thesis report abstract

Writing an Abstract for Your Research Paper

Definition and Purpose of Abstracts

An abstract is a short summary of your (published or unpublished) research paper, usually about a paragraph (c. 6-7 sentences, 150-250 words) long. A well-written abstract serves multiple purposes:

• an abstract lets readers get the gist or essence of your paper or article quickly, in order to decide whether to read the full paper;
• an abstract prepares readers to follow the detailed information, analyses, and arguments in your full paper;
• and, later, an abstract helps readers remember key points from your paper.

It’s also worth remembering that search engines and bibliographic databases use abstracts, as well as the title, to identify key terms for indexing your published paper. So what you include in your abstract and in your title are crucial for helping other researchers find your paper or article.

If you are writing an abstract for a course paper, your professor may give you specific guidelines for what to include and how to organize your abstract. Similarly, academic journals often have specific requirements for abstracts. So in addition to following the advice on this page, you should be sure to look for and follow any guidelines from the course or journal you’re writing for.

The Contents of an Abstract

Abstracts contain most of the following kinds of information in brief form. The body of your paper will, of course, develop and explain these ideas much more fully. As you will see in the samples below, the proportion of your abstract that you devote to each kind of information—and the sequence of that information—will vary, depending on the nature and genre of the paper that you are summarizing in your abstract. And in some cases, some of this information is implied, rather than stated explicitly. The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , which is widely used in the social sciences, gives specific guidelines for what to include in the abstract for different kinds of papers—for empirical studies, literature reviews or meta-analyses, theoretical papers, methodological papers, and case studies.

Here are the typical kinds of information found in most abstracts:

• the context or background information for your research; the general topic under study; the specific topic of your research
• the central questions or statement of the problem your research addresses
• what’s already known about this question, what previous research has done or shown
• the main reason(s) , the exigency, the rationale , the goals for your research—Why is it important to address these questions? Are you, for example, examining a new topic? Why is that topic worth examining? Are you filling a gap in previous research? Applying new methods to take a fresh look at existing ideas or data? Resolving a dispute within the literature in your field? . . .
• your research and/or analytical methods
• your main findings , results , or arguments
• the significance or implications of your findings or arguments.

Your abstract should be intelligible on its own, without a reader’s having to read your entire paper. And in an abstract, you usually do not cite references—most of your abstract will describe what you have studied in your research and what you have found and what you argue in your paper. In the body of your paper, you will cite the specific literature that informs your research.

When to Write Your Abstract

Although you might be tempted to write your abstract first because it will appear as the very first part of your paper, it’s a good idea to wait to write your abstract until after you’ve drafted your full paper, so that you know what you’re summarizing.

What follows are some sample abstracts in published papers or articles, all written by faculty at UW-Madison who come from a variety of disciplines. We have annotated these samples to help you see the work that these authors are doing within their abstracts.

Choosing Verb Tenses within Your Abstract

The social science sample (Sample 1) below uses the present tense to describe general facts and interpretations that have been and are currently true, including the prevailing explanation for the social phenomenon under study. That abstract also uses the present tense to describe the methods, the findings, the arguments, and the implications of the findings from their new research study. The authors use the past tense to describe previous research.

The humanities sample (Sample 2) below uses the past tense to describe completed events in the past (the texts created in the pulp fiction industry in the 1970s and 80s) and uses the present tense to describe what is happening in those texts, to explain the significance or meaning of those texts, and to describe the arguments presented in the article.

The science samples (Samples 3 and 4) below use the past tense to describe what previous research studies have done and the research the authors have conducted, the methods they have followed, and what they have found. In their rationale or justification for their research (what remains to be done), they use the present tense. They also use the present tense to introduce their study (in Sample 3, “Here we report . . .”) and to explain the significance of their study (In Sample 3, This reprogramming . . . “provides a scalable cell source for. . .”).

Sample Abstract 1

From the social sciences.

Reporting new findings about the reasons for increasing economic homogamy among spouses

Gonalons-Pons, Pilar, and Christine R. Schwartz. “Trends in Economic Homogamy: Changes in Assortative Mating or the Division of Labor in Marriage?” Demography , vol. 54, no. 3, 2017, pp. 985-1005.

Sample Abstract 2

From the humanities.

Analyzing underground pulp fiction publications in Tanzania, this article makes an argument about the cultural significance of those publications

Emily Callaci. “Street Textuality: Socialism, Masculinity, and Urban Belonging in Tanzania’s Pulp Fiction Publishing Industry, 1975-1985.” Comparative Studies in Society and History , vol. 59, no. 1, 2017, pp. 183-210.

Sample Abstract/Summary 3

From the sciences.

Reporting a new method for reprogramming adult mouse fibroblasts into induced cardiac progenitor cells

Lalit, Pratik A., Max R. Salick, Daryl O. Nelson, Jayne M. Squirrell, Christina M. Shafer, Neel G. Patel, Imaan Saeed, Eric G. Schmuck, Yogananda S. Markandeya, Rachel Wong, Martin R. Lea, Kevin W. Eliceiri, Timothy A. Hacker, Wendy C. Crone, Michael Kyba, Daniel J. Garry, Ron Stewart, James A. Thomson, Karen M. Downs, Gary E. Lyons, and Timothy J. Kamp. “Lineage Reprogramming of Fibroblasts into Proliferative Induced Cardiac Progenitor Cells by Defined Factors.” Cell Stem Cell , vol. 18, 2016, pp. 354-367.

Sample Abstract 4, a Structured Abstract

Reporting results about the effectiveness of antibiotic therapy in managing acute bacterial sinusitis, from a rigorously controlled study

Note: This journal requires authors to organize their abstract into four specific sections, with strict word limits. Because the headings for this structured abstract are self-explanatory, we have chosen not to add annotations to this sample abstract.

Wald, Ellen R., David Nash, and Jens Eickhoff. “Effectiveness of Amoxicillin/Clavulanate Potassium in the Treatment of Acute Bacterial Sinusitis in Children.” Pediatrics , vol. 124, no. 1, 2009, pp. 9-15.

“OBJECTIVE: The role of antibiotic therapy in managing acute bacterial sinusitis (ABS) in children is controversial. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of high-dose amoxicillin/potassium clavulanate in the treatment of children diagnosed with ABS.

METHODS : This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Children 1 to 10 years of age with a clinical presentation compatible with ABS were eligible for participation. Patients were stratified according to age (<6 or ≥6 years) and clinical severity and randomly assigned to receive either amoxicillin (90 mg/kg) with potassium clavulanate (6.4 mg/kg) or placebo. A symptom survey was performed on days 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 20, and 30. Patients were examined on day 14. Children’s conditions were rated as cured, improved, or failed according to scoring rules.

RESULTS: Two thousand one hundred thirty-five children with respiratory complaints were screened for enrollment; 139 (6.5%) had ABS. Fifty-eight patients were enrolled, and 56 were randomly assigned. The mean age was 6630 months. Fifty (89%) patients presented with persistent symptoms, and 6 (11%) presented with nonpersistent symptoms. In 24 (43%) children, the illness was classified as mild, whereas in the remaining 32 (57%) children it was severe. Of the 28 children who received the antibiotic, 14 (50%) were cured, 4 (14%) were improved, 4(14%) experienced treatment failure, and 6 (21%) withdrew. Of the 28children who received placebo, 4 (14%) were cured, 5 (18%) improved, and 19 (68%) experienced treatment failure. Children receiving the antibiotic were more likely to be cured (50% vs 14%) and less likely to have treatment failure (14% vs 68%) than children receiving the placebo.

CONCLUSIONS : ABS is a common complication of viral upper respiratory infections. Amoxicillin/potassium clavulanate results in significantly more cures and fewer failures than placebo, according to parental report of time to resolution.” (9)

Some Excellent Advice about Writing Abstracts for Basic Science Research Papers, by Professor Adriano Aguzzi from the Institute of Neuropathology at the University of Zurich:

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• How to Write an Abstract for a Dissertation or Thesis
• Doing a PhD

What is a Thesis or Dissertation Abstract?

The Cambridge English Dictionary defines an abstract in academic writing as being “ a few sentences that give the main ideas in an article or a scientific paper ” and the Collins English Dictionary says “ an abstract of an article, document, or speech is a short piece of writing that gives the main points of it ”.

Whether you’re writing up your Master’s dissertation or PhD thesis, the abstract will be a key element of this document that you’ll want to make sure you give proper attention to.

What is the Purpose of an Abstract?

The aim of a thesis abstract is to give the reader a broad overview of what your research project was about and what you found that was novel, before he or she decides to read the entire thesis. The reality here though is that very few people will read the entire thesis, and not because they’re necessarily disinterested but because practically it’s too large a document for most people to have the time to read. The exception to this is your PhD examiner, however know that even they may not read the entire length of the document.

Some people may still skip to and read specific sections throughout your thesis such as the methodology, but the fact is that the abstract will be all that most read and will therefore be the section they base their opinions about your research on. In short, make sure you write a good, well-structured abstract.

How Long Should an Abstract Be?

If you’re a PhD student, having written your 100,000-word thesis, the abstract will be the 300 word summary included at the start of the thesis that succinctly explains the motivation for your study (i.e. why this research was needed), the main work you did (i.e. the focus of each chapter), what you found (the results) and concluding with how your research study contributed to new knowledge within your field.

Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States of America, once famously said:

The point here is that it’s easier to talk open-endedly about a subject that you know a lot about than it is to condense the key points into a 10-minute speech; the same applies for an abstract. Three hundred words is not a lot of words which makes it even more difficult to condense three (or more) years of research into a coherent, interesting story.

What Makes a Good PhD Thesis Abstract?

Whilst the abstract is one of the first sections in your PhD thesis, practically it’s probably the last aspect that you’ll ending up writing before sending the document to print. The reason being that you can’t write a summary about what you did, what you found and what it means until you’ve done the work.

A good abstract is one that can clearly explain to the reader in 300 words:

• What your research field actually is,
• What the gap in knowledge was in your field,
• The overarching aim and objectives of your PhD in response to these gaps,
• What methods you employed to achieve these,
• You key results and findings,
• How your work has added to further knowledge in your field of study.

Another way to think of this structure is:

• Introduction,
• Aims and objectives,
• Discussion,
• Conclusion.

Following this ‘formulaic’ approach to writing the abstract should hopefully make it a little easier to write but you can already see here that there’s a lot of information to convey in a very limited number of words.

How Do You Write a Good PhD Thesis Abstract?

The biggest challenge you’ll have is getting all the 6 points mentioned above across in your abstract within the limit of 300 words . Your particular university may give some leeway in going a few words over this but it’s good practice to keep within this; the art of succinctly getting your information across is an important skill for a researcher to have and one that you’ll be called on to use regularly as you write papers for peer review.

Keep It Concise

Every word in the abstract is important so make sure you focus on only the key elements of your research and the main outcomes and significance of your project that you want the reader to know about. You may have come across incidental findings during your research which could be interesting to discuss but this should not happen in the abstract as you simply don’t have enough words. Furthermore, make sure everything you talk about in your thesis is actually described in the main thesis.

Make a Unique Point Each Sentence

Keep the sentences short and to the point. Each sentence should give the reader new, useful information about your research so there’s no need to write out your project title again. Give yourself one or two sentences to introduce your subject area and set the context for your project. Then another sentence or two to explain the gap in the knowledge; there’s no need or expectation for you to include references in the abstract.

Explain Your Research

Some people prefer to write their overarching aim whilst others set out their research questions as they correspond to the structure of their thesis chapters; the approach you use is up to you, as long as the reader can understand what your dissertation or thesis had set out to achieve. Knowing this will help the reader better understand if your results help to answer the research questions or if further work is needed.

Keep It Factual

Keep the content of the abstract factual; that is to say that you should avoid bringing too much or any opinion into it, which inevitably can make the writing seem vague in the points you’re trying to get across and even lacking in structure.

Write, Edit and Then Rewrite

Spend suitable time editing your text, and if necessary, completely re-writing it. Show the abstract to others and ask them to explain what they understand about your research – are they able to explain back to you each of the 6 structure points, including why your project was needed, the research questions and results, and the impact it had on your research field? It’s important that you’re able to convey what new knowledge you contributed to your field but be mindful when writing your abstract that you don’t inadvertently overstate the conclusions, impact and significance of your work.

Thesis and Dissertation Abstract Examples

Perhaps the best way to understand how to write a thesis abstract is to look at examples of what makes a good and bad abstract.

Example of A Bad Abstract

Let’s start with an example of a bad thesis abstract:

In this project on “The Analysis of the Structural Integrity of 3D Printed Polymers for use in Aircraft”, my research looked at how 3D printing of materials can help the aviation industry in the manufacture of planes. Plane parts can be made at a lower cost using 3D printing and made lighter than traditional components. This project investigated the structural integrity of EBM manufactured components, which could revolutionise the aviation industry.

What Makes This a Bad Abstract

Hopefully you’ll have spotted some of the reasons this would be considered a poor abstract, not least because the author used up valuable words by repeating the lengthy title of the project in the abstract.

Working through our checklist of the 6 key points you want to convey to the reader:

• There has been an attempt to introduce the research area , albeit half-way through the abstract but it’s not clear if this is a materials science project about 3D printing or is it about aircraft design.
• There’s no explanation about where the gap in the knowledge is that this project attempted to address.
• We can see that this project was focussed on the topic of structural integrity of materials in aircraft but the actual research aims or objectives haven’t been defined.
• There’s no mention at all of what the author actually did to investigate structural integrity. For example was this an experimental study involving real aircraft, or something in the lab, computer simulations etc.
• The author also doesn’t tell us a single result of his research, let alone the key findings !
• There’s a bold claim in the last sentence of the abstract that this project could revolutionise the aviation industry, and this may well be the case, but based on the abstract alone there is no evidence to support this as it’s not even clear what the author did .

This is an extreme example but is a good way to illustrate just how unhelpful a poorly written abstract can be. At only 71 words long, it definitely hasn’t maximised the amount of information that could be presented and the what they have presented has lacked clarity and structure.

A final point to note is the use of the EBM acronym, which stands for Electron Beam Melting in the context of 3D printing; this is a niche acronym for the author to assume that the reader would know the meaning of. It’s best to avoid acronyms in your abstract all together even if it’s something that you might expect most people to know about, unless you specifically define the meaning first.

Example of A Good Abstract

Having seen an example of a bad thesis abstract, now lets look at an example of a good PhD thesis abstract written about the same (fictional) project:

Additive manufacturing (AM) of titanium alloys has the potential to enable cheaper and lighter components to be produced with customised designs for use in aircraft engines. Whilst the proof-of-concept of these have been promising, the structural integrity of AM engine parts in response to full thrust and temperature variations is not clear.

The primary aim of this project was to determine the fracture modes and mechanisms of AM components designed for use in Boeing 747 engines. To achieve this an explicit finite element (FE) model was developed to simulate the environment and parameters that the engine is exposed to during flight. The FE model was validated using experimental data replicating the environmental parameters in a laboratory setting using ten AM engine components provided by the industry sponsor. The validated FE model was then used to investigate the extent of crack initiation and propagation as the environment parameters were adjusted.

This project was the first to investigate fracture patterns in AM titanium components used in aircraft engines; the key finding was that the presence of cavities within the structures due to errors in the printing process, significantly increased the risk of fracture. Secondly, the simulations showed that cracks formed within AM parts were more likely to worsen and lead to component failure at subzero temperatures when compared to conventionally manufactured parts. This has demonstrated an important safety concern which needs to be addressed before AM parts can be used in commercial aircraft.

What Makes This a Good Abstract

Having read this ‘good abstract’ you should have a much better understand about what the subject area is about, where the gap in the knowledge was, the aim of the project, the methods that were used, key results and finally the significance of these results. To break these points down further, from this good abstract we now know that:

• The research area is around additive manufacturing (i.e. 3D printing) of materials for use in aircraft.
• The gap in knowledge was how these materials will behave structural when used in aircraft engines.
• The aim was specifically to investigate how the components can fracture.
• The methods used to investigate this were a combination of computational and lab based experimental modelling.
• The key findings were the increased risk of fracture of these components due to the way they are manufactured.
• The significance of these findings were that it showed a potential risk of component failure that could comprise the safety of passengers and crew on the aircraft.

The abstract text has a much clearer flow through these different points in how it’s written and has made much better use of the available word count. Acronyms have even been used twice in this good abstract but they were clearly defined the first time they were introduced in the text so that there was no confusion about their meaning.

The abstract you write for your dissertation or thesis should succinctly explain to the reader why the work of your research was needed, what you did, what you found and what it means. Most people that come across your thesis, including any future employers, are likely to read only your abstract. Even just for this reason alone, it’s so important that you write the best abstract you can; this will not only convey your research effectively but also put you in the best light possible as a researcher.

