abstract sample for research paper

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An abstract is a short summary of your (published or unpublished) research paper, usually about a paragraph (c. 6-7 sentences, 150-250 words) long.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

Good writing = better grades

ProWritingAid will help you improve the style, strength, and clarity of all your assignments.

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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Abstract Writing: A Step-by-Step Guide With Tips & Examples

Table of Contents

Introduction

Abstracts of research papers have always played an essential role in describing your research concisely and clearly to researchers and editors of journals, enticing them to continue reading. However, with the widespread availability of scientific databases, the need to write a convincing abstract is more crucial now than during the time of paper-bound manuscripts.

Abstracts serve to "sell" your research and can be compared with your "executive outline" of a resume or, rather, a formal summary of the critical aspects of your work. Also, it can be the "gist" of your study. Since most educational research is done online, it's a sign that you have a shorter time for impressing your readers, and have more competition from other abstracts that are available to be read.

The APCI (Academic Publishing and Conferences International) articulates 12 issues or points considered during the final approval process for conferences & journals and emphasises the importance of writing an abstract that checks all these boxes (12 points). Since it's the only opportunity you have to captivate your readers, you must invest time and effort in creating an abstract that accurately reflects the critical points of your research.

With that in mind, let’s head over to understand and discover the core concept and guidelines to create a substantial abstract. Also, learn how to organise the ideas or plots into an effective abstract that will be awe-inspiring to the readers you want to reach.

What is Abstract? Definition and Overview

The word "Abstract' is derived from Latin abstractus meaning "drawn off." This etymological meaning also applies to art movements as well as music, like abstract expressionism. In this context, it refers to the revealing of the artist's intention.

Based on this, you can determine the meaning of an abstract: A condensed research summary. It must be self-contained and independent of the body of the research. However, it should outline the subject, the strategies used to study the problem, and the methods implemented to attain the outcomes. The specific elements of the study differ based on the area of study; however, together, it must be a succinct summary of the entire research paper.

Abstracts are typically written at the end of the paper, even though it serves as a prologue. In general, the abstract must be in a position to:

• Describe the paper.
• Identify the problem or the issue at hand.
• Explain to the reader the research process, the results you came up with, and what conclusion you've reached using these results.
• Include keywords to guide your strategy and the content.

Furthermore, the abstract you submit should not reflect upon any of  the following elements:

• Examine, analyse or defend the paper or your opinion.
• What you want to study, achieve or discover.
• Be redundant or irrelevant.

After reading an abstract, your audience should understand the reason - what the research was about in the first place, what the study has revealed and how it can be utilised or can be used to benefit others. You can understand the importance of abstract by knowing the fact that the abstract is the most frequently read portion of any research paper. In simpler terms, it should contain all the main points of the research paper.

What is the Purpose of an Abstract?

Abstracts are typically an essential requirement for research papers; however, it's not an obligation to preserve traditional reasons without any purpose. Abstracts allow readers to scan the text to determine whether it is relevant to their research or studies. The abstract allows other researchers to decide if your research paper can provide them with some additional information. A good abstract paves the interest of the audience to pore through your entire paper to find the content or context they're searching for.

Abstract writing is essential for indexing, as well. The Digital Repository of academic papers makes use of abstracts to index the entire content of academic research papers. Like meta descriptions in the regular Google outcomes, abstracts must include keywords that help researchers locate what they seek.

Types of Abstract

Informative and Descriptive are two kinds of abstracts often used in scientific writing.

A descriptive abstract gives readers an outline of the author's main points in their study. The reader can determine if they want to stick to the research work, based on their interest in the topic. An abstract that is descriptive is similar to the contents table of books, however, the format of an abstract depicts complete sentences encapsulated in one paragraph. It is unfortunate that the abstract can't be used as a substitute for reading a piece of writing because it's just an overview, which omits readers from getting an entire view. Also, it cannot be a way to fill in the gaps the reader may have after reading this kind of abstract since it does not contain crucial information needed to evaluate the article.

To conclude, a descriptive abstract is:

• A simple summary of the task, just summarises the work, but some researchers think it is much more of an outline
• Typically, the length is approximately 100 words. It is too short when compared to an informative abstract.
• A brief explanation but doesn't provide the reader with the complete information they need;
• An overview that omits conclusions and results

An informative abstract is a comprehensive outline of the research. There are times when people rely on the abstract as an information source. And the reason is why it is crucial to provide entire data of particular research. A well-written, informative abstract could be a good substitute for the remainder of the paper on its own.

A well-written abstract typically follows a particular style. The author begins by providing the identifying information, backed by citations and other identifiers of the papers. Then, the major elements are summarised to make the reader aware of the study. It is followed by the methodology and all-important findings from the study. The conclusion then presents study results and ends the abstract with a comprehensive summary.

In a nutshell, an informative abstract:

• Has a length that can vary, based on the subject, but is not longer than 300 words.
• Contains all the content-like methods and intentions
• Offers evidence and possible recommendations.

Informative Abstracts are more frequent than descriptive abstracts because of their extensive content and linkage to the topic specifically. You should select different types of abstracts to papers based on their length: informative abstracts for extended and more complex abstracts and descriptive ones for simpler and shorter research papers.

What are the Characteristics of a Good Abstract?

