Recommendations for preparing abstracts

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Recommendations for preparing abstracts

An abstract in a periodical publication serves as a source of information about the content of an article and the research results presented therein.

Functions of an Abstract

  • enables the reader to establish the main content of a document, determine its relevance, and decide whether to consult the full text;
  • provides information about the document and eliminates the need to read the full text when the document is of secondary interest to the reader;
  • is used in information systems, including automated ones, for document and information retrieval.

Abstract Requirements

An article abstract must be:

  • informative — must not contain generic statements;
  • original;
  • substantive — must reflect the main content of the article and the research results;
  • structured — must follow the logic of presenting results in the article;
  • concise — must fall within the range of 120 to 250 words.

Abstract Structure

An abstract covers the following aspects of the article's content:

  • subject and aim of the work;
  • method or methodology of the study;
  • results of the work;
  • scope of application of the results;
  • conclusions.
The order of presentation may be altered by beginning with the results and conclusions.

Guidance on Section Content

The subject, topic, and aim of the work are stated only when they are not apparent from the article title.

The method or methodology of the study should be described when it is novel or of particular interest in the context of the work. Abstracts of documents describing experimental studies must indicate the data sources and the nature of their processing.

The results of the work are described with maximum precision and informativeness. The main theoretical and experimental results, factual data, identified relationships, and patterns are presented. Preference is given to new results and data of long-term significance, important discoveries, conclusions that refute existing theories, and data that the author considers to have practical value.

Conclusions may be accompanied by recommendations, assessments, proposals, and hypotheses described in the article.

General Formatting Rules

Information contained in the article title must not be repeated in the abstract text. Unnecessary introductory phrases should be avoided (e.g., "the author of the article considers…").

Historical background — unless it constitutes the main content of the document — descriptions of previously published works, and well-known facts are not included in the abstract.

The abstract text should use syntactic constructions characteristic of scientific and technical writing, and complex grammatical structures should be avoided.

Significant terms and keywords from the article text should be used throughout the abstract.

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