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How to Write an Abstract (With Examples)

Sarah Oakley

Table of Contents

What is an abstract in a paper, how long should an abstract be, 5 steps for writing an abstract, examples of an abstract, how prowritingaid can help you write an abstract.

If you are writing a scientific research paper or a book proposal, you need to know how to write an abstract, which summarizes the contents of the paper or book.

When researchers are looking for peer-reviewed papers to use in their studies, the first place they will check is the abstract to see if it applies to their work. Therefore, your abstract is one of the most important parts of your entire paper.

In this article, we’ll explain what an abstract is, what it should include, and how to write one.

An abstract is a concise summary of the details within a report. Some abstracts give more details than others, but the main things you’ll be talking about are why you conducted the research, what you did, and what the results show.

When a reader is deciding whether to read your paper completely, they will first look at the abstract. You need to be concise in your abstract and give the reader the most important information so they can determine if they want to read the whole paper.

Remember that an abstract is the last thing you’ll want to write for the research paper because it directly references parts of the report. If you haven’t written the report, you won’t know what to include in your abstract.

If you are writing a paper for a journal or an assignment, the publication or academic institution might have specific formatting rules for how long your abstract should be. However, if they don’t, most abstracts are between 150 and 300 words long.

A short word count means your writing has to be precise and without filler words or phrases. Once you’ve written a first draft, you can always use an editing tool, such as ProWritingAid, to identify areas where you can reduce words and increase readability.

If your abstract is over the word limit, and you’ve edited it but still can’t figure out how to reduce it further, your abstract might include some things that aren’t needed. Here’s a list of three elements you can remove from your abstract:

Discussion : You don’t need to go into detail about the findings of your research because your reader will find your discussion within the paper.

Definition of terms : Your readers are interested the field you are writing about, so they are likely to understand the terms you are using. If not, they can always look them up. Your readers do not expect you to give a definition of terms in your abstract.

References and citations : You can mention there have been studies that support or have inspired your research, but you do not need to give details as the reader will find them in your bibliography.

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If you’ve never written an abstract before, and you’re wondering how to write an abstract, we’ve got some steps for you to follow. It’s best to start with planning your abstract, so we’ve outlined the details you need to include in your plan before you write.

Remember to consider your audience when you’re planning and writing your abstract. They are likely to skim read your abstract, so you want to be sure your abstract delivers all the information they’re expecting to see at key points.

1. What Should an Abstract Include?

Abstracts have a lot of information to cover in a short number of words, so it’s important to know what to include. There are three elements that need to be present in your abstract:

Your context is the background for where your research sits within your field of study. You should briefly mention any previous scientific papers or experiments that have led to your hypothesis and how research develops in those studies.

Your hypothesis is your prediction of what your study will show. As you are writing your abstract after you have conducted your research, you should still include your hypothesis in your abstract because it shows the motivation for your paper.

Throughout your abstract, you also need to include keywords and phrases that will help researchers to find your article in the databases they’re searching. Make sure the keywords are specific to your field of study and the subject you’re reporting on, otherwise your article might not reach the relevant audience.

2. Can You Use First Person in an Abstract?

You might think that first person is too informal for a research paper, but it’s not. Historically, writers of academic reports avoided writing in first person to uphold the formality standards of the time. However, first person is more accepted in research papers in modern times.

If you’re still unsure whether to write in first person for your abstract, refer to any style guide rules imposed by the journal you’re writing for or your teachers if you are writing an assignment.

3. Abstract Structure

Some scientific journals have strict rules on how to structure an abstract, so it’s best to check those first. If you don’t have any style rules to follow, try using the IMRaD structure, which stands for Introduction, Methodology, Results, and Discussion.

Following the IMRaD structure, start with an introduction. The amount of background information you should include depends on your specific research area. Adding a broad overview gives you less room to include other details. Remember to include your hypothesis in this section.

The next part of your abstract should cover your methodology. Try to include the following details if they apply to your study:

What type of research was conducted?

How were the test subjects sampled?

What were the sample sizes?

What was done to each group?

How long was the experiment?

How was data recorded and interpreted?

Following the methodology, include a sentence or two about the results, which is where your reader will determine if your research supports or contradicts their own investigations.

The results are also where most people will want to find out what your outcomes were, even if they are just mildly interested in your research area. You should be specific about all the details but as concise as possible.

The last few sentences are your conclusion. It needs to explain how your findings affect the context and whether your hypothesis was correct. Include the primary take-home message, additional findings of importance, and perspective. Also explain whether there is scope for further research into the subject of your report.

Your conclusion should be honest and give the reader the ultimate message that your research shows. Readers trust the conclusion, so make sure you’re not fabricating the results of your research. Some readers won’t read your entire paper, but this section will tell them if it’s worth them referencing it in their own study.

4. How to Start an Abstract

The first line of your abstract should give your reader the context of your report by providing background information. You can use this sentence to imply the motivation for your research.

You don’t need to use a hook phrase or device in your first sentence to grab the reader’s attention. Your reader will look to establish relevance quickly, so readability and clarity are more important than trying to persuade the reader to read on.

5. How to Format an Abstract

Most abstracts use the same formatting rules, which help the reader identify the abstract so they know where to look for it.

Here’s a list of formatting guidelines for writing an abstract:

Stick to one paragraph

Use block formatting with no indentation at the beginning

Put your abstract straight after the title and acknowledgements pages

Use present or past tense, not future tense

There are two primary types of abstract you could write for your paper—descriptive and informative.

An informative abstract is the most common, and they follow the structure mentioned previously. They are longer than descriptive abstracts because they cover more details.

Descriptive abstracts differ from informative abstracts, as they don’t include as much discussion or detail. The word count for a descriptive abstract is between 50 and 150 words.

Here is an example of an informative abstract:

A growing trend exists for authors to employ a more informal writing style that uses “we” in academic writing to acknowledge one’s stance and engagement. However, few studies have compared the ways in which the first-person pronoun “we” is used in the abstracts and conclusions of empirical papers. To address this lacuna in the literature, this study conducted a systematic corpus analysis of the use of “we” in the abstracts and conclusions of 400 articles collected from eight leading electrical and electronic (EE) engineering journals. The abstracts and conclusions were extracted to form two subcorpora, and an integrated framework was applied to analyze and seek to explain how we-clusters and we-collocations were employed. Results revealed whether authors’ use of first-person pronouns partially depends on a journal policy. The trend of using “we” showed that a yearly increase occurred in the frequency of “we” in EE journal papers, as well as the existence of three “we-use” types in the article conclusions and abstracts: exclusive, inclusive, and ambiguous. Other possible “we-use” alternatives such as “I” and other personal pronouns were used very rarely—if at all—in either section. These findings also suggest that the present tense was used more in article abstracts, but the present perfect tense was the most preferred tense in article conclusions. Both research and pedagogical implications are proffered and critically discussed.

Wang, S., Tseng, W.-T., & Johanson, R. (2021). To We or Not to We: Corpus-Based Research on First-Person Pronoun Use in Abstracts and Conclusions. SAGE Open, 11(2).

Here is an example of a descriptive abstract:

From the 1850s to the present, considerable criminological attention has focused on the development of theoretically-significant systems for classifying crime. This article reviews and attempts to evaluate a number of these efforts, and we conclude that further work on this basic task is needed. The latter part of the article explicates a conceptual foundation for a crime pattern classification system, and offers a preliminary taxonomy of crime.

Farr, K. A., & Gibbons, D. C. (1990). Observations on the Development of Crime Categories. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 34(3), 223–237.

If you want to ensure your abstract is grammatically correct and easy to read, you can use ProWritingAid to edit it. The software integrates with Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and most web browsers, so you can make the most of it wherever you’re writing your paper.

Before you edit with ProWritingAid, make sure the suggestions you are seeing are relevant for your document by changing the document type to “Abstract” within the Academic writing style section.

You can use the Readability report to check your abstract for places to improve the clarity of your writing. Some suggestions might show you where to remove words, which is great if you’re over your word count.

We hope the five steps and examples we’ve provided help you write a great abstract for your research paper.

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• How to Write an Abstract | Steps & Examples

How to Write an Abstract | Steps & Examples

Published on 1 March 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on 10 October 2022 by Eoghan Ryan.

An abstract is a short summary of a longer work (such as a dissertation or research paper ). The abstract concisely reports the aims and outcomes of your research, so that readers know exactly what your paper is about.

Although the structure may vary slightly depending on your discipline, your abstract should describe the purpose of your work, the methods you’ve used, and the conclusions you’ve drawn.

One common way to structure your abstract is to use the IMRaD structure. This stands for:

• Introduction

Abstracts are usually around 100–300 words, but there’s often a strict word limit, so make sure to check the relevant requirements.

In a dissertation or thesis , include the abstract on a separate page, after the title page and acknowledgements but before the table of contents .

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Table of contents

Abstract example, when to write an abstract, step 1: introduction, step 2: methods, step 3: results, step 4: discussion, tips for writing an abstract, frequently asked questions about abstracts.

Hover over the different parts of the abstract to see how it is constructed.

This paper examines the role of silent movies as a mode of shared experience in the UK during the early twentieth century. At this time, high immigration rates resulted in a significant percentage of non-English-speaking citizens. These immigrants faced numerous economic and social obstacles, including exclusion from public entertainment and modes of discourse (newspapers, theater, radio).

Incorporating evidence from reviews, personal correspondence, and diaries, this study demonstrates that silent films were an affordable and inclusive source of entertainment. It argues for the accessible economic and representational nature of early cinema. These concerns are particularly evident in the low price of admission and in the democratic nature of the actors’ exaggerated gestures, which allowed the plots and action to be easily grasped by a diverse audience despite language barriers.

Keywords: silent movies, immigration, public discourse, entertainment, early cinema, language barriers.

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You will almost always have to include an abstract when:

• Completing a thesis or dissertation
• Submitting a research paper to an academic journal
• Writing a book proposal
• Applying for research grants

It’s easiest to write your abstract last, because it’s a summary of the work you’ve already done. Your abstract should:

• Be a self-contained text, not an excerpt from your paper
• Be fully understandable on its own
• Reflect the structure of your larger work

Start by clearly defining the purpose of your research. What practical or theoretical problem does the research respond to, or what research question did you aim to answer?

You can include some brief context on the social or academic relevance of your topic, but don’t go into detailed background information. If your abstract uses specialised terms that would be unfamiliar to the average academic reader or that have various different meanings, give a concise definition.

After identifying the problem, state the objective of your research. Use verbs like “investigate,” “test,” “analyse,” or “evaluate” to describe exactly what you set out to do.

This part of the abstract can be written in the present or past simple tense  but should never refer to the future, as the research is already complete.

• This study will investigate the relationship between coffee consumption and productivity.
• This study investigates the relationship between coffee consumption and productivity.

Next, indicate the research methods that you used to answer your question. This part should be a straightforward description of what you did in one or two sentences. It is usually written in the past simple tense, as it refers to completed actions.

• Structured interviews will be conducted with 25 participants.
• Structured interviews were conducted with 25 participants.

Don’t evaluate validity or obstacles here — the goal is not to give an account of the methodology’s strengths and weaknesses, but to give the reader a quick insight into the overall approach and procedures you used.

Next, summarise the main research results . This part of the abstract can be in the present or past simple tense.

• Our analysis has shown a strong correlation between coffee consumption and productivity.
• Our analysis shows a strong correlation between coffee consumption and productivity.
• Our analysis showed a strong correlation between coffee consumption and productivity.

Depending on how long and complex your research is, you may not be able to include all results here. Try to highlight only the most important findings that will allow the reader to understand your conclusions.

Finally, you should discuss the main conclusions of your research : what is your answer to the problem or question? The reader should finish with a clear understanding of the central point that your research has proved or argued. Conclusions are usually written in the present simple tense.

• We concluded that coffee consumption increases productivity.
• We conclude that coffee consumption increases productivity.

If there are important limitations to your research (for example, related to your sample size or methods), you should mention them briefly in the abstract. This allows the reader to accurately assess the credibility and generalisability of your research.

If your aim was to solve a practical problem, your discussion might include recommendations for implementation. If relevant, you can briefly make suggestions for further research.

If your paper will be published, you might have to add a list of keywords at the end of the abstract. These keywords should reference the most important elements of the research to help potential readers find your paper during their own literature searches.

Be aware that some publication manuals, such as APA Style , have specific formatting requirements for these keywords.

It can be a real challenge to condense your whole work into just a couple of hundred words, but the abstract will be the first (and sometimes only) part that people read, so it’s important to get it right. These strategies can help you get started.

Read other abstracts

The best way to learn the conventions of writing an abstract in your discipline is to read other people’s. You probably already read lots of journal article abstracts while conducting your literature review —try using them as a framework for structure and style.

You can also find lots of dissertation abstract examples in thesis and dissertation databases .

Reverse outline

Not all abstracts will contain precisely the same elements. For longer works, you can write your abstract through a process of reverse outlining.

For each chapter or section, list keywords and draft one to two sentences that summarise the central point or argument. This will give you a framework of your abstract’s structure. Next, revise the sentences to make connections and show how the argument develops.

Write clearly and concisely

A good abstract is short but impactful, so make sure every word counts. Each sentence should clearly communicate one main point.

To keep your abstract or summary short and clear:

• Avoid passive sentences: Passive constructions are often unnecessarily long. You can easily make them shorter and clearer by using the active voice.
• Avoid long sentences: Substitute longer expressions for concise expressions or single words (e.g., “In order to” for “To”).
• Avoid obscure jargon: The abstract should be understandable to readers who are not familiar with your topic.
• Avoid repetition and filler words: Replace nouns with pronouns when possible and eliminate unnecessary words.
• Avoid detailed descriptions: An abstract is not expected to provide detailed definitions, background information, or discussions of other scholars’ work. Instead, include this information in the body of your thesis or paper.

If you’re struggling to edit down to the required length, you can get help from expert editors with Scribbr’s professional proofreading services .

Check your formatting

If you are writing a thesis or dissertation or submitting to a journal, there are often specific formatting requirements for the abstract—make sure to check the guidelines and format your work correctly. For APA research papers you can follow the APA abstract format .

Checklist: Abstract

The word count is within the required length, or a maximum of one page.

The abstract appears after the title page and acknowledgements and before the table of contents .

I have clearly stated my research problem and objectives.

I have briefly described my methodology .

I have summarized the most important results .

I have stated my main conclusions .

I have mentioned any important limitations and recommendations.

The abstract can be understood by someone without prior knowledge of the topic.

You've written a great abstract! Use the other checklists to continue improving your thesis or dissertation.

An abstract is a concise summary of an academic text (such as a journal article or dissertation ). It serves two main purposes:

• To help potential readers determine the relevance of your paper for their own research.
• To communicate your key findings to those who don’t have time to read the whole paper.

Abstracts are often indexed along with keywords on academic databases, so they make your work more easily findable. Since the abstract is the first thing any reader sees, it’s important that it clearly and accurately summarises the contents of your paper.

An abstract for a thesis or dissertation is usually around 150–300 words. There’s often a strict word limit, so make sure to check your university’s requirements.

The abstract is the very last thing you write. You should only write it after your research is complete, so that you can accurately summarize the entirety of your thesis or paper.

Avoid citing sources in your abstract . There are two reasons for this:

• The abstract should focus on your original research, not on the work of others.
• The abstract should be self-contained and fully understandable without reference to other sources.

There are some circumstances where you might need to mention other sources in an abstract: for example, if your research responds directly to another study or focuses on the work of a single theorist. In general, though, don’t include citations unless absolutely necessary.

The abstract appears on its own page, after the title page and acknowledgements but before the table of contents .

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What this handout is about

This handout provides definitions and examples of the two main types of abstracts: descriptive and informative. It also provides guidelines for constructing an abstract and general tips for you to keep in mind when drafting. Finally, it includes a few examples of abstracts broken down into their component parts.

What is an abstract?

An abstract is a self-contained, short, and powerful statement that describes a larger work. Components vary according to discipline. An abstract of a social science or scientific work may contain the scope, purpose, results, and contents of the work. An abstract of a humanities work may contain the thesis, background, and conclusion of the larger work. An abstract is not a review, nor does it evaluate the work being abstracted. While it contains key words found in the larger work, the abstract is an original document rather than an excerpted passage.

Why write an abstract?

You may write an abstract for various reasons. The two most important are selection and indexing. Abstracts allow readers who may be interested in a longer work to quickly decide whether it is worth their time to read it. Also, many online databases use abstracts to index larger works. Therefore, abstracts should contain keywords and phrases that allow for easy searching.

