The Principles of Biomedical Scientific Writing: Abstract and Keywords

Abstract

An abstract is a self-contained, short, powerful statement that describes a larger body of work. It may be incorporated as part of a published paper, book, grant proposal, thesis, research report, or a conference paper. An abstract of a scientific paper will be published online independently, so it should make sense when it is read alone. An abstract of a hypothesis-testing paper consists of at least four key elements, as follows: (1) study question/hypothesis/aim, (2) experiments/material and methods, (3) results, and (4) response to the question/conclusion(s). The abstract usually begins with a background and may end in applications, recommendations, implications, or speculations. The abstract is one of the many features of a manuscript that competes for the readers' attention; therefore, it should be informative, accurate, attractive, and concise. Since a huge amount of work must be compressed into a few sentences, writing an abstract may be a difficult task that needs professional skills. Here, we provide a practical guide to writing an abstract and selecting keywords for a hypothesis-testing medical paper.

How to Write an Abstract?

“…The abstract should state the purpose of the study, the methodology used, and summarize the results and important conclusions. It is usually written in the IMRAD format and is called a structured abstract [4,5]. I: The introduction in the opening line should state the problem you are addressing.…”

A brief guide to the science and art of writing manuscripts in biomedicine

“…The Title [ 19 ] and the Abstract [ 20 ] are the two most visible items of the article [ 21 ], as they are the main sections indexed in bibliographic databases. These two elements compete for the reader’s attention; therefore both should be informative, accurate, attractive, concise, clear and specific [ 19 , 20 ]. It is advisable that the title of the manuscript reflects the actual findings of the work and be concise.…”

The Principles of Biomedical Scientific Writing: Citation

“…Following our previous guides on how to write Introduction (11), Material and Methods (12), Results (13), Discussion (14), Title (15), and Abstract and keyword (16) of a hypothesis-testing paper, here, we provide a practical guide on importance and function of the citation of a scientific medical paper. We discuss how to select sources for the citation, quote information from others' work, refer to the sources, and make an accurate reference list for a scientific biomedical paper.…”