This video will cover text and best practices for writing an abstract
both generally
that is for scholarly publication in any discipline and specifically for the journal of Purdue undergraduate research or
JPUR. A JPUR proposal whether for a full article or research snapshot includes a proposed
article title, keywords, and an article abstract of about 250 words. Another great place to start
is at the JPUR.org web site, especially the Tips for Authors page.
We'll begin with a somewhat poetic analogy:
an abstract is like a window.
It gives an audience a glimpse into something bigger, something beyond and it should entice readers to want to know more.
When people hear the word "abstract", the first word that comes to mind is often "summary". An abstract is by definition a short summary
in this context a summary describing your research project.
It should be concise (every word should be necessary and important),
compelling (for the reasons I just described),
and clear
(as in readable for your intended audience). For JPUR, an author's audience is wide and include students faculty staff and
others representing a wide range of disciplines, background, and expertise.
Keep your audience in mind as you write your abstract,
and for JPUR in particular, we recommend you focus
especially on making your abstracts compelling
possibly via the context to provide for your project and language that you use
It may also be helpful to think of your abstract as an elevator speech;
imagine you have 30-60 seconds to explain your research to someone as you go
from the ground floor to the penthouse.
How would you explain it?
What would you say?
Effective abstracts contain particular components. Visualized here, in color, are sample abstracts
featured on the JPUR website, from previously published JPUR articles.
Five key abstract components include: The Importance of the Problem, the Unknown,
the Methodology
or Approach,
the Results, and Conclusion. Next, we will present some guiding questions you could address for each of these abstract components.
First, the importance of the problem or research question.
What was your motivation for this problem? Why should readers care? What’s the broader or bigger-picture context of your research project?
Next, the unknown.
What are you hoping to do or solve, or what have you done and already solved? What’s the scope of the project?
What were your hypotheses or research questions?
Next, provide a brief description of your methodology.
What was your approach or methodology? How did you solve the program or make progress toward solving the problem or
addressing this unknown? How did you gather data or other information?
Next up, your results. What was the answer to your research question? What did you learn or discover?
Then finally, your Conclusion...
Your last sentence or two should bring your abstract full circle,
connecting your project's takeaway to the important contexts with which you began.
Describe your primary conclusions.
What were the implications of your scholarship and discovery? Is additional work needed?
After drafting abstract, consider the following checklist.
Is your abstract concise?
Is every word necessary and important?
Is it compelling, even for a wide audience?
And is it clear (well written, free of spelling and grammatical errors,
and readable to your intended audience)?
And finally is a complete? Does it summarize your research project
and include the components that were just introduced?
We'll conclude with a few brief tips on developing titles for your JPURR proposal.
Like JPUR articles and research snapshots, JPUR titles may differ from those in other disciplinary or specialized journals so consider
your wide audience, the language you use, and the big-picture context of your project.
For example, JPUR titles often employ the use of a colon to include a general and more specific topic.
While this is by no means a necessary or required format, it is a useful strategy for including more specific, perhaps disciplinary, language
as well as clearer and often broader context
for larger audience. Avoid titles such as these, which would not be generally engaging or understandable to a wide audience.
Instead, consider titles such as these, from previous JPUR issues.
The advisory board of Purdue’s Journal of Undergraduate Research
welcomes proposals for full articles and research snapshots
from undergraduate students participating in faculty-mentored research
from all Purdue campuses. The advisory board reviews proposals twice a year,
after the November 15 and February 15th deadlines. For more information, please visit the JPUR website at jpur.org,
or email JPUR’s student coordinator at jpur@purdue.edu. Thanks for watching!