeness. Have you caught the essence of the article? Should you add any information? Did you include an opinion? (DON’T INCLUDE OPINIONS)

Checklist for Summaries • Does the summary accurately reflect the article? • Is there any important information missing? • Are ideas presented in same order as in the original article?

Some Online Resources • Electronic Reference Formats Recommended by the American Psychological Association http://www.apastyle.org/manual/index.aspxWeb Extension to American Psychological Association Style (WEAPAS) http://www.beadsland.com/weapas

Writing Abstracts & Summaries