Structured abstract

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Introduction

See also Critical appraisal | Research for librarians - portal | Research methods | Scholarship 2.0 | Scientific journal

A structured abstract is used in scientific communication to report research, and increasingly used in health as it presents information quickly to readers. Structured abstracts list a paper's goals and objectives, and is a method used to convey the content and findings of studies quickly. Structured abstracts also help authors organize ideas, present them with clarity and in an organized manner.

Parts of a structured abstract

Here are the different sections of a structured abstract which can be adapted for your purposes:

• Abstract - a short summary of the article
• Keywords - words that describe key aspects of the article
• Introduction and statement of problem - identifies the need for the research question. In rigorous research, this may include an hypothesis which is supported or refuted accordingly.
• Review of the literature - places the work in context
• Methodology - explains the methods so others can replicate the study
• Data collection - describes the process and points out potential omissions
• Analysis - examines the data by qualitative or quantitative means, states whether the research question or hypothesis was proven or disproven.
• Conclusions and recommendations for further research - accounts for the results, suggests explanations, points out things that might have been overlooked, and suggests areas for futher research.
• References - a list of research consulted.

Source: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/policy/structured_abstracts.html

Health librarians' research

A summary of the advantages of structured abstracts appeared in a Summer 2001 issue of Hypothesis, and by Bayley and Eldredge in 2003. The evidence to demonstrate the value of structured abstracts clearly points to advantages for searching and quickly extracting needed information from summaries, regardless of the exact headings used by a abstracting and indexing service. A 2003 MLA Annual Meeting strongly recommended the use of structured abstracts for members wishing to present papers or posters at MLA Annual Meetings. At their most basic form, structured abstracts organize and summarize a paper; here are some of the more commonly-used sections: