With ICUR abstract submission just over one week away we thought it would be useful to reiterate what you should include in an abstract and to share our abstract writing tools!
But first, what is an abstract? In short, an abstract is a brief summary of your research, traditionally around 200 – 300 words however, an ICUR abstract can range between 100 to 250 words. It is really important when writing an abstract to be clear and concise, avoid too much jargon and keep your audience in mind. It must include context, methods, finding and the implications of the research, as well as why it is valuable within its field.
When structuring your abstract, we suggest you include the following:
- Title: Make sure your title is clear and concise, you want to attract attention to your research topic!
- Introduction: You should outline the background of your topic and provide the reader context, so they understand what your research topic is about.
- Aim/Hypothesis: This is where you need to establish what question you are addressing and why you are conducting this research.
- Method: Here you should outline your methodology. For example, is your research quantitative or qualitative? Are you undertaking a literature review? What sources of evidence will you use?
- Results: The results section should summarize your main argument and your results from your research. However, these results can outline what you intend to find if you have not finished researching in time for abstract submission.
- Conclusion/Significance: Here you should write your overall statement of conclusion that highlights the significance of your research. Try to think about the broader impact and how or why your research is beneficial.
Abstract Writing Tool (copy and paste this into your own document!)
TITLE:
AIM: Establish the problem or question (approx. 50 words)
METHODS: Indicate sources/evidence used; Indicate method/approach taken (approx. 50 words)
RESULTS: Summarise argument/results (approx. 80 words)
CONCLUSION: Statement of conclusion/significance (approx. 20 words)
Expanding on the above…
AIM: Your ‘aim’ is your ‘why’. Why is this research important, and what does it add to the bigger picture? Does it fill a gap in literature? Use this space to establish the problem that you wish to solve through your research.
METHODS: Your ‘methods’ is your ‘what’. What material will you use to fill this found gap? Outline what research has been done ; this could start off with a sentence saying ‘This research shows…’ or ‘I report that…’
RESULTS: Your ‘results’ is your ‘so what’. This is your argument that you propose and that you use to debate your point of view through the research undertaken.
CONCLUSION: Your ‘conclusion’ is your ‘now what’. There must be a call to action, or a strong conclusion which allows your reader to take something from your research.