Say you are beginning a research project on how Brazilian newspapers helped Brazil’s ultra-liberal president Luiz Ignácio da Silva wrest power from the traditional, conservative power base. A good first place to start your research is to search Dissertation Abstracts International for all dissertations that deal with the interaction between newspapers and politics. “Newspapers and politics” returned 569 hits. A more selective search of “newspapers and Brazil” returned 22 hits. That is still a fair number of dissertations. Titles can sometimes help winnow the field, but many titles are not very descriptive. For example, one dissertation is titled “Rhetoric and Riot in Rio de Janeiro.” It is unclear from the title what this dissertation has to do with newspapers in Brazil. One option would be to download or order the entire dissertation on the chance that it might speak specifically to the topic. A better option is to read the abstract. In this case, the abstract reveals the main focus of the dissertation:

This dissertation examines the role of newspaper editors in the political turmoil and strife that characterized late First Empire Rio de Janeiro (1827-1831). Newspaper editors and their journals helped change the political culture of late First Empire Rio de Janeiro by involving the people in the discussion of state. This change in political culture is apparent in Emperor Pedro I’s gradual loss of control over the mechanisms of power. As the newspapers became more numerous and powerful, the Emperor lost his legitimacy in the eyes of the people. To explore the role of the newspapers in the political events of the late First Empire, this dissertation analyzes all available newspapers published in Rio de Janeiro from 1827 to 1831. Newspapers and their editors were leading forces in the effort to remove power from the hands of the ruling elite and place it under the control of the people. In the process, newspapers helped change how politics operated in the constitutional monarchy of Brazil.

From this abstract you now know that although the dissertation has nothing to do with modern Brazilian politics, it does cover the role of newspapers in changing traditional mechanisms of power. After reading the abstract, you can make an informed judgment about whether the dissertation would be worthwhile to read.

Besides selection, the other main purpose of the abstract is for indexing. Most article databases in the online catalog of the library enable you to search abstracts. This allows for quick retrieval by users and limits the extraneous items recalled by a “full-text” search. However, for an abstract to be useful in an online retrieval system, it must incorporate the key terms that a potential researcher would use to search. For example, if you search Dissertation Abstracts International using the keywords “France” “revolution” and “politics,” the search engine would search through all the abstracts in the database that included those three words. Without an abstract, the search engine would be forced to search titles, which, as we have seen, may not be fruitful, or else search the full text. It’s likely that a lot more than 60 dissertations have been written with those three words somewhere in the body of the entire work. By incorporating keywords into the abstract, the author emphasizes the central topics of the work and gives prospective readers enough information to make an informed judgment about the applicability of the work.

When do people write abstracts?

• when submitting articles to journals, especially online journals
• when applying for research grants
• when writing a book proposal
• when completing the Ph.D. dissertation or M.A. thesis
• when writing a proposal for a conference paper
• when writing a proposal for a book chapter

Most often, the author of the entire work (or prospective work) writes the abstract. However, there are professional abstracting services that hire writers to draft abstracts of other people’s work. In a work with multiple authors, the first author usually writes the abstract. Undergraduates are sometimes asked to draft abstracts of books/articles for classmates who have not read the larger work.

Types of abstracts

There are two types of abstracts: descriptive and informative. They have different aims, so as a consequence they have different components and styles. There is also a third type called critical, but it is rarely used. If you want to find out more about writing a critique or a review of a work, see the UNC Writing Center handout on writing a literature review . If you are unsure which type of abstract you should write, ask your instructor (if the abstract is for a class) or read other abstracts in your field or in the journal where you are submitting your article.

Descriptive abstracts

A descriptive abstract indicates the type of information found in the work. It makes no judgments about the work, nor does it provide results or conclusions of the research. It does incorporate key words found in the text and may include the purpose, methods, and scope of the research. Essentially, the descriptive abstract describes the work being abstracted. Some people consider it an outline of the work, rather than a summary. Descriptive abstracts are usually very short—100 words or less.

Informative abstracts

The majority of abstracts are informative. While they still do not critique or evaluate a work, they do more than describe it. A good informative abstract acts as a surrogate for the work itself. That is, the writer presents and explains all the main arguments and the important results and evidence in the complete article/paper/book. An informative abstract includes the information that can be found in a descriptive abstract (purpose, methods, scope) but also includes the results and conclusions of the research and the recommendations of the author. The length varies according to discipline, but an informative abstract is rarely more than 10% of the length of the entire work. In the case of a longer work, it may be much less.

Here are examples of a descriptive and an informative abstract of this handout on abstracts . Descriptive abstract:

The two most common abstract types—descriptive and informative—are described and examples of each are provided.

Informative abstract:

Abstracts present the essential elements of a longer work in a short and powerful statement. The purpose of an abstract is to provide prospective readers the opportunity to judge the relevance of the longer work to their projects. Abstracts also include the key terms found in the longer work and the purpose and methods of the research. Authors abstract various longer works, including book proposals, dissertations, and online journal articles. There are two main types of abstracts: descriptive and informative. A descriptive abstract briefly describes the longer work, while an informative abstract presents all the main arguments and important results. This handout provides examples of various types of abstracts and instructions on how to construct one.

Which type should I use?

Your best bet in this case is to ask your instructor or refer to the instructions provided by the publisher. You can also make a guess based on the length allowed; i.e., 100-120 words = descriptive; 250+ words = informative.

How do I write an abstract?

The format of your abstract will depend on the work being abstracted. An abstract of a scientific research paper will contain elements not found in an abstract of a literature article, and vice versa. However, all abstracts share several mandatory components, and there are also some optional parts that you can decide to include or not. When preparing to draft your abstract, keep the following key process elements in mind:

• Reason for writing: What is the importance of the research? Why would a reader be interested in the larger work?
• Problem: What problem does this work attempt to solve? What is the scope of the project? What is the main argument/thesis/claim?
• Methodology: An abstract of a scientific work may include specific models or approaches used in the larger study. Other abstracts may describe the types of evidence used in the research.
• Results: Again, an abstract of a scientific work may include specific data that indicates the results of the project. Other abstracts may discuss the findings in a more general way.
• Implications: What changes should be implemented as a result of the findings of the work? How does this work add to the body of knowledge on the topic?

(This list of elements is adapted with permission from Philip Koopman, “How to Write an Abstract.” )

All abstracts include:

• A full citation of the source, preceding the abstract.
• The most important information first.
• The same type and style of language found in the original, including technical language.
• Key words and phrases that quickly identify the content and focus of the work.
• Clear, concise, and powerful language.

Abstracts may include:

• The thesis of the work, usually in the first sentence.
• Background information that places the work in the larger body of literature.
• The same chronological structure as the original work.

How not to write an abstract:

• Do not refer extensively to other works.
• Do not add information not contained in the original work.
• Do not define terms.

If you are abstracting your own writing

When abstracting your own work, it may be difficult to condense a piece of writing that you have agonized over for weeks (or months, or even years) into a 250-word statement. There are some tricks that you could use to make it easier, however.

Reverse outlining:

This technique is commonly used when you are having trouble organizing your own writing. The process involves writing down the main idea of each paragraph on a separate piece of paper– see our short video . For the purposes of writing an abstract, try grouping the main ideas of each section of the paper into a single sentence. Practice grouping ideas using webbing or color coding .

For a scientific paper, you may have sections titled Purpose, Methods, Results, and Discussion. Each one of these sections will be longer than one paragraph, but each is grouped around a central idea. Use reverse outlining to discover the central idea in each section and then distill these ideas into one statement.

Cut and paste:

To create a first draft of an abstract of your own work, you can read through the entire paper and cut and paste sentences that capture key passages. This technique is useful for social science research with findings that cannot be encapsulated by neat numbers or concrete results. A well-written humanities draft will have a clear and direct thesis statement and informative topic sentences for paragraphs or sections. Isolate these sentences in a separate document and work on revising them into a unified paragraph.

If you are abstracting someone else’s writing

When abstracting something you have not written, you cannot summarize key ideas just by cutting and pasting. Instead, you must determine what a prospective reader would want to know about the work. There are a few techniques that will help you in this process:

Identify key terms:

Search through the entire document for key terms that identify the purpose, scope, and methods of the work. Pay close attention to the Introduction (or Purpose) and the Conclusion (or Discussion). These sections should contain all the main ideas and key terms in the paper. When writing the abstract, be sure to incorporate the key terms.

Highlight key phrases and sentences:

Instead of cutting and pasting the actual words, try highlighting sentences or phrases that appear to be central to the work. Then, in a separate document, rewrite the sentences and phrases in your own words.

Don’t look back:

After reading the entire work, put it aside and write a paragraph about the work without referring to it. In the first draft, you may not remember all the key terms or the results, but you will remember what the main point of the work was. Remember not to include any information you did not get from the work being abstracted.

Revise, revise, revise

No matter what type of abstract you are writing, or whether you are abstracting your own work or someone else’s, the most important step in writing an abstract is to revise early and often. When revising, delete all extraneous words and incorporate meaningful and powerful words. The idea is to be as clear and complete as possible in the shortest possible amount of space. The Word Count feature of Microsoft Word can help you keep track of how long your abstract is and help you hit your target length.

Example 1: Humanities abstract

Kenneth Tait Andrews, “‘Freedom is a constant struggle’: The dynamics and consequences of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement, 1960-1984” Ph.D. State University of New York at Stony Brook, 1997 DAI-A 59/02, p. 620, Aug 1998

This dissertation examines the impacts of social movements through a multi-layered study of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement from its peak in the early 1960s through the early 1980s. By examining this historically important case, I clarify the process by which movements transform social structures and the constraints movements face when they try to do so. The time period studied includes the expansion of voting rights and gains in black political power, the desegregation of public schools and the emergence of white-flight academies, and the rise and fall of federal anti-poverty programs. I use two major research strategies: (1) a quantitative analysis of county-level data and (2) three case studies. Data have been collected from archives, interviews, newspapers, and published reports. This dissertation challenges the argument that movements are inconsequential. Some view federal agencies, courts, political parties, or economic elites as the agents driving institutional change, but typically these groups acted in response to the leverage brought to bear by the civil rights movement. The Mississippi movement attempted to forge independent structures for sustaining challenges to local inequities and injustices. By propelling change in an array of local institutions, movement infrastructures had an enduring legacy in Mississippi.

Now let’s break down this abstract into its component parts to see how the author has distilled his entire dissertation into a ~200 word abstract.

What the dissertation does This dissertation examines the impacts of social movements through a multi-layered study of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement from its peak in the early 1960s through the early 1980s. By examining this historically important case, I clarify the process by which movements transform social structures and the constraints movements face when they try to do so.

How the dissertation does it The time period studied in this dissertation includes the expansion of voting rights and gains in black political power, the desegregation of public schools and the emergence of white-flight academies, and the rise and fall of federal anti-poverty programs. I use two major research strategies: (1) a quantitative analysis of county-level data and (2) three case studies.

What materials are used Data have been collected from archives, interviews, newspapers, and published reports.

Conclusion This dissertation challenges the argument that movements are inconsequential. Some view federal agencies, courts, political parties, or economic elites as the agents driving institutional change, but typically these groups acted in response to movement demands and the leverage brought to bear by the civil rights movement. The Mississippi movement attempted to forge independent structures for sustaining challenges to local inequities and injustices. By propelling change in an array of local institutions, movement infrastructures had an enduring legacy in Mississippi.

Keywords social movements Civil Rights Movement Mississippi voting rights desegregation

Example 2: Science Abstract

Luis Lehner, “Gravitational radiation from black hole spacetimes” Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh, 1998 DAI-B 59/06, p. 2797, Dec 1998

The problem of detecting gravitational radiation is receiving considerable attention with the construction of new detectors in the United States, Europe, and Japan. The theoretical modeling of the wave forms that would be produced in particular systems will expedite the search for and analysis of detected signals. The characteristic formulation of GR is implemented to obtain an algorithm capable of evolving black holes in 3D asymptotically flat spacetimes. Using compactification techniques, future null infinity is included in the evolved region, which enables the unambiguous calculation of the radiation produced by some compact source. A module to calculate the waveforms is constructed and included in the evolution algorithm. This code is shown to be second-order convergent and to handle highly non-linear spacetimes. In particular, we have shown that the code can handle spacetimes whose radiation is equivalent to a galaxy converting its whole mass into gravitational radiation in one second. We further use the characteristic formulation to treat the region close to the singularity in black hole spacetimes. The code carefully excises a region surrounding the singularity and accurately evolves generic black hole spacetimes with apparently unlimited stability.

This science abstract covers much of the same ground as the humanities one, but it asks slightly different questions.

Why do this study The problem of detecting gravitational radiation is receiving considerable attention with the construction of new detectors in the United States, Europe, and Japan. The theoretical modeling of the wave forms that would be produced in particular systems will expedite the search and analysis of the detected signals.

What the study does The characteristic formulation of GR is implemented to obtain an algorithm capable of evolving black holes in 3D asymptotically flat spacetimes. Using compactification techniques, future null infinity is included in the evolved region, which enables the unambiguous calculation of the radiation produced by some compact source. A module to calculate the waveforms is constructed and included in the evolution algorithm.

Results This code is shown to be second-order convergent and to handle highly non-linear spacetimes. In particular, we have shown that the code can handle spacetimes whose radiation is equivalent to a galaxy converting its whole mass into gravitational radiation in one second. We further use the characteristic formulation to treat the region close to the singularity in black hole spacetimes. The code carefully excises a region surrounding the singularity and accurately evolves generic black hole spacetimes with apparently unlimited stability.

Keywords gravitational radiation (GR) spacetimes black holes

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Belcher, Wendy Laura. 2009. Writing Your Journal Article in Twelve Weeks: A Guide to Academic Publishing Success. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Press.

Koopman, Philip. 1997. “How to Write an Abstract.” Carnegie Mellon University. October 1997. http://users.ece.cmu.edu/~koopman/essays/abstract.html .

Lancaster, F.W. 2003. Indexing And Abstracting in Theory and Practice , 3rd ed. London: Facet Publishing.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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How to Write an Abstract for a Research Paper | Examples

What is a research paper abstract?

Research paper abstracts summarize your study quickly and succinctly to journal editors and researchers and prompt them to read further. But with the ubiquity of online publication databases, writing a compelling abstract is even more important today than it was in the days of bound paper manuscripts.

Abstracts exist to “sell”  your work, and they could thus be compared to the “executive summary” of a business resume: an official briefing on what is most important about your research. Or the “gist” of your research. With the majority of academic transactions being conducted online, this means that you have even less time to impress readers–and increased competition in terms of other abstracts out there to read.

The APCI (Academic Publishing and Conferences International) notes that there are  12 questions or “points” considered in the selection process  for journals and conferences and stresses the importance of having an abstract that ticks all of these boxes. Because it is often the ONLY chance you have to convince readers to keep reading, it is important that you spend time and energy crafting an abstract that faithfully represents the central parts of your study and captivates your audience.

With that in mind, follow these suggestions when structuring and writing your abstract, and learn how exactly to put these ideas into a solid abstract that will captivate your target readers.

Before Writing Your Abstract

How long should an abstract be.

All abstracts are written with the same essential objective: to give a summary of your study. But there are two basic styles of abstract: descriptive and informative . Here is a brief delineation of the two:

Of the two types of abstracts, informative abstracts are much more common, and they are widely used for submission to journals and conferences. Informative abstracts apply to lengthier and more technical research and are common in the sciences, engineering, and psychology, while descriptive abstracts are more likely used in humanities and social science papers. The best method of determining which abstract type you need to use is to follow the instructions for journal submissions and to read as many other published articles in those journals as possible.

Research Abstract Guidelines and Requirements

As any article about research writing will tell you, authors must always closely follow the specific guidelines and requirements indicated in the Guide for Authors section of their target journal’s website. The same kind of adherence to conventions should be applied to journal publications, for consideration at a conference, and even when completing a class assignment.

Each publisher has particular demands when it comes to formatting and structure. Here are some common questions addressed in the journal guidelines:

• Is there a maximum or minimum word/character length?
• What are the style and formatting requirements?
• What is the appropriate abstract type?
• Are there any specific content or organization rules that apply?

There are of course other rules to consider when composing a research paper abstract. But if you follow the stated rules the first time you submit your manuscript, you can avoid your work being thrown in the “circular file” right off the bat.

Identify Your Target Readership

The main purpose of your abstract is to lead researchers to the full text of your research paper. In scientific journals, abstracts let readers decide whether the research discussed is relevant to their own interests or study. Abstracts also help readers understand your main argument quickly. Consider these questions as you write your abstract:

• Are other academics in your field the main target of your study?
• Will your study perhaps be useful to members of the general public?
• Do your study results include the wider implications presented in the abstract?

Outlining and Writing Your Abstract

What to include in an abstract.