• A good abstract clearly defines the goals and purposes of the study.
• It should clearly describe the research methodology with a primary focus on data gathering, processing, and subsequent analysis.
• A good abstract should provide specific research findings.
• It presents the principal conclusions of the systematic study.
• It should be concise, clear, and relevant to the field of study.
• A well-designed abstract should be unifying and coherent.
• It is easy to grasp and free of technical jargon.
• It is written impartially and objectively.

What are the various sections of an ideal Abstract?

By now, you must have gained some concrete idea of the essential elements that your abstract needs to convey . Accordingly, the information is broken down into six key sections of the abstract, which include:

An Introduction or Background

Research methodology, objectives and goals, limitations.

Let's go over them in detail.

The introduction, also known as background, is the most concise part of your abstract. Ideally, it comprises a couple of sentences. Some researchers only write one sentence to introduce their abstract. The idea behind this is to guide readers through the key factors that led to your study.

It's understandable that this information might seem difficult to explain in a couple of sentences. For example, think about the following two questions like the background of your study:

• What is currently available about the subject with respect to the paper being discussed?
• What isn't understood about this issue? (This is the subject of your research)

While writing the abstract’s introduction, make sure that it is not lengthy. Because if it crosses the word limit, it may eat up the words meant to be used for providing other key information.

Research methodology is where you describe the theories and techniques you used in your research. It is recommended that you describe what you have done and the method you used to get your thorough investigation results. Certainly, it is the second-longest paragraph in the abstract.

In the research methodology section, it is essential to mention the kind of research you conducted; for instance, qualitative research or quantitative research (this will guide your research methodology too) . If you've conducted quantitative research, your abstract should contain information like the sample size, data collection method, sampling techniques, and duration of the study. Likewise, your abstract should reflect observational data, opinions, questionnaires (especially the non-numerical data) if you work on qualitative research.

The research objectives and goals speak about what you intend to accomplish with your research. The majority of research projects focus on the long-term effects of a project, and the goals focus on the immediate, short-term outcomes of the research. It is possible to summarise both in just multiple sentences.

In stating your objectives and goals, you give readers a picture of the scope of the study, its depth and the direction your research ultimately follows. Your readers can evaluate the results of your research against the goals and stated objectives to determine if you have achieved the goal of your research.

In the end, your readers are more attracted by the results you've obtained through your study. Therefore, you must take the time to explain each relevant result and explain how they impact your research. The results section exists as the longest in your abstract, and nothing should diminish its reach or quality.

One of the most important things you should adhere to is to spell out details and figures on the results of your research.

Instead of making a vague assertion such as, "We noticed that response rates varied greatly between respondents with high incomes and those with low incomes", Try these: "The response rate was higher for high-income respondents than those with lower incomes (59 30 percent vs. 30 percent in both cases; P<0.01)."

You're likely to encounter certain obstacles during your research. It could have been during data collection or even during conducting the sample . Whatever the issue, it's essential to inform your readers about them and their effects on the research.

Research limitations offer an opportunity to suggest further and deep research. If, for instance, you were forced to change for convenient sampling and snowball samples because of difficulties in reaching well-suited research participants, then you should mention this reason when you write your research abstract. In addition, a lack of prior studies on the subject could hinder your research.

Your conclusion should include the same number of sentences to wrap the abstract as the introduction. The majority of researchers offer an idea of the consequences of their research in this case.

Your conclusion should include three essential components:

• A significant take-home message.
• Corresponding important findings.
• The Interpretation.

Even though the conclusion of your abstract needs to be brief, it can have an enormous influence on the way that readers view your research. Therefore, make use of this section to reinforce the central message from your research. Be sure that your statements reflect the actual results and the methods you used to conduct your research.

Good Abstract Examples

Abstract example #1.

Children’s consumption behavior in response to food product placements in movies.

The abstract:

"Almost all research into the effects of brand placements on children has focused on the brand's attitudes or behavior intentions. Based on the significant differences between attitudes and behavioral intentions on one hand and actual behavior on the other hand, this study examines the impact of placements by brands on children's eating habits. Children aged 6-14 years old were shown an excerpt from the popular film Alvin and the Chipmunks and were shown places for the item Cheese Balls. Three different versions were developed with no placements, one with moderately frequent placements and the third with the highest frequency of placement. The results revealed that exposure to high-frequency places had a profound effect on snack consumption, however, there was no impact on consumer attitudes towards brands or products. The effects were not dependent on the age of the children. These findings are of major importance to researchers studying consumer behavior as well as nutrition experts as well as policy regulators."

Abstract Example #2

Social comparisons on social media: The impact of Facebook on young women’s body image concerns and mood. The abstract:

"The research conducted in this study investigated the effects of Facebook use on women's moods and body image if the effects are different from an internet-based fashion journal and if the appearance comparison tendencies moderate one or more of these effects. Participants who were female ( N = 112) were randomly allocated to spend 10 minutes exploring their Facebook account or a magazine's website or an appearance neutral control website prior to completing state assessments of body dissatisfaction, mood, and differences in appearance (weight-related and facial hair, face, and skin). Participants also completed a test of the tendency to compare appearances. The participants who used Facebook were reported to be more depressed than those who stayed on the control site. In addition, women who have the tendency to compare appearances reported more facial, hair and skin-related issues following Facebook exposure than when they were exposed to the control site. Due to its popularity it is imperative to conduct more research to understand the effect that Facebook affects the way people view themselves."

Abstract Example #3

The Relationship Between Cell Phone Use and Academic Performance in a Sample of U.S. College Students

"The cellphone is always present on campuses of colleges and is often utilised in situations in which learning takes place. The study examined the connection between the use of cell phones and the actual grades point average (GPA) after adjusting for predictors that are known to be a factor. In the end 536 students in the undergraduate program from 82 self-reported majors of an enormous, public institution were studied. Hierarchical analysis ( R 2 = .449) showed that use of mobile phones is significantly ( p < .001) and negative (b equal to -.164) connected to the actual college GPA, after taking into account factors such as demographics, self-efficacy in self-regulated learning, self-efficacy to improve academic performance, and the actual high school GPA that were all important predictors ( p < .05). Therefore, after adjusting for other known predictors increasing cell phone usage was associated with lower academic performance. While more research is required to determine the mechanisms behind these results, they suggest the need to educate teachers and students to the possible academic risks that are associated with high-frequency mobile phone usage."

Quick tips on writing a good abstract

There exists a common dilemma among early age researchers whether to write the abstract at first or last? However, it's recommended to compose your abstract when you've completed the research since you'll have all the information to give to your readers. You can, however, write a draft at the beginning of your research and add in any gaps later.

If you find abstract writing a herculean task, here are the few tips to help you with it:

1. Always develop a framework to support your abstract

Before writing, ensure you create a clear outline for your abstract. Divide it into sections and draw the primary and supporting elements in each one. You can include keywords and a few sentences that convey the essence of your message.

2. Review Other Abstracts

Abstracts are among the most frequently used research documents, and thousands of them were written in the past. Therefore, prior to writing yours, take a look at some examples from other abstracts. There are plenty of examples of abstracts for dissertations in the dissertation and thesis databases.

3. Avoid Jargon To the Maximum

When you write your abstract, focus on simplicity over formality. You should  write in simple language, and avoid excessive filler words or ambiguous sentences. Keep in mind that your abstract must be readable to those who aren't acquainted with your subject.

4. Focus on Your Research

It's a given fact that the abstract you write should be about your research and the findings you've made. It is not the right time to mention secondary and primary data sources unless it's absolutely required.

Conclusion: How to Structure an Interesting Abstract?

Abstracts are a short outline of your essay. However, it's among the most important, if not the most important. The process of writing an abstract is not straightforward. A few early-age researchers tend to begin by writing it, thinking they are doing it to "tease" the next step (the document itself). However, it is better to treat it as a spoiler.

The simple, concise style of the abstract lends itself to a well-written and well-investigated study. If your research paper doesn't provide definitive results, or the goal of your research is questioned, so will the abstract. Thus, only write your abstract after witnessing your findings and put your findings in the context of a larger scenario.

The process of writing an abstract can be daunting, but with these guidelines, you will succeed. The most efficient method of writing an excellent abstract is to centre the primary points of your abstract, including the research question and goals methods, as well as key results.

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Research Paper Abstract – Writing Guide and Examples

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Research Paper Abstract

Research Paper Abstract is a brief summary of a research pape r that describes the study’s purpose, methods, findings, and conclusions . It is often the first section of the paper that readers encounter, and its purpose is to provide a concise and accurate overview of the paper’s content. The typical length of an abstract is usually around 150-250 words, and it should be written in a concise and clear manner.

Research Paper Abstract Structure

The structure of a research paper abstract usually includes the following elements:

• Background or Introduction: Briefly describe the problem or research question that the study addresses.
• Methods : Explain the methodology used to conduct the study, including the participants, materials, and procedures.
• Results : Summarize the main findings of the study, including statistical analyses and key outcomes.
• Conclusions : Discuss the implications of the study’s findings and their significance for the field, as well as any limitations or future directions for research.
• Keywords : List a few keywords that describe the main topics or themes of the research.

How to Write Research Paper Abstract

Here are the steps to follow when writing a research paper abstract:

• Start by reading your paper: Before you write an abstract, you should have a complete understanding of your paper. Read through the paper carefully, making sure you understand the purpose, methods, results, and conclusions.
• Identify the key components : Identify the key components of your paper, such as the research question, methods used, results obtained, and conclusion reached.
• Write a draft: Write a draft of your abstract, using concise and clear language. Make sure to include all the important information, but keep it short and to the point. A good rule of thumb is to keep your abstract between 150-250 words.
• Use clear and concise language : Use clear and concise language to explain the purpose of your study, the methods used, the results obtained, and the conclusions drawn.
• Emphasize your findings: Emphasize your findings in the abstract, highlighting the key results and the significance of your study.
• Revise and edit: Once you have a draft, revise and edit it to ensure that it is clear, concise, and free from errors.
• Check the formatting: Finally, check the formatting of your abstract to make sure it meets the requirements of the journal or conference where you plan to submit it.

Research Paper Abstract Examples

Research Paper Abstract Examples could be following:

Title : “The Effectiveness of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Treating Anxiety Disorders: A Meta-Analysis”

Abstract : This meta-analysis examines the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) in treating anxiety disorders. Through the analysis of 20 randomized controlled trials, we found that CBT is a highly effective treatment for anxiety disorders, with large effect sizes across a range of anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and social anxiety disorder. Our findings support the use of CBT as a first-line treatment for anxiety disorders and highlight the importance of further research to identify the mechanisms underlying its effectiveness.

