How to Write Abstract For A Research Paper
As
clearly stated in our disclaimer, we act as a facilitator, to make
research-writing stress free as well as assist students with other academic-related
issues.
This
is it. We will do our utmost best to explicitly explain the various components
of project writing to make it look as easy as possible so that every student
can follow the guide to successfully write their own project.
With
that in mind, takes us to our topic of interest, which is to learn how to write
a research abstract.
What is an abstract?
An
abstract presents a synopsis of your research project or thesis. There are
particular points that should appear in your abstract, which will be discussed
subsequently. There are two types of abstracts namely: descriptive and informative abstracts.
Descriptive
abstract simply makes mention of the purpose of the research, methods, and
scope without including the result or conclusion of your topic of interest. Informative
abstract on the other hand provides a synopsis of your research project
including the results.
Has it ever crossed your
mind to know why the abstract is of importance?
Well, it is relevant because it enables potential readers to decide if your
work ties in with theirs.
Secondly,
it communicates the researcher’s key findings to those who have time
constraints in reading their paper. For example, does their objective match
what you have in mind?
Therefore,
the abstract simply helps you to determine if this or that paper will act as a
source to gather more knowledge about your topic of interest. Imagine scrolling
through the whole of chapter one of the research paper only to find out if it
is relevant or not. The Abstract makes it easier and less time-consuming.
It
is worth noting that no matter the type of abstract you wish to write, your
work should contain the following four basic components.
(1). The
introduction
The
introduction answers the question “What”. For instance, what is your topic, and
the purpose? At this level, you should clearly state your topic, the purpose of
the research, the problem your wish to solve (Problem statement), and a brief
background of the project topic.
(2). Methodology
It
answers the question “How”. After being
aware of what you want to get from the field, how do you intend to get this
information? At this level of writing your research abstract, you need to
mention the research methods used to answer your questions.
The
following are some of the key things you should consider
- How the research was designed
- Population (or subject) of the study
- How you chose the subject
- Tools and techniques you used to arrive at your conclusion
(3). Result
Provide
a synopsis of your findings.
(4). Conclusion
The
conclusion describes what these findings mean for the long term or the field in
question. It can also contain your recommendations based on your findings.
An overview and structure of a research project
When do you need to write
an abstract for your research paper?
This
is a very good question. The abstract of your research paper is the last thing
to do though it appears among the first pages of the research project known as the
preliminary pages. Note that it is written as a single-block paragraph without
line spacing.
Without
taking much of your time, let us demonstrate a sample of how your research
abstract should look it. Are you ready? Take a cool glass of fresh fruit juice
while reading this.
A Sample Abstract
ABSTRACT
This study titled, “The Effects of Mental
Health on the Educational Achievement of Secondary School Students’ in the Limbe
Municipality”, had as its purpose to investigate the extent to which mental
health affects educational achievement. Three objectives and three research
questions were coined to guide the study. These objectives were to; investigate
the effect of anxiety and its influence on educational achievement, and
identify the impact of depression and its influence on educational achievement
and ascertain the effects of stress on the educational achievement, of
secondary school students in the Buea Municipality. The study made use of a cross
sectional survey research design and the main instrument used for data
collection was a questionnaire. The population used for this study was made up
all students with mental health issues in the Limbe municipality. The sampling
techniques used were the purposive and convenience sampling techniques to
select the students who constituted the sample population of 60 students. The
questionnaire used had a reliability coefficient of 0.82 from Pearson’s
correlations. Data was analysed descriptively using simple and relative
frequencies and percentages and also inferentially using the Pearson’s
Correlation. The
results revealed that; there exists a strong inverse relationship (r = - 0.621) between anxiety and students’
educational achievement implying that as anxiety increases, educational
achievement tends to decrease, there exists a fairly strong inverse relationship
(r = - 0.188) between depression and students’ educational achievement implying
that as depression increases, educational achievement tends to decrease and a
strong inverse relationship (r = - 0.656)
between stress and students’ educational achievement implying that as
stress increases, educational achievement tends to decrease. It was concluded that there is an
inverse relationship between mental health issues and educational achievement
and some recommendations were made.
From
the above sample, each color highlighted stands for the four main components
of a research abstract. The first color stands for introductory part of a
research abstract where you tell your readers about your topic and objective or
purpose.
The
second color talks about the methodology, followed by results or findings and
your conclusion or recommendations.
After
reading through it, do you still think it is difficult to write an abstract for your research paper? Which new thing have you learned about writing an
abstract?
Please
share your thoughts with us in the comment section. I will be in the comment
section to reply to all your worries. Thanks for reading and please share so
that others can learn as well.
We provide guidance and support on the following Services
👉Topic selection
👉Data Analysis
👉Data interpretation
👉PowerPoint Building
👉Editing services
👉Proofreading services
👉Plagiarism Removal
Contact Us Now on WhatsApp