Just as your  research paper title  should cover as much ground as possible in a few short words, your abstract must cover  all  parts of your study in order to fully explain your paper and research. Because it must accomplish this task in the space of only a few hundred words, it is important not to include ambiguous references or phrases that will confuse the reader or mislead them about the content and objectives of your research. Follow these  dos  and  don’ts  when it comes to what kind of writing to include:

• Avoid acronyms or abbreviations since these will need to be explained in order to make sense to the reader, which takes up valuable abstract space. Instead, explain these terms in the Introduction section of the main text.
• Only use references to people or other works if they are well-known. Otherwise, avoid referencing anything outside of your study in the abstract.
• Never include tables, figures, sources, or long quotations in your abstract; you will have plenty of time to present and refer to these in the body of your paper.

Use keywords in your abstract to focus your topic

A vital search tool is the research paper keywords section, which lists the most relevant terms directly underneath the abstract. Think of these keywords as the “tubes” that readers will seek and enter—via queries on databases and search engines—to ultimately land at their destination, which is your paper. Your abstract keywords should thus be words that are commonly used in searches but should also be highly relevant to your work and found in the text of your abstract. Include 5 to 10 important words or short phrases central to your research in both the abstract and the keywords section.

For example, if you are writing a paper on the prevalence of obesity among lower classes that crosses international boundaries, you should include terms like “obesity,” “prevalence,” “international,” “lower classes,” and “cross-cultural.” These are terms that should net a wide array of people interested in your topic of study. Look at our nine rules for choosing keywords for your research paper if you need more input on this.

Research Paper Abstract Structure

As mentioned above, the abstract (especially the informative abstract) acts as a surrogate or synopsis of your research paper, doing almost as much work as the thousands of words that follow it in the body of the main text. In the hard sciences and most social sciences, the abstract includes the following sections and organizational schema.

Each section is quite compact—only a single sentence or two, although there is room for expansion if one element or statement is particularly interesting or compelling. As the abstract is almost always one long paragraph, the individual sections should naturally merge into one another to create a holistic effect. Use the following as a checklist to ensure that you have included all of the necessary content in your abstract.

1) Identify your purpose and motivation

So your research is about rabies in Brazilian squirrels. Why is this important? You should start your abstract by explaining why people should care about this study—why is it significant to your field and perhaps to the wider world? And what is the exact purpose of your study; what are you trying to achieve? Start by answering the following questions:

• What made you decide to do this study or project?
• Why is this study important to your field or to the lay reader?
• Why should someone read your entire article?

In summary, the first section of your abstract should include the importance of the research and its impact on related research fields or on the wider scientific domain.

2) Explain the research problem you are addressing

Stating the research problem that your study addresses is the corollary to why your specific study is important and necessary. For instance, even if the issue of “rabies in Brazilian squirrels” is important, what is the problem—the “missing piece of the puzzle”—that your study helps resolve?

You can combine the problem with the motivation section, but from a perspective of organization and clarity, it is best to separate the two. Here are some precise questions to address:

• What is your research trying to better understand or what problem is it trying to solve?
• What is the scope of your study—does it try to explain something general or specific?
• What is your central claim or argument?

3) Discuss your research approach

Your specific study approach is detailed in the Methods and Materials section .  You have already established the importance of the research, your motivation for studying this issue, and the specific problem your paper addresses. Now you need to discuss  how  you solved or made progress on this problem—how you conducted your research. If your study includes your own work or that of your team, describe that here. If in your paper you reviewed the work of others, explain this here. Did you use analytic models? A simulation? A double-blind study? A case study? You are basically showing the reader the internal engine of your research machine and how it functioned in the study. Be sure to:

• Detail your research—include methods/type of the study, your variables, and the extent of the work
• Briefly present evidence to support your claim
• Highlight your most important sources

4) Briefly summarize your results

Here you will give an overview of the outcome of your study. Avoid using too many vague qualitative terms (e.g, “very,” “small,” or “tremendous”) and try to use at least some quantitative terms (i.e., percentages, figures, numbers). Save your qualitative language for the conclusion statement. Answer questions like these:

• What did your study yield in concrete terms (e.g., trends, figures, correlation between phenomena)?
• How did your results compare to your hypothesis? Was the study successful?
• Where there any highly unexpected outcomes or were they all largely predicted?

5) State your conclusion

In the last section of your abstract, you will give a statement about the implications and  limitations of the study . Be sure to connect this statement closely to your results and not the area of study in general. Are the results of this study going to shake up the scientific world? Will they impact how people see “Brazilian squirrels”? Or are the implications minor? Try not to boast about your study or present its impact as  too  far-reaching, as researchers and journals will tend to be skeptical of bold claims in scientific papers. Answer one of these questions:

• What are the exact effects of these results on my field? On the wider world?
• What other kind of study would yield further solutions to problems?
• What other information is needed to expand knowledge in this area?

After Completing the First Draft of Your Abstract

Revise your abstract.

The abstract, like any piece of academic writing, should be revised before being considered complete. Check it for  grammatical and spelling errors  and make sure it is formatted properly.

Get feedback from a peer

Getting a fresh set of eyes to review your abstract is a great way to find out whether you’ve summarized your research well. Find a reader who understands research papers but is not an expert in this field or is not affiliated with your study. Ask your reader to summarize what your study is about (including all key points of each section). This should tell you if you have communicated your key points clearly.

In addition to research peers, consider consulting with a professor or even a specialist or generalist writing center consultant about your abstract. Use any resource that helps you see your work from another perspective.

Consider getting professional editing and proofreading

While peer feedback is quite important to ensure the effectiveness of your abstract content, it may be a good idea to find an academic editor  to fix mistakes in grammar, spelling, mechanics, style, or formatting. The presence of basic errors in the abstract may not affect your content, but it might dissuade someone from reading your entire study. Wordvice provides English editing services that both correct objective errors and enhance the readability and impact of your work.

Additional Abstract Rules and Guidelines

Write your abstract after completing your paper.

Although the abstract goes at the beginning of your manuscript, it does not merely introduce your research topic (that is the job of the title), but rather summarizes your entire paper. Writing the abstract last will ensure that it is complete and consistent with the findings and statements in your paper.

Keep your content in the correct order

Both questions and answers should be organized in a standard and familiar way to make the content easier for readers to absorb. Ideally, it should mimic the overall format of your essay and the classic “introduction,” “body,” and “conclusion” form, even if the parts are not neatly divided as such.

Write the abstract from scratch

Because the abstract is a self-contained piece of writing viewed separately from the body of the paper, you should write it separately as well. Never copy and paste direct quotes from the paper and avoid paraphrasing sentences in the paper. Using new vocabulary and phrases will keep your abstract interesting and free of redundancies while conserving space.

Don’t include too many details in the abstract

Again, the density of your abstract makes it incompatible with including specific points other than possibly names or locations. You can make references to terms, but do not explain or define them in the abstract. Try to strike a balance between being specific to your study and presenting a relatively broad overview of your work.

Wordvice Resources

If you think your abstract is fine now but you need input on abstract writing or require English editing services (including paper editing ), then head over to the Wordvice academic resources page, where you will find many more articles, for example on writing the Results , Methods , and Discussion sections of your manuscript, on choosing a title for your paper , or on how to finalize your journal submission with a strong cover letter .    

How to Write an Abstract for Your Thesis or Dissertation What is an Abstract? The abstract is an important component of your thesis. Presented at the beginning of the thesis, it is likely the first substantive description of your work read by an external examiner. You should view it as an opportunity to set accurate expectations. The abstract is a summary of the whole thesis. It presents all the major elements of your work in a highly condensed form. An abstract often functions, together with the thesis title, as a stand-alone text. Abstracts appear, absent the full text of the thesis, in bibliographic indexes such as PsycInfo. They may also be presented in announcements of the thesis examination. Most readers who encounter your abstract in a bibliographic database or receive an email announcing your research presentation will never retrieve the full text or attend the presentation. An abstract is not merely an introduction in the sense of a preface, preamble, or advance organizer that prepares the reader for the thesis. In addition to that function, it must be capable of substituting for the whole thesis when there is insufficient time and space for the full text. Size and Structure Currently, the maximum sizes for abstracts submitted to Canada's National Archive are 150 words (Masters thesis) and 350 words (Doctoral dissertation). To preserve visual coherence, you may wish to limit the abstract for your doctoral dissertation to one double-spaced page, about 280 words. The structure of the abstract should mirror the structure of the whole thesis, and should represent all its major elements. For example, if your thesis has five chapters (introduction, literature review, methodology, results, conclusion), there should be one or more sentences assigned to summarize each chapter. Clearly Specify Your Research Questions As in the thesis itself, your research questions are critical in ensuring that the abstract is coherent and logically structured. They form the skeleton to which other elements adhere. They should be presented near the beginning of the abstract. There is only room for one to three questions. If there are more than three major research questions in your thesis, you should consider restructuring them by reducing some to subsidiary status. Don't Forget the Results The most common error in abstracts is failure to present results. The primary function of your thesis (and by extension your abstract) is not to tell readers what you did, it is to tell them what you discovered. Other information, such as the account of your research methods, is needed mainly to back the claims you make about your results. Approximately the last half of the abstract should be dedicated to summarizing and interpreting your results. Updated 2008.09.11 © John C. Nesbit

How to Write an Abstract APA Format

Saul Mcleod, PhD

Editor-in-Chief for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester

Saul Mcleod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

Learn about our Editorial Process

Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc

Associate Editor for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education

Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.

An APA abstract is a brief, comprehensive summary of the contents of an article, research paper, dissertation, or report.

It is written in accordance with the guidelines of the American Psychological Association (APA), which is a widely used format in social and behavioral sciences. 

An APA abstract summarizes, usually in one paragraph of between 150–250 words, the major aspects of a research paper or dissertation in a prescribed sequence that includes:

• The rationale: the overall purpose of the study, providing a clear context for the research undertaken.
• Information regarding the method and participants: including materials/instruments, design, procedure, and data analysis.
• Main findings or trends: effectively highlighting the key outcomes of the hypotheses.
• Interpretations and conclusion(s): solidify the implications of the research.
• Keywords related to the study: assist the paper’s discoverability in academic databases.

The abstract should stand alone, be “self-contained,” and make sense to the reader in isolation from the main article.

The purpose of the abstract is to give the reader a quick overview of the essential information before reading the entire article. The abstract is placed on its own page, directly after the title page and before the main body of the paper.

Although the abstract will appear as the very first part of your paper, it’s good practice to write your abstract after you’ve drafted your full paper, so that you know what you’re summarizing.

Note : This page reflects the latest version of the APA Publication Manual (i.e., APA 7), released in October 2019.

Structure of the Abstract

[NOTE: DO NOT separate the components of the abstract – it should be written as a single paragraph. This section is separated to illustrate the abstract’s structure.]

1) The Rationale

One or two sentences describing the overall purpose of the study and the research problem(s) you investigated. You are basically justifying why this study was conducted.

• What is the importance of the research?
• Why would a reader be interested in the larger work?
• For example, are you filling a gap in previous research or applying new methods to take a fresh look at existing ideas or data?
• Women who are diagnosed with breast cancer can experience an array of psychosocial difficulties; however, social support, particularly from a spouse, has been shown to have a protective function during this time. This study examined the ways in which a woman’s daily mood, pain, and fatigue, and her spouse’s marital satisfaction predict the woman’s report of partner support in the context of breast cancer.
• The current nursing shortage, high hospital nurse job dissatisfaction, and reports of uneven quality of hospital care are not uniquely American phenomena.
• Students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are more likely to exhibit behavioral difficulties than their typically developing peers. The aim of this study was to identify specific risk factors that influence variability in behavior difficulties among individuals with SEND.

2) The Method

Information regarding the participants (number, and population). One or two sentences outlining the method, explaining what was done and how. The method is described in the present tense.

• Pretest data from a larger intervention study and multilevel modeling were used to examine the effects of women’s daily mood, pain, and fatigue and average levels of mood, pain, and fatigue on women’s report of social support received from her partner, as well as how the effects of mood interacted with partners’ marital satisfaction.
• This paper presents reports from 43,000 nurses from more than 700 hospitals in the United States, Canada, England, Scotland, and Germany in 1998–1999.
• The study sample comprised 4,228 students with SEND, aged 5–15, drawn from 305 primary and secondary schools across England. Explanatory variables were measured at the individual and school levels at baseline, along with a teacher-reported measure of behavior difficulties (assessed at baseline and the 18-month follow-up).

3) The Results

One or two sentences indicating the main findings or trends found as a result of your analysis. The results are described in the present or past tense.

• Results show that on days in which women reported higher levels of negative or positive mood, as well as on days they reported more pain and fatigue, they reported receiving more support. Women who, on average, reported higher levels of positive mood tended to report receiving more support than those who, on average, reported lower positive mood. However, average levels of negative mood were not associated with support. Higher average levels of fatigue but not pain were associated with higher support. Finally, women whose husbands reported higher levels of marital satisfaction reported receiving more partner support, but husbands’ marital satisfaction did not moderate the effect of women’s mood on support.
• Nurses in countries with distinctly different healthcare systems report similar shortcomings in their work environments and the quality of hospital care. While the competence of and relation between nurses and physicians appear satisfactory, core problems in work design and workforce management threaten the provision of care.
• Hierarchical linear modeling of data revealed that differences between schools accounted for between 13% (secondary) and 15.4% (primary) of the total variance in the development of students’ behavior difficulties, with the remainder attributable to individual differences. Statistically significant risk markers for these problems across both phases of education were being male, eligibility for free school meals, being identified as a bully, and lower academic achievement. Additional risk markers specific to each phase of education at the individual and school levels are also acknowledged.

4) The Conclusion / Implications

A brief summary of your conclusions and implications of the results, described in the present tense. Explain the results and why the study is important to the reader.

• For example, what changes should be implemented as a result of the findings of the work?
• How does this work add to the body of knowledge on the topic?

Implications of these findings are discussed relative to assisting couples during this difficult time in their lives.

• Resolving these issues, which are amenable to managerial intervention, is essential to preserving patient safety and care of consistently high quality.
• Behavior difficulties are affected by risks across multiple ecological levels. Addressing any one of these potential influences is therefore likely to contribute to the reduction in the problems displayed.

The above examples of abstracts are from the following papers:

Aiken, L. H., Clarke, S. P., Sloane, D. M., Sochalski, J. A., Busse, R., Clarke, H., … & Shamian, J. (2001). Nurses’ reports on hospital care in five countries . Health affairs, 20(3) , 43-53.

Boeding, S. E., Pukay-Martin, N. D., Baucom, D. H., Porter, L. S., Kirby, J. S., Gremore, T. M., & Keefe, F. J. (2014). Couples and breast cancer: Women’s mood and partners’ marital satisfaction predicting support perception . Journal of Family Psychology, 28(5) , 675.

Oldfield, J., Humphrey, N., & Hebron, J. (2017). Risk factors in the development of behavior difficulties among students with special educational needs and disabilities: A multilevel analysis . British journal of educational psychology, 87(2) , 146-169.

5) Keywords

APA style suggests including a list of keywords at the end of the abstract. This is particularly common in academic articles and helps other researchers find your work in databases.

Keywords in an abstract should be selected to help other researchers find your work when searching an online database. These keywords should effectively represent the main topics of your study. Here are some tips for choosing keywords:

Core Concepts: Identify the most important ideas or concepts in your paper. These often include your main research topic, the methods you’ve used, or the theories you’re discussing.

Specificity: Your keywords should be specific to your research. For example, suppose your paper is about the effects of climate change on bird migration patterns in a specific region. In that case, your keywords might include “climate change,” “bird migration,” and the region’s name.

Consistency with Paper: Make sure your keywords are consistent with the terms you’ve used in your paper. For example, if you use the term “adolescent” rather than “teen” in your paper, choose “adolescent” as your keyword, not “teen.”

Jargon and Acronyms: Avoid using too much-specialized jargon or acronyms in your keywords, as these might not be understood or used by all researchers in your field.

Synonyms: Consider including synonyms of your keywords to capture as many relevant searches as possible. For example, if your paper discusses “post-traumatic stress disorder,” you might include “PTSD” as a keyword.

Remember, keywords are a tool for others to find your work, so think about what terms other researchers might use when searching for papers on your topic.

The Abstract SHOULD NOT contain:

Lengthy background or contextual information: The abstract should focus on your research and findings, not general topic background.

Undefined jargon, abbreviations,  or acronyms: The abstract should be accessible to a wide audience, so avoid highly specialized terms without defining them.

Citations: Abstracts typically do not include citations, as they summarize original research.

Incomplete sentences or bulleted lists: The abstract should be a single, coherent paragraph written in complete sentences.

New information not covered in the paper: The abstract should only summarize the paper’s content.

Subjective comments or value judgments: Stick to objective descriptions of your research.

Excessive details on methods or procedures: Keep descriptions of methods brief and focused on main steps.

Speculative or inconclusive statements: The abstract should state the research’s clear findings, not hypotheses or possible interpretations.

• Any illustration, figure, table, or references to them . All visual aids, data, or extensive details should be included in the main body of your paper, not in the abstract. 
• Elliptical or incomplete sentences should be avoided in an abstract . The use of ellipses (…), which could indicate incomplete thoughts or omitted text, is not appropriate in an abstract.

APA Style for Abstracts

An APA abstract must be formatted as follows:

Include the running head aligned to the left at the top of the page (professional papers only) and page number. Note, student papers do not require a running head. On the first line, center the heading “Abstract” and bold (do not underlined or italicize). Do not indent the single abstract paragraph (which begins one line below the section title). Double-space the text. Use Times New Roman font in 12 pt. Set one-inch (or 2.54 cm) margins. If you include a “keywords” section at the end of the abstract, indent the first line and italicize the word “Keywords” while leaving the keywords themselves without any formatting.

Example APA Abstract Page

Download this example as a PDF

Further Information

• APA 7th Edition Abstract and Keywords Guide
• Example APA Abstract
• How to Write a Good Abstract for a Scientific Paper or Conference Presentation
• How to Write a Lab Report
• Writing an APA paper

How long should an APA abstract be?

An APA abstract should typically be between 150 to 250 words long. However, the exact length may vary depending on specific publication or assignment guidelines. It is crucial that it succinctly summarizes the essential elements of the work, including purpose, methods, findings, and conclusions.

Where does the abstract go in an APA paper?

In an APA formatted paper, the abstract is placed on its own page, directly after the title page and before the main body of the paper. It’s typically the second page of the document. It starts with the word “Abstract” (centered and not in bold) at the top of the page, followed by the text of the abstract itself.

What are the 4 C’s of abstract writing?

The 4 C’s of abstract writing are an approach to help you create a well-structured and informative abstract. They are:

Conciseness: An abstract should briefly summarize the key points of your study. Stick to the word limit (typically between 150-250 words for an APA abstract) and avoid unnecessary details.

Clarity: Your abstract should be easy to understand. Avoid jargon and complex sentences. Clearly explain the purpose, methods, results, and conclusions of your study.

Completeness: Even though it’s brief, the abstract should provide a complete overview of your study, including the purpose, methods, key findings, and your interpretation of the results.

Cohesion: The abstract should flow logically from one point to the next, maintaining a coherent narrative about your study. It’s not just a list of disjointed elements; it’s a brief story of your research from start to finish.

What is the abstract of a psychology paper?

An abstract in a psychology paper serves as a snapshot of the paper, allowing readers to quickly understand the purpose, methodology, results, and implications of the research without reading the entire paper. It is generally between 150-250 words long.

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Writing an abstract - a six point checklist (with samples)

Posted in: abstract , dissertations

The abstract is a vital part of any research paper. It is the shop front for your work, and the first stop for your reader. It should provide a clear and succinct summary of your study, and encourage your readers to read more. An effective abstract, therefore should answer the following questions:

• Why did you do this study or project?
• What did you do and how?
• What did you find?
• What do your findings mean?

So here's our run down of the key elements of a well-written abstract.

• Size - A succinct and well written abstract should be between approximately 100- 250 words.
• Background - An effective abstract usually includes some scene-setting information which might include what is already known about the subject, related to the paper in question (a few short sentences).
• Purpose  - The abstract should also set out the purpose of your research, in other words, what is not known about the subject and hence what the study intended to examine (or what the paper seeks to present).
• Methods - The methods section should contain enough information to enable the reader to understand what was done, and how. It should include brief details of the research design, sample size, duration of study, and so on.
• Results - The results section is the most important part of the abstract. This is because readers who skim an abstract do so to learn about the findings of the study. The results section should therefore contain as much detail about the findings as the journal word count permits.
• Conclusion - This section should contain the most important take-home message of the study, expressed in a few precisely worded sentences. Usually, the finding highlighted here relates to the primary outcomes of the study. However, other important or unexpected findings should also be mentioned. It is also customary, but not essential, to express an opinion about the theoretical or practical implications of the findings, or the importance of their findings for the field. Thus, the conclusions may contain three elements:
• The primary take-home message.
• Any additional findings of importance.
• Implications for future studies.

Example Abstract 2: Engineering Development and validation of a three-dimensional finite element model of the pelvic bone.

Abstract from: Dalstra, M., Huiskes, R. and Van Erning, L., 1995. Development and validation of a three-dimensional finite element model of the pelvic bone. Journal of biomechanical engineering, 117(3), pp.272-278.

And finally...  A word on abstract types and styles

Abstract types can differ according to subject discipline. You need to determine therefore which type of abstract you should include with your paper. Here are two of the most common types with examples.

Informative Abstract

The majority of abstracts are informative. While they still do not critique or evaluate a work, they do more than describe it. A good informative abstract acts as a surrogate for the work itself. That is, the researcher presents and explains all the main arguments and the important results and evidence in the paper. An informative abstract includes the information that can be found in a descriptive abstract [purpose, methods, scope] but it also includes the results and conclusions of the research and the recommendations of the author. The length varies according to discipline, but an informative abstract is usually no more than 300 words in length.

Descriptive Abstract A descriptive abstract indicates the type of information found in the work. It makes no judgements about the work, nor does it provide results or conclusions of the research. It does incorporate key words found in the text and may include the purpose, methods, and scope of the research. Essentially, the descriptive abstract only describes the work being summarised. Some researchers consider it an outline of the work, rather than a summary. Descriptive abstracts are usually very short, 100 words or less.

Adapted from Andrade C. How to write a good abstract for a scientific paper or conference presentation. Indian J Psychiatry. 2011 Apr;53(2):172-5. doi: 10.4103/0019-5545.82558. PMID: 21772657; PMCID: PMC3136027 .

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Dissertation Structure & Layout 101: How to structure your dissertation, thesis or research project.

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) Reviewed By: David Phair (PhD) | July 2019

So, you’ve got a decent understanding of what a dissertation is , you’ve chosen your topic and hopefully you’ve received approval for your research proposal . Awesome! Now its time to start the actual dissertation or thesis writing journey.

To craft a high-quality document, the very first thing you need to understand is dissertation structure . In this post, we’ll walk you through the generic dissertation structure and layout, step by step. We’ll start with the big picture, and then zoom into each chapter to briefly discuss the core contents. If you’re just starting out on your research journey, you should start with this post, which covers the big-picture process of how to write a dissertation or thesis .

*The Caveat *

In this post, we’ll be discussing a traditional dissertation/thesis structure and layout, which is generally used for social science research across universities, whether in the US, UK, Europe or Australia. However, some universities may have small variations on this structure (extra chapters, merged chapters, slightly different ordering, etc).

So, always check with your university if they have a prescribed structure or layout that they expect you to work with. If not, it’s safe to assume the structure we’ll discuss here is suitable. And even if they do have a prescribed structure, you’ll still get value from this post as we’ll explain the core contents of each section.  

Overview: S tructuring a dissertation or thesis

• Acknowledgements page
• Abstract (or executive summary)
• Table of contents , list of figures and tables
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: Literature review
• Chapter 3: Methodology
• Chapter 4: Results
• Chapter 5: Discussion
• Chapter 6: Conclusion
• Reference list

As I mentioned, some universities will have slight variations on this structure. For example, they want an additional “personal reflection chapter”, or they might prefer the results and discussion chapter to be merged into one. Regardless, the overarching flow will always be the same, as this flow reflects the research process , which we discussed here – i.e.:

• The introduction chapter presents the core research question and aims .
• The literature review chapter assesses what the current research says about this question.
• The methodology, results and discussion chapters go about undertaking new research about this question.
• The conclusion chapter (attempts to) answer the core research question .

In other words, the dissertation structure and layout reflect the research process of asking a well-defined question(s), investigating, and then answering the question – see below.

To restate that – the structure and layout of a dissertation reflect the flow of the overall research process . This is essential to understand, as each chapter will make a lot more sense if you “get” this concept. If you’re not familiar with the research process, read this post before going further.

Right. Now that we’ve covered the big picture, let’s dive a little deeper into the details of each section and chapter. Oh and by the way, you can also grab our free dissertation/thesis template here to help speed things up.

The title page of your dissertation is the very first impression the marker will get of your work, so it pays to invest some time thinking about your title. But what makes for a good title? A strong title needs to be 3 things:

• Succinct (not overly lengthy or verbose)
• Specific (not vague or ambiguous)
• Representative of the research you’re undertaking (clearly linked to your research questions)

Typically, a good title includes mention of the following:

• The broader area of the research (i.e. the overarching topic)
• The specific focus of your research (i.e. your specific context)
• Indication of research design (e.g. quantitative , qualitative , or  mixed methods ).

For example:

A quantitative investigation [research design] into the antecedents of organisational trust [broader area] in the UK retail forex trading market [specific context/area of focus].

Again, some universities may have specific requirements regarding the format and structure of the title, so it’s worth double-checking expectations with your institution (if there’s no mention in the brief or study material).

Acknowledgements

This page provides you with an opportunity to say thank you to those who helped you along your research journey. Generally, it’s optional (and won’t count towards your marks), but it is academic best practice to include this.

So, who do you say thanks to? Well, there’s no prescribed requirements, but it’s common to mention the following people:

• Your dissertation supervisor or committee.
• Any professors, lecturers or academics that helped you understand the topic or methodologies.
• Any tutors, mentors or advisors.
• Your family and friends, especially spouse (for adult learners studying part-time).

There’s no need for lengthy rambling. Just state who you’re thankful to and for what (e.g. thank you to my supervisor, John Doe, for his endless patience and attentiveness) – be sincere. In terms of length, you should keep this to a page or less.

Abstract or executive summary

The dissertation abstract (or executive summary for some degrees) serves to provide the first-time reader (and marker or moderator) with a big-picture view of your research project. It should give them an understanding of the key insights and findings from the research, without them needing to read the rest of the report – in other words, it should be able to stand alone .

For it to stand alone, your abstract should cover the following key points (at a minimum):

• Your research questions and aims – what key question(s) did your research aim to answer?
• Your methodology – how did you go about investigating the topic and finding answers to your research question(s)?
• Your findings – following your own research, what did do you discover?
• Your conclusions – based on your findings, what conclusions did you draw? What answers did you find to your research question(s)?

So, in much the same way the dissertation structure mimics the research process, your abstract or executive summary should reflect the research process, from the initial stage of asking the original question to the final stage of answering that question.

In practical terms, it’s a good idea to write this section up last , once all your core chapters are complete. Otherwise, you’ll end up writing and rewriting this section multiple times (just wasting time). For a step by step guide on how to write a strong executive summary, check out this post .

Need a helping hand?

Table of contents

This section is straightforward. You’ll typically present your table of contents (TOC) first, followed by the two lists – figures and tables. I recommend that you use Microsoft Word’s automatic table of contents generator to generate your TOC. If you’re not familiar with this functionality, the video below explains it simply:

If you find that your table of contents is overly lengthy, consider removing one level of depth. Oftentimes, this can be done without detracting from the usefulness of the TOC.

Right, now that the “admin” sections are out of the way, its time to move on to your core chapters. These chapters are the heart of your dissertation and are where you’ll earn the marks. The first chapter is the introduction chapter – as you would expect, this is the time to introduce your research…

It’s important to understand that even though you’ve provided an overview of your research in your abstract, your introduction needs to be written as if the reader has not read that (remember, the abstract is essentially a standalone document). So, your introduction chapter needs to start from the very beginning, and should address the following questions:

• What will you be investigating (in plain-language, big picture-level)?
• Why is that worth investigating? How is it important to academia or business? How is it sufficiently original?
• What are your research aims and research question(s)? Note that the research questions can sometimes be presented at the end of the literature review (next chapter).
• What is the scope of your study? In other words, what will and won’t you cover ?
• How will you approach your research? In other words, what methodology will you adopt?
• How will you structure your dissertation? What are the core chapters and what will you do in each of them?

These are just the bare basic requirements for your intro chapter. Some universities will want additional bells and whistles in the intro chapter, so be sure to carefully read your brief or consult your research supervisor.

If done right, your introduction chapter will set a clear direction for the rest of your dissertation. Specifically, it will make it clear to the reader (and marker) exactly what you’ll be investigating, why that’s important, and how you’ll be going about the investigation. Conversely, if your introduction chapter leaves a first-time reader wondering what exactly you’ll be researching, you’ve still got some work to do.

Now that you’ve set a clear direction with your introduction chapter, the next step is the literature review . In this section, you will analyse the existing research (typically academic journal articles and high-quality industry publications), with a view to understanding the following questions:

• What does the literature currently say about the topic you’re investigating?
• Is the literature lacking or well established? Is it divided or in disagreement?
• How does your research fit into the bigger picture?
• How does your research contribute something original?
• How does the methodology of previous studies help you develop your own?

Depending on the nature of your study, you may also present a conceptual framework towards the end of your literature review, which you will then test in your actual research.

Again, some universities will want you to focus on some of these areas more than others, some will have additional or fewer requirements, and so on. Therefore, as always, its important to review your brief and/or discuss with your supervisor, so that you know exactly what’s expected of your literature review chapter.

Now that you’ve investigated the current state of knowledge in your literature review chapter and are familiar with the existing key theories, models and frameworks, its time to design your own research. Enter the methodology chapter – the most “science-ey” of the chapters…

In this chapter, you need to address two critical questions:

• Exactly HOW will you carry out your research (i.e. what is your intended research design)?
• Exactly WHY have you chosen to do things this way (i.e. how do you justify your design)?

Remember, the dissertation part of your degree is first and foremost about developing and demonstrating research skills . Therefore, the markers want to see that you know which methods to use, can clearly articulate why you’ve chosen then, and know how to deploy them effectively.

Importantly, this chapter requires detail – don’t hold back on the specifics. State exactly what you’ll be doing, with who, when, for how long, etc. Moreover, for every design choice you make, make sure you justify it.

In practice, you will likely end up coming back to this chapter once you’ve undertaken all your data collection and analysis, and revise it based on changes you made during the analysis phase. This is perfectly fine. Its natural for you to add an additional analysis technique, scrap an old one, etc based on where your data lead you. Of course, I’m talking about small changes here – not a fundamental switch from qualitative to quantitative, which will likely send your supervisor in a spin!

You’ve now collected your data and undertaken your analysis, whether qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods. In this chapter, you’ll present the raw results of your analysis . For example, in the case of a quant study, you’ll present the demographic data, descriptive statistics, inferential statistics , etc.

Typically, Chapter 4 is simply a presentation and description of the data, not a discussion of the meaning of the data. In other words, it’s descriptive, rather than analytical – the meaning is discussed in Chapter 5. However, some universities will want you to combine chapters 4 and 5, so that you both present and interpret the meaning of the data at the same time. Check with your institution what their preference is.

Now that you’ve presented the data analysis results, its time to interpret and analyse them. In other words, its time to discuss what they mean, especially in relation to your research question(s).

What you discuss here will depend largely on your chosen methodology. For example, if you’ve gone the quantitative route, you might discuss the relationships between variables . If you’ve gone the qualitative route, you might discuss key themes and the meanings thereof. It all depends on what your research design choices were.

Most importantly, you need to discuss your results in relation to your research questions and aims, as well as the existing literature. What do the results tell you about your research questions? Are they aligned with the existing research or at odds? If so, why might this be? Dig deep into your findings and explain what the findings suggest, in plain English.

The final chapter – you’ve made it! Now that you’ve discussed your interpretation of the results, its time to bring it back to the beginning with the conclusion chapter . In other words, its time to (attempt to) answer your original research question s (from way back in chapter 1). Clearly state what your conclusions are in terms of your research questions. This might feel a bit repetitive, as you would have touched on this in the previous chapter, but its important to bring the discussion full circle and explicitly state your answer(s) to the research question(s).

Next, you’ll typically discuss the implications of your findings . In other words, you’ve answered your research questions – but what does this mean for the real world (or even for academia)? What should now be done differently, given the new insight you’ve generated?

Lastly, you should discuss the limitations of your research, as well as what this means for future research in the area. No study is perfect, especially not a Masters-level. Discuss the shortcomings of your research. Perhaps your methodology was limited, perhaps your sample size was small or not representative, etc, etc. Don’t be afraid to critique your work – the markers want to see that you can identify the limitations of your work. This is a strength, not a weakness. Be brutal!

This marks the end of your core chapters – woohoo! From here on out, it’s pretty smooth sailing.

The reference list is straightforward. It should contain a list of all resources cited in your dissertation, in the required format, e.g. APA , Harvard, etc.

It’s essential that you use reference management software for your dissertation. Do NOT try handle your referencing manually – its far too error prone. On a reference list of multiple pages, you’re going to make mistake. To this end, I suggest considering either Mendeley or Zotero. Both are free and provide a very straightforward interface to ensure that your referencing is 100% on point. I’ve included a simple how-to video for the Mendeley software (my personal favourite) below:

Some universities may ask you to include a bibliography, as opposed to a reference list. These two things are not the same . A bibliography is similar to a reference list, except that it also includes resources which informed your thinking but were not directly cited in your dissertation. So, double-check your brief and make sure you use the right one.

The very last piece of the puzzle is the appendix or set of appendices. This is where you’ll include any supporting data and evidence. Importantly, supporting is the keyword here.

Your appendices should provide additional “nice to know”, depth-adding information, which is not critical to the core analysis. Appendices should not be used as a way to cut down word count (see this post which covers how to reduce word count ). In other words, don’t place content that is critical to the core analysis here, just to save word count. You will not earn marks on any content in the appendices, so don’t try to play the system!

Time to recap…

And there you have it – the traditional dissertation structure and layout, from A-Z. To recap, the core structure for a dissertation or thesis is (typically) as follows:

• Acknowledgments page

Most importantly, the core chapters should reflect the research process (asking, investigating and answering your research question). Moreover, the research question(s) should form the golden thread throughout your dissertation structure. Everything should revolve around the research questions, and as you’ve seen, they should form both the start point (i.e. introduction chapter) and the endpoint (i.e. conclusion chapter).

I hope this post has provided you with clarity about the traditional dissertation/thesis structure and layout. If you have any questions or comments, please leave a comment below, or feel free to get in touch with us. Also, be sure to check out the rest of the  Grad Coach Blog .

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36 Comments

many thanks i found it very useful

Glad to hear that, Arun. Good luck writing your dissertation.

Such clear practical logical advice. I very much needed to read this to keep me focused in stead of fretting.. Perfect now ready to start my research!

what about scientific fields like computer or engineering thesis what is the difference in the structure? thank you very much

Thanks so much this helped me a lot!

Very helpful and accessible. What I like most is how practical the advice is along with helpful tools/ links.

Thanks Ade!

Thank you so much sir.. It was really helpful..

You’re welcome!

Hi! How many words maximum should contain the abstract?

Thank you so much 😊 Find this at the right moment

You’re most welcome. Good luck with your dissertation.

best ever benefit i got on right time thank you

Many times Clarity and vision of destination of dissertation is what makes the difference between good ,average and great researchers the same way a great automobile driver is fast with clarity of address and Clear weather conditions .

I guess Great researcher = great ideas + knowledge + great and fast data collection and modeling + great writing + high clarity on all these

You have given immense clarity from start to end.

Morning. Where will I write the definitions of what I’m referring to in my report?

Thank you so much Derek, I was almost lost! Thanks a tonnnn! Have a great day!

Thanks ! so concise and valuable

This was very helpful. Clear and concise. I know exactly what to do now.

Thank you for allowing me to go through briefly. I hope to find time to continue.

Really useful to me. Thanks a thousand times

Very interesting! It will definitely set me and many more for success. highly recommended.

Thank you soo much sir, for the opportunity to express my skills

Usefull, thanks a lot. Really clear

Very nice and easy to understand. Thank you .

That was incredibly useful. Thanks Grad Coach Crew!

My stress level just dropped at least 15 points after watching this. Just starting my thesis for my grad program and I feel a lot more capable now! Thanks for such a clear and helpful video, Emma and the GradCoach team!

Do we need to mention the number of words the dissertation contains in the main document?

It depends on your university’s requirements, so it would be best to check with them 🙂

Such a helpful post to help me get started with structuring my masters dissertation, thank you!

Great video; I appreciate that helpful information

It is so necessary or avital course

This blog is very informative for my research. Thank you

Doctoral students are required to fill out the National Research Council’s Survey of Earned Doctorates

wow this is an amazing gain in my life

This is so good

How can i arrange my specific objectives in my dissertation?

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Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Writing Report Abstracts

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Types of abstracts

There are two types of abstracts: informational and descriptive.

Informational abstracts

• Communicate contents of reports
• Include purpose, methods, scope, results, conclusions, and recommendations
• Highlight essential points
• Are short—from a paragraph to a page or two, depending upon the length of the report (10% or less of the report)
• Allow readers to decide whether they want to read the report

Descriptive abstracts

• Tell what the report contains
• Include purpose, methods, scope, but NOT results, conclusions, and recommendations
• Are always very short— usually under 100 words
• Introduce subject to readers, who must then read the report to learn study results

Qualities of a good abstract

An effective abstract

• Uses one or more well-developed paragraphs, which are unified, coherent, concise, and able to stand alone
• Uses an introduction-body-conclusion structure in which the parts of the report are discussed in order: purpose, findings, conclusions, recommendations
• Follows strictly the chronology of the report
• Provides logical connections between material included
• Adds no new information but simply summarizes the report
• Is intelligible to a wide audience

Steps for writing effective report abstracts

To write an effective report abstract, follow these four steps.

Reread your report with the purpose of abstracting in mind. Look specifically for these main parts: purpose, methods, scope, results, conclusions, and recommendations.

After you have finished rereading your report, write a rough draft without looking back at your report. Consider the main parts of the abstract listed in step #1. Do not merely copy key sentences from your report. You will put in too much or too little information. Do not summarize information in a new way.

Revise your rough draft to

Correct weaknesses in organization and coherence,

Drop superfluous information,

Add important information originally left out,

Eliminate wordiness, and

Correct errors in grammar and mechanics.

Carefully proofread your final copy.

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• Academic essay overview
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Abstract Example

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Inhaltsverzeichnis

• 1 Abstract Example – Definition
• 3 Step-by-Step Guide
• 4 Types of Abstract with Examples
• 5 Examples for Your Thesis
• 6 In a Nutshell

Abstract Example – Definition

An abstract example is a piece of information that conclusively summarizes the whole article, review, conference corresponding and thesis, among others. It can also be used to provide an intensive summary of a specific subject.

It often occurs at the beginning of the authors work, to enable the reader to deduce the purpose of the thesis, research or article. If the information is conclusive, the abstract should be able to provide the complete idea of what is in the paper without any problems.

What is the difference between a thesis statement and an abstract example?

A thesis statement  is a stance that the writer takes about the particular research topic and it is frequently referred to throughout the text. An abstract example, on the other hand, is a summary of an article or written project which only consists of the main problem, purpose and conclusion of the work. The abstract is a great way to get an idea of a research report without reading the whole thing.

Do you need to write your own commentary on an abstract?

It depends on the type of abstract you are writing. You can only include personal commentary in a critical abstract. Generally, it should express the results and findings of your research paper in one concise summary.

How do you know you have enough information in your abstract?

A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself the question: As another researcher, with only the abstract as an available piece of paper from the whole research, would I understand the contents of the research paper or dissertation through this abstract example? If the answer is no, then perhaps you need to rephrase your abstract to ensure that it’s clear and concise.

How to find an abstract example?

Finding an abstract example is quite easy. We have included some examples here below with instructions on how to format them. All of the information you need is right here at your fingertips, simply scroll down and you’ll find examples, as well as a step-by-step guide to writing an abstract.

How long is an abstract?

For a smaller research paper , the abstract should be somewhere between 1/3 of a page to 1 whole page. 150 words is a good starting point. For a bachelor’s thesis, or a master’s thesis, your abstract will be 1-2 whole pages, but it should never exceed 2 pages.

What to look for in an abstract example?

There are so many things to look for in an abstract example. For instance, the length of the abstract, the formatting and the key areas that it is focusing on. You should also have a look at how the main points of the research paper are effectively summarised and the tone in which the abstract is written.

What should an abstract include?

An abstract example should include a summary of the whole paper. That includes an introduction, the methods used, the results and an interpretation of the results that were discussed in your academic writing project. Remember to keep it short and concise.

Step-by-Step Guide

Writing an abstract example for your scientific paper is quite easy. You only need to follow some of the steps below, and in no time, you will have a comprehensive abstract.

The steps include:

Step 1: Write the paper first

The best way to come up with a great abstract is to first write the whole research paper. By doing so, you will be able to highlight every key aspect included in the article easily. It also saves you time in case you decide not to use specific information or arguments.

Step 2: Note essential information in the paper

Once you finish writing the whole research paper, go ahead and identify the key sections. Those are the details you need to write. Every sentence should carry valuable information concerning the paper.

Some of the information you need to have in mind include an overview of the problem, the methods used to collect data, the results and the conclusion of the paper. You should summarize all those details in your abstract example.

Step 3: Go through to make sure it touches every main section

You should then go through the abstract and make sure that it touches all the parts of the paper. If a particular section is missing, you need to go ahead and find a way to incorporate it without going above the required words.

Types of Abstract with Examples

There are various types of abstract examples. You need to know what each type is so that you can understand what you need to write in each one of them.

The types include:

Critical Abstract

The critical abstract example not only focuses on the problem description, methods of data collection, judgement or comment on the findings.

It also involves comparing the paper with other existing works. The abstract example length usually ranges from 400 to 500 words.

Descriptive Abstract

In a descriptive abstract example, you have to denote critical information. You should, however, not include any judgement, commentary or conclusion on the subject.

It is usually 100 words or less. The descriptive abstract example only denotes the purpose, scope and critical areas of the research.

Informative Abstract

It is the most common type of abstract. The abstract usually contains at most 300 words in length.

The informative abstract tends to describe the critical aspects of the research paper, the main arguments, as well as the recommendations of the author.

Examples for Your Thesis

Stakeholder-oriented protection of employees in Germany

Stakeholders are a significant problem in the United States. In the stated country, the shareholders are company owners, and so managers have to fulfil their interests. Germany, on the other hand, follows the stakeholder-oriented model where each employee deserves a legal representation on the supervisory board.

The literature review indicates the disparity between the two models with favorable outcomes towards the German model. The employee in Germany have a voice, and so they are free to speak their minds and help in decision making. Despite a few negativities, the model is likely to impact the United States positively.

Strategic plan and evaluation for healthcare facilities

The primary demand in healthcare at the moment is quality, patient- centered healthcare and safety. Establishment of a strategy that incorporates the three is a significant step to take towards a positive direction.

The literature review, however, denotes that the accomplishment of the plan depends solely on systems and not individuals. For the effectiveness of the strategy, it has to align with the organizational culture, operation unites and culture. The strategy performance will then require an analytical tool for proper evaluation of its success.

Communication behavior, Values, and political participation

This paper scrutinizes the mediation of communication behavior on the influence of values towards political participation. The findings are that post-material values like newspapers affect political participation positively while materialist values affect negatively.

Some results explain how communication patterns affect political participation, and that goes beyond the facts regarding political knowledge. The conclusion is that integrating information from news and various sources can lead to a better understanding of the political realm. It can also lead to better political participation in politics than when using factual politics knowledge.

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In a Nutshell

• An abstract is a short intensive summary of an article which mostly occurs at the beginning of the author’s work.
• It should enable the reader to deduce the purpose and the results of the article to help him decide if it is worth reading.
• There are different types of abstracts: critical, descriptive and informative
• In order to write a good abstract, you should write your whole paper first.
• By going through the included abstract examples, you find the ideal format, tone and structure of a descriptive abstract.

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How to Write Dissertation Abstracts | Steps & Examples

Table of Contents

If you are thinking of writing a dissertation, then you definitely have to submit an abstract before that. This abstract helps people to understand what exactly you wrote in your dissertation. While your dissertation is a very in-depth study of a particular topic, the abstract acts as a guide for people to understand what you have mentioned in your paper. 

An abstract is quite smaller in size compared to a dissertation. A dissertation may be of 5000 words, 10,000 words, or even 15,000 words. However, an abstract should not exceed 500 words. Some institutions might even assign a particular word limit to you to write an abstract, so you need to be aware of that first before you start writing. 

What is a Dissertation Abstract?

The abstract of a dissertation acts as a guidebook for your dissertation. It is like a short summary of your whole paper. It’s a super concise summary, usually just a paragraph or two, that incorporates all the key points. It has to grab the reader’s attention and tell them why your research matters, all in a short and sweet way.

The abstract is kind of like that first impression you make on someone. Your writing needs to be clear and engaging and should give them just enough info to pique their interest. The following are a few things that are normally included in an abstract – 

• What were the research questions that you were trying to look for answers to? What are the important aspects of each research question?
• What methods did you use to find the answer? Did you interview a bunch of people? What research methodology did you undertake? Did you run fancy experiments?
• What were your most important findings? Did you prove your hypothesis, or did something unexpected happen? Briefly mention the big takeaways from your research, using a few sentences.
• So what does it all mean? How does your research contribute to the larger field of knowledge? What research methodology did you undertake? This is your chance to explain why your work matters in the grand scheme of things.

The abstract is your chance to show off the most important parts of your dissertation without getting into all the nitty-gritty details. It’s like a mini-presentation that convinces people that your research is worth checking out.

The abstract might seem small, but it’s a super important part of your thesis or dissertation. It’s your chance to grab people’s attention and tell them why your work is awesome. 

What’s the Purpose of the Dissertation Abstract?

An abstract acts as a guide to the main dissertation. It contains the main important sections of a dissertation but in a very short and concise manner. 

The primary function of an abstract is to inform. It acts as a roadmap, guiding readers through the core aspects of your research. It piques interest by highlighting the central problem you addressed, the methodology you employed, and the key findings you unearthed. This condensed overview allows potential readers, whether fellow researchers, committee members, or even the vaguely curious, to grasp the essence of your work and assess its relevance to their interests.

An abstract acts as a gateway. The abstract serves as a filter, helping readers decide whether your research merits further exploration. If you craft a compelling and informative abstract, you entice your readers to dive deeper into your dissertation, potentially leading to citations, further research collaborations, or simply a broader understanding of your field.

The abstract also serves as a valuable self-assessment tool. The process of condensing your research into a concise summary compels you to identify the most significant aspects of your work. It forces you to refine your message, ensuring clarity and focus. If you find yourself struggling to put your research into a compelling abstract, it might indicate areas where your overall dissertation could benefit from further refinement or a clearer articulation of its core contribution.

The abstract, though small in stature, holds immense weight. It informs, entices, promotes discoverability, and aids self-assessment. By mastering the art of crafting a compelling abstract, you transform it from a mere formality into a powerful tool that effectively communicates the significance and value of your research to the world. It may also help you to get grants for further research. 

Why is the Dissertation and Thesis Abstract So Important

The dissertation or thesis abstract might seem like a tiny thing compared to the massive document it represents. But this little paragraph plays a crucial role in the success of your research. The following are a few reasons why they are super important 

First Impressions Matter –

Use the first one or two sentences to write a hook. It’s the first impression that potential readers will get of your work. A well-written abstract grabs their attention, piques their interest, and convinces them your research is worth delving deeper into.

A Chance to Shine –

Most people won’t have the time or inclination to read your entire dissertation or thesis. The abstract is your golden opportunity to showcase the coolest parts of your research, the groundbreaking findings, and the unique contribution you’ve made to your field.

Spreading the Knowledge –  

Writing a strong abstract can spark interest in your work from other researchers, potentially leading to citations. Your name and your research may also be mentioned in an academic journal or a scientific paper. It may also help in future research work. This not only validates your work but also helps build your reputation as a scholar.

Securing Funding and Opportunities –

If you’re pursuing further research or academic positions, your abstract can be a valuable tool. A well-written one demonstrates your research skills, critical thinking abilities, and the potential impact of your work. This can act as a game-changer when you are applying for research grants, fellowships, or academic jobs.

Sharpening Your Skills –

Crafting a compelling abstract forces you to condense your research into its most essential elements. It helps you solidify your understanding of your work, identify the core takeaways, and refine your communication skills.

In short, the dissertation or thesis abstract is a powerful tool that can elevate your research in numerous ways. It’s your chance to grab the spotlight, share your knowledge with the world, and leave a lasting impact in your field. 

What Should a Dissertation Abstract Include?

Dissertations are the culmination of months, if not years, of research. They’re deep dives into specific topics packed with information and analysis. It may be difficult to go through such a huge thing. That’s where the abstract of your dissertation comes in. It conveys the essence of your research in a clear and compelling way. Here’s what a winning dissertation abstract should include – 

1. The Problem You Solved – Every good story starts with a conflict, and your abstract is no different. Briefly introduce the issue you tackled in your research. Explain why this topic is important and what existing knowledge gap you’re addressing. This sets the stage and grabs the reader’s attention by highlighting the significance of your work.

2. Your Research Journey – You need to shed some light on how you approached this problem. In a sentence or two, mention the methods you used to gather information. Did you conduct surveys and interviews? Analyzed historical data? Give the reader a sense of your research strategy without getting into technical details.

3. The Big Reveal – Now you need to reveal your findings. Briefly summarize the key results of your research. Did you confirm your initial hypothesis, or did something unexpected emerge? 

4. The Impact Factor – Briefly explain the significance of your findings. Provide some background information if required. How does your research contribute to the broader field of knowledge? This is where you showcase the impact of your work and why it matters in the grand scheme of things.

Remember, these are the most important things that you need to include. How you put them together is also very important. Here are some additional tips for crafting a stellar abstract – 

• Word count is very important. Most abstracts have a word limit, so try to fit your writing within that. Eliminate unnecessary information and focus on conveying the most important points.
• Avoid jargon and overly complex sentences to maintain clarity. Your goal is for a broad audience to understand the essence of your research.
• End with a bang! Leave a lasting impression by emphasizing the value of your findings.

How Do You Write a Good Dissertation Abstract?

Crafting a stellar abstract for your dissertation is very important for you. You’ve got limited space to convince someone that your research is fascinating and impactful. Here are a few points on how to write dissertation abstracts. 

Know Your Audience –

The people going through your abstract may be new to this particular field, so avoid super technical jargon and focus on clear, concise language. They should be able to grasp the gist of your work very easily. 

Follow the Structure –

A good abstract typically follows a clear, three-part structure. 

• Briefly introduce the topic and explain why it’s important. Highlight the existing knowledge gap you’re addressing. This is your chance to grab the reader’s attention and make them curious to learn more.
• Next, explain how you went about investigating this gap. Briefly mention your research methodology used. Did you conduct surveys? Analyze historical data? Run experiments? Give the reader a sense of your research approach without getting bogged down in specifics.
• Finally, write down your key arguments. Briefly summarize your main outcomes. Did you confirm your hypothesis, or did something unexpected occur? This is where you showcase the coolest takeaways from your research project.

Maintain Word Limit –

Word count is crucial. Most dissertation abstracts have a strict limit, usually between 250 and 500 words. Eliminate unnecessary words and focus on conveying the most important information.

Clarity –

Avoid jargon and overly complex sentences. Remember, you want a wide audience to understand the essence of your research. Use active voice and straightforward language to make your abstract clear and engaging.

Lasting Impression –

The final part of your abstract is your chance to leave a lasting impression. Explain the significance of your findings and the literature review. How does your research contribute to the broader field? Why should someone care about what you discovered? This is where you showcase the impact of your work.

Proofread –

Once you’ve crafted your masterpiece, go through the entire document for any typos, grammatical errors, or awkward phrasing. A polished abstract reflects your research and professionalism well.

If you follow these points diligently, you will be able to create a very compelling dissertation abstract. 

Thesis and Dissertation Abstract Examples

Let’s go through two different abstract examples. This will help you get a better understanding of how to write a proper dissertation and thesis abstract. 

The Power of Positive Reinforcement in Dog Training (Psychology) 

Traditional dog training often relies on punishment-based methods to correct unwanted behaviours. However, recent studies suggest positive reinforcement techniques might be more effective. This thesis investigated the impact of positive reinforcement training on obedience in shelter dogs compared to traditional punishment-based methods. The study found that dogs trained using positive reinforcement techniques displayed higher levels of obedience and lower stress compared to those trained with punishment. These findings suggest positive reinforcement could be a more humane and effective approach to dog training, promoting better human-animal bonds and reducing shelter dog rehoming rates.

The Subversive Voice in Jane Austen’s Novels (Literature) 

Jane Austen’s novels are often celebrated for their witty social commentary. However, some argue her female characters lack agency. This dissertation examines the use of subversive voice in Austen’s novels, particularly focusing on how her heroines challenge societal expectations. The analysis reveals Austen’s heroines employ subtle forms of resistance, such as irony and wit, to navigate the constraints placed upon them by 19th-century society. This study argues that recognizing the subversive voice in Austen’s novels expands our understanding of her characters and offers a fresh perspective on her critique of societal norms.

Go through these two examples and try to understand how they have been written. This is exactly how you need to craft your thesis or abstract. Remember to include all the key elements – a clear introduction to the topic, a concise explanation of the research methods and findings, and a final statement highlighting the significance of the research.

To Wrap It Up,

A dissertation abstract is a very important piece of academic writing that you need to write after you have completed your entire dissertation. It should mention all your key findings –  the ‘why’, ‘what’ and ‘how’ of your research. Start with an interesting hook to grab your reader’s attention. Remember to keep it concise and do not cross the word limit. Also, use simple language and avoid unnecessary addition of technical jargon. 

Why Choose MyAssignmentHelp for Your Dissertation Writing? 

If you still feel that you cannot understand how to write an abstract , feel free to ask for guidance from our experts at MyAssignmentHelp. If you need any other dissertation help service , or you think you need help with dissertation proposal structure topics , our subject matter experts can also help you out with those. 

Right from setting the online dissertation structure to helping you write a dissertation , from the abstract to offering guidance while you write a dissertation conclusion , we can help you in every step. 

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Frequently Asked Questions

How to write a good abstract for a dissertation?

Crafting a killer dissertation abstract is all about grabbing the reader’s attention within a short span of time. 

• Start with a hook where you state why your research matters. 
• Keep your abstract concise. 
• Do not write more than 500 words. 
• Focus on the key elements – why, what and how. 
• Use simple language and avoid technical jargon. 

What are the five parts of an abstract?

An abstract is like a blueprint for your entire research paper. It is usually around 100 to 300 words, but you can go upto a maximum of 500. First comes the introduction. Then, you need to mention why this research is important and briefly explain your methods. Next, you need to share your key findings. Finally, end it with why your findings matter. 

How long should an abstract be for a 10,000-word dissertation?

Even if your dissertation consists of 10,000 words, the abstract will be small. Most universities expect dissertation abstracts to be around 200-300 words. So, you need to condense your writing and fit it in a few hundred words. Focus on the key stuff – why you did the research, what you did, what you found, and why it’s important.  

How long is a PHD dissertation abstract?

The required length of a dissertation abstract is normally between 200 to 300 words. Now, depending on what university you are studying at, the word limit may go up to 500 words. It is rarely more than that. Within these few words, you need to mention the key points –  why you did the research, what you did, what you found, and why it matters. 

What are the 4 C’s of an abstract?

There are no universally accepted “4 C’s” for abstracts, but here are the ones that are mostly accepted by everyone – 

• Clear – Make it easy to understand. No jargon or overly complex sentences.
• Concise – Keep it short and sweet, following your word limit.
• Compelling – Hook the reader with the significance of your research.
• Complete – Cover all the important points – why, what, how, and why it matters.

What not to do when writing an abstract?

Here is a list of the things that you need to avoid doing in order to craft a compelling abstract. 

• Do not forget to mention your main idea or main ideas at the beginning 
• Do not use technical jargon and abbreviations 
• No citations are to be included

You do not need to mention everything, just the key findings.

Hi, I am Mark, a Literature writer by profession. Fueled by a lifelong passion for Literature, story, and creative expression, I went on to get a PhD in creative writing. Over all these years, my passion has helped me manage a publication of my write ups in prominent websites and e-magazines. I have also been working part-time as a writing expert for myassignmenthelp.com for 5+ years now. It’s fun to guide students on academic write ups and bag those top grades like a pro. Apart from my professional life, I am a big-time foodie and travel enthusiast in my personal life. So, when I am not working, I am probably travelling places to try regional delicacies and sharing my experiences with people through my blog. 

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BMI indicates body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared).

The data points represent means. Error bars represent the SEs.

The data points indicate estimated marginal means for weekly loss of control eating, overeating, and binge eating, and the shaded areas represent the 95% CIs. Scores range from 0 (not at all) to 10 (very much), with higher scores indicating greater intensity of each behavior per week.

Trial Protocol

eTable 1. Descriptive Statistics and Reliabilities of Primary and Secondary Outcomes

eTable 2. Baseline Differences in Demographic Characteristics

eTable 3. Weekly Trends in Eating Disorder–Related Behaviors

eTable 4. Sensitivity Analyses for Primary and Secondary Outcomes

eTable 5. Moderator Analyses of Participant Characteristics on the Primary Outcome

eTable 6. Temporal Trajectories in Ecological Momentary Assessment Data

eTable 7. Negative Effects Attributed to the Web-Based Intervention

eTable 8. Dropout Over Time in the Control and Intervention Group

Data Sharing Statement

• Digital Interventions to Close the Treatment Gap for Binge Eating JAMA Network Open Invited Commentary May 16, 2024 Andrea K. Graham, PhD

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Pruessner L , Timm C , Barnow S , Rubel JA , Lalk C , Hartmann S. Effectiveness of a Web-Based Cognitive Behavioral Self-Help Intervention for Binge Eating Disorder : A Randomized Clinical Trial . JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(5):e2411127. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.11127

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Effectiveness of a Web-Based Cognitive Behavioral Self-Help Intervention for Binge Eating Disorder : A Randomized Clinical Trial

• 1 Department of Psychology, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
• 2 Department of Psychology, University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany
• Invited Commentary Digital Interventions to Close the Treatment Gap for Binge Eating Andrea K. Graham, PhD JAMA Network Open

Question   Does a web-based cognitive behavioral self-help intervention improve outcomes in patients with binge eating disorder (BED)?

Findings   In this randomized clinical trial involving 154 patients with BED, access to a web-based cognitive behavioral self-help intervention was superior to a waiting-list condition. The intervention significantly reduced the number of objective binge eating episodes compared with the control group.

Meaning   These findings highlight the value of web-based cognitive behavioral self-help interventions as a promising solution to support individuals with BED and address the substantial treatment gap in this population.

Importance   Binge eating disorder (BED) is one of the most frequent eating pathologies and imposes substantial emotional and physical distress, yet insufficient health care resources limit access to specialized treatment. Web-based self-help interventions emerge as a promising solution, offering more accessible care.

Objective   To examine the effectiveness of a web-based cognitive behavioral self-help intervention for individuals with BED.

Design, Setting, and Participants   This 2-arm, parallel-group randomized clinical trial conducted from January 15, 2021, to August 3, 2022, in Germany and other German-speaking countries enrolled patients aged 18 to 65 years who met the diagnostic criteria for BED (according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders [Fifth Edition]). Data analysis occurred between January 27 and September 4, 2023, following our statistical analysis plan.

Interventions   Participants were randomized to a web-based self-help intervention or a waiting-list control condition.

Main Outcomes and Measures   The primary outcome was a change in objective binge eating episodes from baseline to after treatment. Secondary outcomes included global eating pathology, clinical impairment, work capacity, well-being, comorbid psychopathology, self-esteem, and emotion regulation.

Results   A total of 1602 patients were screened, of whom 154 (mean [SD] age, 35.93 [10.59] years; 148 female [96.10%]) fulfilled the criteria for BED and were randomized (77 each to the intervention and control groups). The web-based intervention led to significant improvements in binge eating episodes (Cohen d , −0.79 [95% CI, −1.17 to −0.42]; P  < .001), global eating psychopathology (Cohen d , −0.71 [95% CI, −1.07 to −0.35]; P  < .001), weekly binge eating (Cohen d , −0.49 [95% CI, −0.74 to −0.24]; P  < .001), clinical impairment (Cohen d , −0.75 [95% CI, −1.13 to −0.37]; P  < .001), well-being (Cohen d , 0.38 [95% CI, 0.01 to 0.75]; P  = .047), depression (Cohen d , −0.49 [95% CI, −0.86 to −0.12]; P  = .01), anxiety (Cohen d , −0.37 [95% CI, −0.67 to −0.07]; P  = .02), self-esteem (Cohen d , 0.36 [95% CI, 0.13 to 0.59]; P  = .003), and emotion regulation (difficulties: Cohen d , −0.36 [95% CI, −0.65 to −0.07]; P  = .01 and repertoire: Cohen d , 0.52 [95% CI, 0.19 to 0.84]; P  = .003).

Conclusion and Relevance   In this randomized clinical trial of a web-based self-help intervention for patients with BED, the findings confirmed its effectiveness in reducing binge eating episodes and improving various mental health outcomes, highlighting a scalable solution to bridge the treatment gap for this condition.

Trial Registration   ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04876183

Binge eating disorder (BED) is one of the most prevalent eating disorders, impacting 1.0% to 2.8% of the population over their lifetimes. 1 - 3 Defined by recurrent episodes of uncontrolled overeating, BED contributes to obesity, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes 4 - 7 and undermines quality of life, occupational performance, and social relationships. 4 , 8 , 9 Without intervention, BED progresses to a chronic condition 10 and may lead to premature death. 8 , 9 , 11

While cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has demonstrated its effectiveness as an evidence-based BED intervention, 12 , 13 treatment rates for this disorder are reduced compared with other psychiatric conditions, including anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. 14 - 16 Various barriers prevent individuals from seeking face-to-face psychotherapy, including limited access, clinician unawareness, sociocultural stigma, and treatment costs. 17 As a result, there is a substantial treatment gap for BED.

The rapid evolution of technology provides new avenues for delivering interventions that can address this gap and make evidence-based BED treatments more accessible. 18 - 21 Web-based cognitive behavioral interventions have gained prominence due to their advantages in terms of availability, cost-effectiveness, ease of implementation, and reduced social stigma, thereby circumventing the barriers of conventional BED treatments. 18 , 22 - 24

Although preliminary studies indicate that digital interventions hold promise for addressing BED, there remains a critical need for rigorous scientific investigations under naturalistic conditions. 19 , 25 - 28 This randomized clinical trial aims to fill this gap by examining the effectiveness of a web-based cognitive behavioral self-help intervention for BED compared with a waiting-list control group in an ecologically valid setting. To amplify translational potential and broaden generalizability, we analyzed alterations in key eating disorder symptoms, clinical impairment, well-being, comorbid psychopathology, self-esteem, and emotion regulation.

Given the limited understanding of the outcomes of web-based BED treatments compared with interventions targeting subclinical eating psychopathology 24 , 29 or other mental disorders, 30 - 32 this study evaluated patients with full-threshold BED to enhance clinical applicability. Furthermore, few studies have investigated how these interventions impact participants’ everyday lives. 33 Therefore, our study used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and weekly symptom monitoring to capture real-time changes in binge eating and its underlying mechanisms.

This randomized clinical trial was conducted from January 15, 2021, to August 3, 2022, to examine the effectiveness of a web-based cognitive behavioral self-help intervention for BED. 34 Participants were randomly assigned to an intervention group with direct access to the web-based treatment or a waiting-list control group. Assessments were completed at baseline (study entrance) and at 6 weeks (midtreatment) and 12 weeks (posttreatment) following baseline. This study followed the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials ( CONSORT ) reporting guideline. All participants provided written informed consent, and the study was approved by the institutional review board at Heidelberg University. Upon completing all assessments, participants received a reimbursement of €30 (US $32.40). Data were stored anonymously following European Union regulations.

Nationwide recruitment of participants took place in Germany with additional provisions for the participation of German-speaking individuals from other European countries. Recruitment channels encompassed eating disorder treatment centers, a waiting list of individuals expressing interest in the web-based program, social media platforms, mailing lists, and self-help forums.

Participants completed a digital registration process to undergo eligibility screening, provide informed consent, and schedule a clinical interview, including the Eating Disorder Examination Interview 35 and the Diagnostic Interview for Psychological Disorders. 36 All diagnostic interviews were conducted by trained researchers; supervision was overseen by licensed clinical psychologists (L.P. and C.T.). Interrater reliability was determined during the initial interviews conducted by each interviewer to ensure the accuracy of the diagnostic decisions and consistent implementation of the interviews from the outset of the data collection. This assessment demonstrated significant agreement (with Cohen κ = 0.90 for 19 interviews).

Inclusion criteria encompassed (1) being aged 18 to 65 years, (2) owning a smartphone with internet access, (3) C1-level (advanced) proficiency in German, and (4) a diagnosis of BED based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fifth Edition). 37 Exclusion criteria entailed (1) a body mass index below 18.5 (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared), (2) current psychotherapy or pharmacotherapy for eating disorders, (3) anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa, (4) bipolar disorder or psychotic disorders, (5) acute substance dependence, (6) current severe depressive episodes, and (7) acute suicidality. These exclusion criteria were chosen due to their potential to act as contraindications for web-based self-help interventions. 38 Other comorbidities were not excluded to mirror standard clinical practice.

After the baseline assessment, a 1:1 randomization ratio was executed by an independent researcher unaffiliated with the project using an automated and anonymized process. 39 To uphold allocation concealment, the participants’ identities and group assignments were unknown by the study personnel, including the individual who initiated the randomization. 40 An automated notification informed participants of their randomization results. Moreover, measures used to maintain blinding of the data analysis and clinical interviews, ensuring an unbiased approach throughout the study, are documented in the study protocol ( Supplement 1 ). 34

Participants in the intervention group received access to the 12-week web-based intervention (Selfapy). 34 , 41 - 43 This program is rooted in CBT and uses evidence-based exercises to elucidate risk factors and mechanisms of BED based on a diathesis-stress model. 34 , 41 Central to the program is a core curriculum of 6 mandatory modules focused on self-monitoring of binge eating, psychoeducation, and emotion regulation, complemented by 6 elective specialization areas tailored to participants’ preferences. Each module incorporated a blend of texts, videos, audio, and interactive exercises. 34 , 41 To ensure a personalized and engaging learning experience while maintaining consistent participant progression, the intervention used a sequential module-access strategy, with modules becoming accessible after completing the preceding ones. Email reminders were sent to participants who delayed starting the program to foster initial and sustained engagement, and an integrated messaging feature was provided to facilitate inquiries about the intervention content.

Participants assigned to the control group did not receive access to the web-based intervention during the study. They were notified that they would gain access after a 12-week waiting period. To mimic naturalistic conditions in which individuals seeking help for BED might explore various treatment options, all participants, regardless of group assignment, could seek other types of pharmaceutical and psychological treatments. This design choice also facilitated the ethical consideration of not withholding effective treatment. Importantly, we closely monitored the initiation of other health care services in both groups throughout the study 44 to assess their impact on the intervention’s effectiveness.

The primary outcome was a reduction in objective binge eating episodes from baseline to after treatment (using the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire). 45 Secondary outcome measures were global eating psychopathology (using the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire); weekly loss of control eating, overeating, and binge eating (using the Weekly Binges Questionnaire) 46 ; clinical impairment (using the Clinical Impairment Assessment Questionnaire scale) 47 ; well-being (using the World Health Organization Well-Being Index-5 questionnaire) 48 ; and work capacity (using the Institute for Medical Technology Assessment Productivity Cost Questionnaire). 49 Exploratory outcomes were depressive symptoms (using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9), 50 anxiety symptoms (using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale-7), 51 self-esteem (using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale), 52 and emotion regulation (using the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale 53 and the Heidelberg Form for Emotion Regulation Strategies 54 ). Detailed descriptions of all scales and psychometric properties are provided in the study protocol ( Supplement 1 ) and eTable 1 in Supplement 2 .

Additional measures included an EMA protocol 55 on participants’ mobile devices for 5 days at baseline and after treatment. Furthermore, the study assessed measures of online intervention attitudes (using the Attitudes Toward Psychological Online Interventions scale), 56 treatment expectations (using the Patients’ Questionnaire on Therapy Expectation and Evaluation scale), 57 adverse effects (using the Negative Effects Questionnaire), 58 and health care service utilization (using the Client Sociodemographic and Service Receipt Inventory). 44

Data analysis occurred between January 27 and September 4, 2023, following our statistical analysis plan. Multilevel models with random intercepts, the fixed effects of time and treatment, and the interaction effect of time and treatment were conducted to examine whether there was a more substantial change in the intervention group compared with the control group in primary and secondary outcomes. These models were selected due to their capacity to address the hierarchical data structure, with observations nested within participants, and their flexibility in accommodating missing data. 59 We assessed the size of the main and interaction effects by estimating Cohen d based on Feingold’s recommendations. 60 To evaluate the clinical significance of our findings, a minimal clinically important difference (MCID) score was computed (MCID = SD b [√(1  − r )]), in which b indicates baseline and r represents the retest reliability of the primary outcome. This method aligns with other trials in the eating disorders field, 61 , 62 ensuring that the MCID reflects a change larger than the measurement error alone. Power analyses 63 based on an intraclass correlation of 0.40, a power of 0.80, and an α level of .05 indicated a required sample of at least 152 participants or more. Statistical analyses were performed using R, version 4.3.1 (R Project for Statistical Computing). A 2-sided P  < .05 was considered statistically significant.

As sensitivity analyses, we performed the last observation carried forward approach and the multiple imputations by chained equations technique to deal with missing data. 64 False discovery rate-adjusted P values were calculated using the Bonferroni-Holm correction. 65 Additionally, we explored the impact of potential moderators, such as treatment expectations, 57 online intervention attitudes, adherence, and health care service utilization. 44 Last, we assessed the percentage of individuals in the intervention group who encountered adverse effects. 58

Participant enrollment and study flow are depicted in the CONSORT flow diagram ( Figure 1 ). Of 1602 patients initially screened, 154 participants (mean [SD] age, 35.93 [10.59] years; 148 female [96.10%], 5 male [3.25%], and 1 nonbinary [0.65%]) fulfilled the criteria for BED and were ultimately randomized. Among the total participants, 77 were randomized to the web-based self-help intervention group and 77 to the waiting-list control condition. Table 1 depicts the baseline characteristics, which were comparable across groups (eTable 2 in Supplement 2 ).

Participants in the intervention group revealed a greater reduction in binge eating episodes compared with the control group. The estimated interaction effect between treatment and time, assessing differential changes from baseline to after treatment across the two groups, was −7.91 (95% CI, −11.68 to −4.15), with a Cohen d of −0.79 (95% CI, −1.17 to −0.42; P  < .001). Figure 2 illustrates the trajectory of the primary outcome in both groups. In the intervention group, the mean (SD) of binge eating episodes decreased from 14.79 (9.60) at baseline to 6.07 (6.71), marking a significant reduction (coefficient, −9.02 [95% CI, −11.31 to −6.72] and Cohen d , −1.00 [95% CI, −1.30 to −0.70]; P  < .001) that surpassed the clinically meaningful threshold (MCID ≥ 3.97 episodes; reliability = 0.84). 62 As expected, the mean (SD) number of binge eating episodes in the control group decreased from 15.01 (10.30) to 14.33 (17.58), indicating no significant change (coefficient, −1.21 [95% CI, −4.34 to 1.93] and Cohen d , −0.09 [95% CI, −0.33 to 0.15]; P  = .44).

Table 2 details the treatment effects across all outcomes. The intervention group exhibited significantly reduced global eating psychopathology compared with the control group (Cohen d , −0.71 [95% CI, −1.07 to −0.35]; P  < .001). Figure 3 further illustrates that the intervention group experienced significantly greater decreases in weekly loss of control eating (Cohen d , −0.56 [95% CI, −0.81 to −0.31]; P  < .001), weekly overeating (Cohen d , −0.44 [95% CI, −0.69 to −0.18]; P  < .001), and weekly binge eating (Cohen d , −0.49 [95% CI, −0.74 to −0.24]; P  < .001) than the control group (eTable 3 in Supplement 2 ).

Clinical impairment also revealed a notable decrease in the intervention group (Cohen d , −0.75 [95% CI, −1.13 to −0.37]; P  < .001) . Additionally, the intervention group experienced a significantly greater improvement in well-being compared with the control group (Cohen d , 0.38 [95% CI, 0.01-0.75]; P  = .047). However, there were no meaningful between-group differences regarding changes in work capacity (Cohen d , 0.05 [95% CI, −0.33 to 0.43]; P  = .80).

The intervention group revealed significantly more substantial decreases in depression (Cohen d , −0.49 [95% CI, −0.86 to −0.12]; P  = .01) and anxiety (Cohen d , −0.37 [95% CI, −0.67 to −0.07]; P  = .02) compared with the control group. Furthermore, improvements in self-esteem (Cohen d , 0.36 [95% CI, 0.13 to 0.59]; P  = .003) and emotion regulation abilities (difficulties: Cohen d , −0.36 [95% CI, −0.65 to −0.07]; P  = .01 and repertoire: Cohen d , 0.52 [95% CI, 0.19 to 0.84]; P  = .003) were found in the intervention group compared with the control group.

Sensitivity analyses for all primary and secondary confirmatory outcomes are summarized in eTable 4 in Supplement 2 , reaffirming the results obtained in our primary statistical models. These analyses consistently revealed significant reductions in binge eating episodes, improvements in eating psychopathology, and diminished clinical impairment. However, the impact on well-being did not consistently appear across different sensitivity analyses, indicating less robust effects on this metric. Modeling changes using a continuous time variable replicated the main findings for all outcomes.

Moderators, including baseline symptom severity, treatment expectations, online intervention attitudes, health care service utilization, and demographics, did not impact treatment effects. At baseline, 23 participants (14.94%) received in-person psychotherapy, aligning with typical treatment rates for BED. 66 Participants across both groups showed low current psychotropic medication use (10 participants [6.49%]). Throughout the study, an additional 13 participants (8.44%) in both groups sought in-person psychotherapy, and 2 (1.30%) initiated new psychotropic medication. Treatment-seeking intentions indicated that 26 participants (16.88%) were currently on a waiting list for in-person psychotherapy and aimed to use the web-based intervention to bridge this waiting time. None of these health care service–related variables differed between groups or acted as moderators (eTable 5 in Supplement 2 ).

Additional analyses of EMA data are reported in eTable 6 in Supplement 2 . These indicated that the intervention effects could also be demonstrated momentarily in participants’ everyday lives, revealed by reductions in binge eating, overeating, shape concerns, and weight concerns in the intervention group compared with the control group.

Findings among participants in the intervention group who provided complete data on the web-based program's adverse effects are detailed in eTable 7 in Supplement 2 . While these were overall minimal, the resurgence of distressing memories was recorded as a more frequent adverse effect in 20 of 64 patients (31.25%) at midtreatment and in 8 of 59 patients (13.56%) at posttreatment. These analyses provide a comparative perspective, indicating that negative effects were lower than those reported for face-to-face psychotherapy. 67

The dropout rate was 17.53%, with no significant difference between the intervention and control groups ( χ 2  = 1.62; P  = .20) (eTable 8 in Supplement 2 ), indicating comparable retention across study arms. The number of modules completed in the intervention was used as an indicator of treatment dose. Most participants in the intervention group (71 [92.22%]) began the intervention. The participants completed a mean (SD) of 7.65 (4.07) modules, including the 6 core modules and 2 optional secialization areas. Notably, a greater treatment dose, evidenced by completing more modules, was associated with more substantial reductions in eating psychopathology (β, −0.38 [95% CI, −0.63 to −0.12]; P  < .001). Additionally, a significant proportion of the control group (61 [79.22%]) enrolled in the program after the study had concluded, highlighting the continued need for the intervention.

Binge eating disorder is a frequent and debilitating disorder with considerable societal and personal burdens. 1 , 7 , 9 However, traditional treatments have faced constraints, such as limited access, stigma, and high cost, 17 , 18 underscoring the need to explore alternative intervention delivery methods. The findings of this randomized clinical trial present new possibilities for addressing this substantial public health challenge by building on the widespread adoption of digital technologies. 18 , 24 , 29

Notably, we found supportive evidence for the effectiveness of a 12-week, web-based cognitive behavioral self-help program for BED. The intervention group outperformed the control group in reducing binge eating episodes and several key outcomes, including global eating psychopathology and clinical impairment. The observed effect sizes mirrored or exceeded those reported in trials investigating other digital interventions for eating disorders 19 , 25 - 28 and in-person guided and unguided self-help interventions for BED. 68 - 70 Furthermore, the effect sizes were consistent with or even surpassed established findings from studies exploring the impact of conventional, in-person CBT interventions, 12 , 13 underlining the clinical relevance of the results. Moreover, by not limiting our inclusion criteria to individuals with comorbid obesity, 69 - 71 our research offers evidence for the broad applicability of web-based interventions in enhancing eating disorder–related outcomes across the BED spectrum.

In addition to the significant reductions in eating psychopathology, the intervention extended its benefits to diverse aspects of participants’ quality of life. Receiving access to the program was linked to improvements in well-being, depressive symptoms, anxiety, self-esteem, and emotion regulation. This expansion beyond eating psychopathology was further substantiated by weekly symptom monitoring and real-time data that were collected in everyday contexts, which revealed that participants in the intervention group experienced tangible improvements in day-to-day symptoms and quality of life.

Together, these findings showcase the potential of digital interventions to enhance participants’ everyday experiences by addressing core eating-related symptomatology and the emotional and psychological mechanisms frequently linked with BED. 72 , 73 To reflect naturalistic conditions, we permitted participants from both study groups to seek additional professional assistance, which may account for the minor improvements in global eating psychopathology and depressive symptoms observed within the control group. Notably, our analysis confirmed that the engagement in psychotherapy or pharmacotherapy following randomization was equally low across both groups and did not moderate the web-based intervention’s outcomes. The positive effects of the intervention further persisted when considering participants’ attitudes toward online interventions, treatment expectations, and demographic characteristics as moderators. Additionally, the effectiveness of self-guided web-based interventions depends on participant motivation, highlighting the importance of monitoring dropout and retention rates. 22 , 71 Our results indicate low dropout levels, underlining our findings’ robustness

Regarding the study’s limitations, it is crucial to acknowledge that our sample’s socioeconomic and demographic composition may reflect disparities in help-seeking behavior and digital literacy among socioeconomic groups. Our study highlights the necessity for targeted strategies to engage male and older populations, who are often underrepresented, in studies of web-based interventions for BED. 19 , 28 Moreover, while self-report measures are indispensable for assessing subjective experiences and complex behaviors, these methods are vulnerable to social desirability. 55 To increase the accuracy of self-reported information, our study complemented traditional questionnaires with real-time EMA and weekly reports. Future research may benefit from additional methodologies to minimize these biases, including double-blind designs and integrating objective measures where feasible. Additionally, the temporal scope of our study, focusing on postintervention changes, calls for future research to extend the assessment period, ideally incorporating a 12-month follow-up to capture the program’s long-term effects. Finally, while our findings posit the effectiveness of the web-based intervention compared with a waiting-list control condition, it is imperative that subsequent investigations include comparisons with alternative control conditions, including face-to-face CBT, 74 , 75 and evaluate the practical implementation of these interventions in health care settings.

This randomized clinical trial demonstrated that offering access to a web-based intervention significantly enhanced the daily lives of participants with BED. The provision of accessible and effective treatment options holds promise for improving the everyday experiences of patients with BED, as well as for diminishing its adverse health effects. Providing these programs to those in need of treatment can contribute to alleviating the burden that BED places on patients, their families, and society.

Accepted for Publication: March 7, 2024.

Published: May 16, 2024. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.11127

Open Access: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-ND License . © 2024 Pruessner L et al. JAMA Network Open .

Corresponding Author: Luise Pruessner, MS, Department of Psychology, Heidelberg University, Hauptstr 47-51, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany ( [email protected] ).

Author Contributions: Ms Pruessner and Mr Hartmann had full access to all of the data in the study and take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.

Concept and design: All authors.

Acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data: Pruessner, Timm, Hartmann.

Drafting of the manuscript: Pruessner.

Critical review of the manuscript for important intellectual content: All authors.

Statistical analysis: Pruessner, Hartmann.

Obtained funding: Pruessner, Timm, Barnow.

Administrative, technical, or material support: Pruessner, Timm.

Supervision: Pruessner, Barnow, Rubel.

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: None reported.

Funding/Support: This study was supported by the European Regional Development Fund awarded to Selfapy. An independent evaluation of the web-based intervention for eating disorders was commissioned by Selfapy to the Department of Psychology at Heidelberg University (to the team of Dr Timm, Prof Barnow, Ms Pruessner, and Mr Hartmann) to ensure adherence to the highest scientific standards. The publication costs were funded by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) and Heidelberg University.

Role of the Funder/Sponsor: The funder had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

Data Sharing Statement: See Supplement 3 .

Additional Contributions: We express our appreciation to the following individuals for their significant contributions to participant recruitment and data collection, integral to their thesis work: Maria Brinkhof, BS; Katrin Fischer, MS; Leonie Hans, BS; Tanja Hauser, MS; Nina Helwig, MS; Luisa Jung, BS; Theresa Kloss, BS; Lena Komorowski, MS; Laura Kristalis, MS; Jana Reich, BS; Elena Rettweiler, BS; Marlene Sayer, MS; and Leoni Weintz, MS (all affiliated with Heidelberg University at the time of the study). No additional compensation was provided for their contributions beyond their customary remuneration.

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Chemical Communications

Ratiometric fluorescence imaging of lysosomal no in living cells and mice brains with alzheimer's disease.

We report an integrated ratiometric lysosomal nitric oxide (NO) nanoprobe based on engineered semiconducting polymer dots (Pdots), LyNO-Pdots, which consists of newly designed NO-responsive dye, fluorescent conjugated polymer and two functional polymers. The developed probe LyNO-Pdots exhibit high specificity and stability, good photostability and favorable blood-brain barrier (BBB) penetration ability. The LyNO-Pdots are successfully applied to ratiometric imaging of lysosomal NO variations in brain-derived endothelial cells, brain tissues and mice brains with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The results demonstrate that the NO content in brains of AD mice is considerably higher than that in normal mice.

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Ratiometric fluorescence imaging of lysosomal NO in living cells and mice brains with Alzheimer's disease

R. Huang, Z. Zhang, Z. Shi, Y. Yang, J. Sun and F. Gao, Chem. Commun. , 2024, Accepted Manuscript , DOI: 10.1039/D4CC02133A

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