Title : “Exploring the Role of Parental Involvement in Children’s Education: A Qualitative Study”

Abstract : This qualitative study explores the role of parental involvement in children’s education. Through in-depth interviews with 20 parents of children in elementary school, we found that parental involvement takes many forms, including volunteering in the classroom, helping with homework, and communicating with teachers. We also found that parental involvement is influenced by a range of factors, including parent and child characteristics, school culture, and socio-economic status. Our findings suggest that schools and educators should prioritize building strong partnerships with parents to support children’s academic success.

Title : “The Impact of Exercise on Cognitive Function in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis”

Abstract : This paper presents a systematic review and meta-analysis of the existing literature on the impact of exercise on cognitive function in older adults. Through the analysis of 25 randomized controlled trials, we found that exercise is associated with significant improvements in cognitive function, particularly in the domains of executive function and attention. Our findings highlight the potential of exercise as a non-pharmacological intervention to support cognitive health in older adults.

When to Write Research Paper Abstract

The abstract of a research paper should typically be written after you have completed the main body of the paper. This is because the abstract is intended to provide a brief summary of the key points and findings of the research, and you can’t do that until you have completed the research and written about it in detail.

Once you have completed your research paper, you can begin writing your abstract. It is important to remember that the abstract should be a concise summary of your research paper, and should be written in a way that is easy to understand for readers who may not have expertise in your specific area of research.

Purpose of Research Paper Abstract

The purpose of a research paper abstract is to provide a concise summary of the key points and findings of a research paper. It is typically a brief paragraph or two that appears at the beginning of the paper, before the introduction, and is intended to give readers a quick overview of the paper’s content.

The abstract should include a brief statement of the research problem, the methods used to investigate the problem, the key results and findings, and the main conclusions and implications of the research. It should be written in a clear and concise manner, avoiding jargon and technical language, and should be understandable to a broad audience.

The abstract serves as a way to quickly and easily communicate the main points of a research paper to potential readers, such as academics, researchers, and students, who may be looking for information on a particular topic. It can also help researchers determine whether a paper is relevant to their own research interests and whether they should read the full paper.

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APA Abstract (2020) | Formatting, Length, and Keywords

Published on November 6, 2020 by Raimo Streefkerk . Revised on January 17, 2024.

An APA abstract is a comprehensive summary of your paper in which you briefly address the research problem , hypotheses , methods , results , and implications of your research. It’s placed on a separate page right after the title page and is usually no longer than 250 words.

Most professional papers that are submitted for publication require an abstract. Student papers typically don’t need an abstract, unless instructed otherwise.

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Table of contents

How to format the abstract, how to write an apa abstract, which keywords to use, frequently asked questions, apa abstract example.

Formatting instructions

Follow these five steps to format your abstract in APA Style:

• Insert a running head (for a professional paper—not needed for a student paper) and page number.
• Set page margins to 1 inch (2.54 cm).
• Write “Abstract” (bold and centered) at the top of the page.
• Do not indent the first line.
• Double-space the text.
• Use a legible font like Times New Roman (12 pt.).
• Limit the length to 250 words.
• Indent the first line 0.5 inches.
• Write the label “Keywords:” (italicized).
• Write keywords in lowercase letters.
• Separate keywords with commas.
• Do not use a period after the keywords.

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The abstract is a self-contained piece of text that informs the reader what your research is about. It’s best to write the abstract after you’re finished with the rest of your paper.

The questions below may help structure your abstract. Try answering them in one to three sentences each.

• What is the problem? Outline the objective, research questions , and/or hypotheses .
• What has been done? Explain your research methods .
• What did you discover? Summarize the key findings and conclusions .
• What do the findings mean? Summarize the discussion and recommendations .

Check out our guide on how to write an abstract for more guidance and an annotated example.

Guide: writing an abstract

At the end of the abstract, you may include a few keywords that will be used for indexing if your paper is published on a database. Listing your keywords will help other researchers find your work.

Choosing relevant keywords is essential. Try to identify keywords that address your topic, method, or population. APA recommends including three to five keywords.

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 summarizes the contents of your paper.

An APA abstract is around 150–250 words long. However, always check your target journal’s guidelines and don’t exceed the specified word count.

In an APA Style paper , the abstract is placed on a separate page after the title page (page 2).

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.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Streefkerk, R. (2024, January 17). APA Abstract (2020) | Formatting, Length, and Keywords. Scribbr. Retrieved June 25, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/apa-style/apa-abstract/

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How to Write an Abstract APA Format

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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

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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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Expedite peer review, increase search-ability, and set the tone for your study

The abstract is your chance to let your readers know what they can expect from your article. Learn how to write a clear, and concise abstract that will keep your audience reading.

How your abstract impacts editorial evaluation and future readership

After the title , the abstract is the second-most-read part of your article. A good abstract can help to expedite peer review and, if your article is accepted for publication, it’s an important tool for readers to find and evaluate your work. Editors use your abstract when they first assess your article. Prospective reviewers see it when they decide whether to accept an invitation to review. Once published, the abstract gets indexed in PubMed and Google Scholar , as well as library systems and other popular databases. Like the title, your abstract influences keyword search results. Readers will use it to decide whether to read the rest of your article. Other researchers will use it to evaluate your work for inclusion in systematic reviews and meta-analysis. It should be a concise standalone piece that accurately represents your research. 

What to include in an abstract

The main challenge you’ll face when writing your abstract is keeping it concise AND fitting in all the information you need. Depending on your subject area the journal may require a structured abstract following specific headings. A structured abstract helps your readers understand your study more easily. If your journal doesn’t require a structured abstract it’s still a good idea to follow a similar format, just present the abstract as one paragraph without headings. 

Background or Introduction – What is currently known? Start with a brief, 2 or 3 sentence, introduction to the research area. 

Objectives or Aims – What is the study and why did you do it? Clearly state the research question you’re trying to answer.

Methods – What did you do? Explain what you did and how you did it. Include important information about your methods, but avoid the low-level specifics. Some disciplines have specific requirements for abstract methods. 

• CONSORT for randomized trials.
• STROBE for observational studies
• PRISMA for systematic reviews and meta-analyses

Results – What did you find? Briefly give the key findings of your study. Include key numeric data (including confidence intervals or p values), where possible.

Conclusions – What did you conclude? Tell the reader why your findings matter, and what this could mean for the ‘bigger picture’ of this area of research. 

Writing tips

The main challenge you may find when writing your abstract is keeping it concise AND convering all the information you need to.

• Keep it concise and to the point. Most journals have a maximum word count, so check guidelines before you write the abstract to save time editing it later.
• Write for your audience. Are they specialists in your specific field? Are they cross-disciplinary? Are they non-specialists? If you’re writing for a general audience, or your research could be of interest to the public keep your language as straightforward as possible. If you’re writing in English, do remember that not all of your readers will necessarily be native English speakers.
• Focus on key results, conclusions and take home messages.
• Write your paper first, then create the abstract as a summary.
• Check the journal requirements before you write your abstract, eg. required subheadings.
• Include keywords or phrases to help readers search for your work in indexing databases like PubMed or Google Scholar.
• Double and triple check your abstract for spelling and grammar errors. These kind of errors can give potential reviewers the impression that your research isn’t sound, and can make it easier to find reviewers who accept the invitation to review your manuscript. Your abstract should be a taste of what is to come in the rest of your article.

Don’t

• Sensationalize your research.
• Speculate about where this research might lead in the future.
• Use abbreviations or acronyms (unless absolutely necessary or unless they’re widely known, eg. DNA).
• Repeat yourself unnecessarily, eg. “Methods: We used X technique. Results: Using X technique, we found…”
• Contradict anything in the rest of your manuscript.
• Include content that isn’t also covered in the main manuscript.
• Include citations or references.

Tip: How to edit your work

Editing is challenging, especially if you are acting as both a writer and an editor. Read our guidelines for advice on how to refine your work, including useful tips for setting your intentions, re-review, and consultation with colleagues.

• How to Write a Great Title
• How to Write Your Methods
• How to Report Statistics
• How to Write Discussions and Conclusions
• How to Edit Your Work

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The contents of the Writing Center are also available as a live, interactive training session, complete with slides, talking points, and activities. …

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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.

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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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How to write an abstract

What is an abstract?

General format of an abstract, the content of an abstract, abstract example, abstract style guides, frequently asked questions about writing an abstract, related articles.

An abstract is a summary of the main contents of a paper.

The abstract is the first glimpse that readers get of the content of a research paper. It can influence the popularity of a paper, as a well-written one will attract readers, and a poorly-written one will drive them away.

➡️ Different types of papers may require distinct abstract styles. Visit our guide on the different types of research papers to learn more.

Tip: Always wait until you’ve written your entire paper before you write the abstract.

Before you actually start writing an abstract, make sure to follow these steps:

• Read other papers : find papers with similar topics, or similar methodologies, simply to have an idea of how others have written their abstracts. Notice which points they decided to include, and how in depth they described them.
• Double check the journal requirements : always make sure to review the journal guidelines to format your paper accordingly. Usually, they also specify abstract's formats.
• Write the abstract after you finish writing the paper : you can only write an abstract once you finish writing the whole paper. This way you can include all important aspects, such as scope, methodology, and conclusion.

➡️ Read more about  what is a research methodology?

The general format of an abstract includes the following features:

• Between 150-300 words .
• An independent page , after the title page and before the table of contents.
• Concise summary including the aim of the research, methodology , and conclusion .
• Keywords describing the content.

As mentioned before, an abstract is a text that summarizes the main points of a research. Here is a break down of each element that should be included in an abstract:

• Purpose : every abstract should start by describing the main purpose or aim of the research.
• Methods : as a second point, the methodology carried out should be explained.
• Results : then, a concise summary of the results should be included.
• Conclusion : finally, a short outline of the general outcome of the research should be given.
• Keywords : along with the abstract, specific words and phrases related to the topics discussed in the research should be added. These words are usually around five, but the number can vary depending on the journal's guidelines.

This abstract, taken from ScienceDirect , illustrates the ideal structure of an abstract. It has 155 words, it's concise, and it clearly shows the division of elements necessary to write a successful abstract.

This paper explores the implicit assumption in the growing body of literature that social media usage is fundamentally different in business-to-business (B2B) companies than in the extant business-to-consumer (B2C) literature. Sashi's (2012) customer engagement cycle is utilized to compare organizational practices in relation to social media marketing in B2B, B2C, Mixed B2B/B2C and B2B2C business models. Utilizing 449 responses to an exploratory panel based survey instrument, we clearly identify differences in social media usage and its perceived importance as a communications channel. In particular we identify distinct differences in the relationship between social media importance and the perceived effectiveness of social media marketing across business models. Our results indicate that B2B social media usage is distinct from B2C, Mixed and B2B2C business model approaches. Specifically B2B organizational members perceive social media to have a lower overall effectiveness as a channel and identify it as less important for relationship oriented usage than other business models.

The exact format of an abstract depends on the citation style you implement. Whether it’s a well-known style (like APA, IEEE, etc.) or a journal's style, each format has its own guidelines, so make sure you know which style you are using before writing your abstract.

APA is one of the most commonly used styles to format an abstract. Therefore, we created a guide with exact instructions on how to write an abstract in APA style, and a template to download:

📕 APA abstract page: format and template

Additionally, you will find below an IEEE and ASA abstract guide by Purdue Online Writing Lab :

📗 IEEE General Format - Abstract

📘 ASA Manuscript Formatting - Abstract

No. You should always write an abstract once you finish writing the whole paper. This way you can include all important aspects of the paper, such as scope, methodology, and conclusion.

The length of an abstract depends on the formatting style of the paper. For example, APA style calls for 150 to 250 words. Generally, you need between 150-300 words.

No. An abstract has an independent section after the title page and before the table of contents, and should not be included in the table of contents.

Take a look at APA abstract page: format and template for exact details on how to format an abstract in APA style.

You can access any paper through Google Scholar or any other search engine; pick a paper and read the abstract. Abstracts are always freely available to read.

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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 .    

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Writing an Abstract for a Research Paper: Guidelines, Examples, and Templates

There are six steps to writing a standard abstract. (1) Begin with a broad statement about your topic. Then, (2) state the problem or knowledge gap related to this topic that your study explores. After that, (3) describe what specific aspect of this problem you investigated, and (4) briefly explain how you went about doing this. After that, (5) describe the most meaningful outcome(s) of your study. Finally, (6) close your abstract by explaining the broad implication(s) of your findings.

In this article, I present step-by-step guidelines for writing an abstract for an academic paper. These guidelines are fo llowed by an example of a full abstract that follows these guidelines and a few fill-in-the-blank templates that you can use to write your own abstract.

Guidelines for Writing an Abstract

The basic structure of an abstract is illustrated below.

A standard abstract starts with a very general statement and becomes more specific with each sentence that follows until once again making a broad statement about the study’s implications at the end. Altogether, a standard abstract has six functions, which are described in detail below.

Start by making a broad statement about your topic.

The first sentence of your abstract should briefly describe a problem that is of interest to your readers. When writing this first sentence, you should think about who comprises your target audience and use terms that will appeal to this audience. If your opening sentence is too broad, it might lose the attention of potential readers because they will not know if your study is relevant to them.

Too broad : Maintaining an ideal workplace environment has a positive effect on employees.

The sentence above is so broad that it will not grab the reader’s attention. While it gives the reader some idea of the area of study, it doesn’t provide any details about the author’s topic within their research area. This can be fixed by inserting some keywords related to the topic (these are underlined in the revised example below).

Improved : Keeping the workplace environment at an ideal temperature positively affects the overall health of employees.

The revised sentence is much better, as it expresses two points about the research topic—namely, (i) what aspect of workplace environment was studied, (ii) what aspect of employees was observed. The mention of these aspects of the research will draw the attention of readers who are interested in them.

Describe the general problem that your paper addresses.

After describing your topic in the first sentence, you can then explain what aspect of this topic has motivated your research. Often, authors use this part of the abstract to describe the research gap that they identified and aimed to fill. These types of sentences are often characterized by the use of words such as “however,” “although,” “despite,” and so on.

However, a comprehensive understanding of how different workplace bullying experiences are associated with absenteeism is currently lacking.

The above example is typical of a sentence describing the problem that a study intends to tackle. The author has noticed that there is a gap in the research, and they briefly explain this gap here.

Although it has been established that quantity and quality of sleep can affect different types of task performance and personal health, the interactions between sleep habits and workplace behaviors have received very little attention.

The example above illustrates a case in which the author has accomplished two tasks with one sentence. The first part of the sentence (up until the comma) mentions the general topic that the research fits into, while the second part (after the comma) describes the general problem that the research addresses.

Express the specific problem investigated in your paper.

After describing the general problem that motivated your research, the next sentence should express the specific aspect of the problem that you investigated. Sentences of this type are often indicated by the use of phrases like “the purpose of this research is to,” “this paper is intended to,” or “this work aims to.”

Uninformative : However, a comprehensive understanding of how different workplace bullying experiences are associated with absenteeism is currently lacking. The present article aimed to provide new insights into the relationship between workplace bullying and absenteeism .

The second sentence in the above example is a mere rewording of the first sentence. As such, it adds nothing to the abstract. The second sentence should be more specific than the preceding one.

Improved : However, a comprehensive understanding of how different workplace bullying experiences are associated with absenteeism is currently lacking. The present article aimed to define various subtypes of workplace bullying and determine which subtypes tend to lead to absenteeism .

The second sentence of this passage is much more informative than in the previous example. This sentence lets the reader know exactly what they can expect from the full research article.

Explain how you attempted to resolve your study’s specific problem.

In this part of your abstract, you should attempt to describe your study’s methodology in one or two sentences. As such, you must be sure to include only the most important information about your method. At the same time, you must also be careful not to be too vague.

Too vague : We conducted multiple tests to examine changes in various factors related to well-being.

This description of the methodology is too vague. Instead of merely mentioning “tests” and “factors,” the author should note which specific tests were run and which factors were assessed.

Improved : Using data from BHIP completers, we conducted multiple one-way multivariate analyses of variance and follow-up univariate t-tests to examine changes in physical and mental health, stress, energy levels, social satisfaction, self-efficacy, and quality of life.

This sentence is very well-written. It packs a lot of specific information about the method into a single sentence. Also, it does not describe more details than are needed for an abstract.

Briefly tell the reader what you found by carrying out your study.

This is the most important part of the abstract—the other sentences in the abstract are there to explain why this one is relevant. When writing this sentence, imagine that someone has asked you, “What did you find in your research?” and that you need to answer them in one or two sentences.

Too vague : Consistently poor sleepers had more health risks and medical conditions than consistently optimal sleepers.

This sentence is okay, but it would be helpful to let the reader know which health risks and medical conditions were related to poor sleeping habits.

Improved : Consistently poor sleepers were more likely than consistently optimal sleepers to suffer from chronic abdominal pain, and they were at a higher risk for diabetes and heart disease.

This sentence is better, as the specific health conditions are named.

Finally, describe the major implication(s) of your study.

Most abstracts end with a short sentence that explains the main takeaway(s) that you want your audience to gain from reading your paper. Often, this sentence is addressed to people in power (e.g., employers, policymakers), and it recommends a course of action that such people should take based on the results.

Too broad : Employers may wish to make use of strategies that increase employee health.

This sentence is too broad to be useful. It does not give employers a starting point to implement a change.

Improved : Employers may wish to incorporate sleep education initiatives as part of their overall health and wellness strategies.

This sentence is better than the original, as it provides employers with a starting point—specifically, it invites employers to look up information on sleep education programs.

Abstract Example

The abstract produced here is from a paper published in Electronic Commerce Research and Applications . I have made slight alterations to the abstract so that this example fits the guidelines given in this article.

(1) Gamification can strengthen enjoyment and productivity in the workplace. (2) Despite this, research on gamification in the work context is still limited. (3) In this study, we investigated the effect of gamification on the workplace enjoyment and productivity of employees by comparing employees with leadership responsibilities to those without leadership responsibilities. (4) Work-related tasks were gamified using the habit-tracking game Habitica, and data from 114 employees were gathered using an online survey. (5) The results illustrated that employees without leadership responsibilities used work gamification as a trigger for self-motivation, whereas employees with leadership responsibilities used it to improve their health. (6) Work gamification positively affected work enjoyment for both types of employees and positively affected productivity for employees with leadership responsibilities. (7) Our results underline the importance of taking work-related variables into account when researching work gamification.

In Sentence (1), the author makes a broad statement about their topic. Notice how the nouns used (“gamification,” “enjoyment,” “productivity”) are quite general while still indicating the focus of the paper. The author uses Sentence (2) to very briefly state the problem that the research will address.

In Sentence (3), the author explains what specific aspects of the problem mentioned in Sentence (2) will be explored in the present work. Notice that the mention of leadership responsibilities makes Sentence (3) more specific than Sentence (2). Sentence (4) gets even more specific, naming the specific tools used to gather data and the number of participants.

Sentences (5) and (6) are similar, with each sentence describing one of the study’s main findings. Then, suddenly, the scope of the abstract becomes quite broad again in Sentence (7), which mentions “work-related variables” instead of a specific variable and “researching” instead of a specific kind of research.

Abstract Templates

Copy and paste any of the paragraphs below into a word processor. Then insert the appropriate information to produce an abstract for your research paper.

Template #1

Researchers have established that [Make a broad statement about your area of research.] . However, [Describe the knowledge gap that your paper addresses.] . The goal of this paper is to [Describe the purpose of your paper.] . The achieve this goal, we [Briefly explain your methodology.] . We found that [Indicate the main finding(s) of your study; you may need two sentences to do this.] . [Provide a broad implication of your results.] .

Template #2

It is well-understood that [Make a broad statement about your area of research.] . Despite this, [Describe the knowledge gap that your paper addresses.] . The current research aims to [Describe the purpose of your paper.] . To accomplish this, we [Briefly explain your methodology.] . It was discovered that [Indicate the main finding(s) of your study; you may need two sentences to do this.] . [Provide a broad implication of your results.] .

Template #3

Extensive research indicates that [Make a broad statement about your area of research.] . Nevertheless, [Describe the knowledge gap that your paper addresses.] . The present work is intended to [Describe the purpose of your paper.] . To this end, we [Briefly explain your methodology.] . The results revealed that [Indicate the main finding(s) of your study; you may need two sentences to do this.] . [Provide a broad implication of your results.] .

• How to Write an Abstract

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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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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 a good abstract for a scientific paper or conference presentation

Chittaranjan andrade.

Department of Psychopharmacology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, Karnataka, India

Abstracts of scientific papers are sometimes poorly written, often lack important information, and occasionally convey a biased picture. This paper provides detailed suggestions, with examples, for writing the background, methods, results, and conclusions sections of a good abstract. The primary target of this paper is the young researcher; however, authors with all levels of experience may find useful ideas in the paper.

