What is Abstract?
An abstract is a brief summary of a research article, thesis, review, conference proceeding, or any in-depth analysis of a particular subject or discipline, and is often used to help the reader quickly ascertain the paper's purpose. When used, an abstract always appears at the beginning of a scholarly article or at the beginning of a collection of research, allowing the reader to quickly understand the purpose and context of the work.
An abstract should be written in a concise and clear manner, presenting the main arguments and conclusions of the work, while avoiding unnecessary details. It should typically be no more than 250 words in length and should accurately reflect the content of the article.
The purpose of an abstract is to give the reader a quick overview of the research being presented, to help them determine whether the content of the article is relevant to their needs. This is particularly important when searching for information in databases or online libraries, where users may only have access to the abstracts of articles and need to determine which articles to read in full.
The structure of an abstract may vary depending on the discipline, but typically includes the following components: background, methods, results, and conclusions. In some disciplines, abstracts may also include a brief discussion of the implications of the research and its relevance to the field.
In conclusion, an abstract is an essential component of a research paper or article, providing a concise and complete summary of the work being presented. It is an important tool for both researchers and readers, allowing authors to present their work to a wider audience and helping readers to quickly understand the content and context of a research paper.
Simplified Example
An abstract is like a movie trailer. Just like how a movie trailer gives you a quick overview of a movie and lets you know what it's about, an abstract does the same for a research article or paper. It tells you what the paper is about and what you can expect to learn from reading it. If you like what you see in the trailer, you might want to go see the whole movie. If you like what you read in the abstract, you might want to read the whole paper.
History of the Term "Abstract"
The precise origin of the term "abstract" within the realm of cryptocurrencies is uncertain, but it is thought to have surfaced in the early 2010s concurrent with the rise of the idea of generating tokenized versions of real-world assets. The term "abstract" is frequently employed to delineate these tokenized assets, alternately referred to as asset-backed tokens or security tokens, from fungible tokens like Bitcoin or Ethereum, which lack representation of any underlying asset.
Examples
Medical Research: An abstract for a medical research paper might describe the purpose of the study, the methods used to collect data, the results of the study, and the conclusions reached by the researchers. For example, an abstract for a study examining the effectiveness of a new medication for reducing pain might include the following information: the study was designed to determine the efficacy of the medication in reducing pain in patients with chronic pain; data was collected through a double-blind, randomized controlled trial; the results showed a statistically significant reduction in pain compared to the control group; and the conclusion was that the medication was effective in reducing pain in patients with chronic pain.
Social Science: An abstract for a social science research paper might describe the research question being explored, the methods used to gather data, the results of the study, and the implications of the findings. For example, an abstract for a study examining the impact of social media on adolescent self-esteem might include the following information: the study aimed to examine the relationship between social media use and self-esteem in adolescents; data was collected through self-administered surveys; the results showed a negative correlation between social media use and self-esteem; and the conclusion was that excessive social media use may have a negative impact on self-esteem in adolescents.
Physical Science: An abstract for a physical science research paper might describe the objective of the research, the methods used to conduct the study, the results of the study, and the implications of the findings. For example, an abstract for a study examining the properties of a new material might include the following information: the objective of the study was to determine the mechanical and thermal properties of a new material; the study was conducted using a combination of experiments and simulations; the results showed that the material had superior mechanical and thermal properties compared to existing materials; and the conclusion was that the material had potential for use in a variety of applications.