INTRODUCTION

This paper is the third in a series on manuscript writing skills, published in the Indian Journal of Psychiatry . Earlier articles offered suggestions on how to write a good case report,[ 1 ] and how to read, write, or review a paper on randomized controlled trials.[ 2 , 3 ] The present paper examines how authors may write a good abstract when preparing their manuscript for a scientific journal or conference presentation. Although the primary target of this paper is the young researcher, it is likely that authors with all levels of experience will find at least a few ideas that may be useful in their future efforts.

The abstract of a paper is the only part of the paper that is published in conference proceedings. The abstract is the only part of the paper that a potential referee sees when he is invited by an editor to review a manuscript. The abstract is the only part of the paper that readers see when they search through electronic databases such as PubMed. Finally, most readers will acknowledge, with a chuckle, that when they leaf through the hard copy of a journal, they look at only the titles of the contained papers. If a title interests them, they glance through the abstract of that paper. Only a dedicated reader will peruse the contents of the paper, and then, most often only the introduction and discussion sections. Only a reader with a very specific interest in the subject of the paper, and a need to understand it thoroughly, will read the entire paper.

Thus, for the vast majority of readers, the paper does not exist beyond its abstract. For the referees, and the few readers who wish to read beyond the abstract, the abstract sets the tone for the rest of the paper. It is therefore the duty of the author to ensure that the abstract is properly representative of the entire paper. For this, the abstract must have some general qualities. These are listed in Table 1 .

General qualities of a good abstract

SECTIONS OF AN ABSTRACT

Although some journals still publish abstracts that are written as free-flowing paragraphs, most journals require abstracts to conform to a formal structure within a word count of, usually, 200–250 words. The usual sections defined in a structured abstract are the Background, Methods, Results, and Conclusions; other headings with similar meanings may be used (eg, Introduction in place of Background or Findings in place of Results). Some journals include additional sections, such as Objectives (between Background and Methods) and Limitations (at the end of the abstract). In the rest of this paper, issues related to the contents of each section will be examined in turn.

This section should be the shortest part of the abstract and should very briefly outline the following information:

• What is already known about the subject, related to the paper in question
• What is not known about the subject and hence what the study intended to examine (or what the paper seeks to present)

In most cases, the background can be framed in just 2–3 sentences, with each sentence describing a different aspect of the information referred to above; sometimes, even a single sentence may suffice. The purpose of the background, as the word itself indicates, is to provide the reader with a background to the study, and hence to smoothly lead into a description of the methods employed in the investigation.

Some authors publish papers the abstracts of which contain a lengthy background section. There are some situations, perhaps, where this may be justified. In most cases, however, a longer background section means that less space remains for the presentation of the results. This is unfortunate because the reader is interested in the paper because of its findings, and not because of its background.

A wide variety of acceptably composed backgrounds is provided in Table 2 ; most of these have been adapted from actual papers.[ 4 – 9 ] Readers may wish to compare the content in Table 2 with the original abstracts to see how the adaptations possibly improve on the originals. Note that, in the interest of brevity, unnecessary content is avoided. For instance, in Example 1 there is no need to state “The antidepressant efficacy of desvenlafaxine (DV), a dual-acting antidepressant drug , has been established…” (the unnecessary content is italicized).

Examples of the background section of an abstract

The methods section is usually the second-longest section in the abstract. It should contain enough information to enable the reader to understand what was done, and how. Table 3 lists important questions to which the methods section should provide brief answers.

Questions regarding which information should ideally be available in the methods section of an abstract

Carelessly written methods sections lack information about important issues such as sample size, numbers of patients in different groups, doses of medications, and duration of the study. Readers have only to flip through the pages of a randomly selected journal to realize how common such carelessness is.

Table 4 presents examples of the contents of accept-ably written methods sections, modified from actual publications.[ 10 , 11 ] Readers are invited to take special note of the first sentence of each example in Table 4 ; each is packed with detail, illustrating how to convey the maximum quantity of information with maximum economy of word count.

Examples of the methods section of an abstract

The results section is the most important part of the abstract and nothing should compromise its range and quality. This is because readers who peruse an abstract do so to learn about the findings of the study. The results section should therefore be the longest part of the abstract and should contain as much detail about the findings as the journal word count permits. For example, it is bad writing to state “Response rates differed significantly between diabetic and nondiabetic patients.” A better sentence is “The response rate was higher in nondiabetic than in diabetic patients (49% vs 30%, respectively; P <0.01).”

Important information that the results should present is indicated in Table 5 . Examples of acceptably written abstracts are presented in Table 6 ; one of these has been modified from an actual publication.[ 11 ] Note that the first example is rather narrative in style, whereas the second example is packed with data.

Information that the results section of the abstract should ideally present

Examples of the results section of an abstract

CONCLUSIONS

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 outcome measure; however, other important or unexpected findings should also be mentioned. It is also customary, but not essential, for the authors 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
• The additional findings of importance
• The perspective

Despite its necessary brevity, this section has the most impact on the average reader because readers generally trust authors and take their assertions at face value. For this reason, the conclusions should also be scrupulously honest; and authors should not claim more than their data demonstrate. Hypothetical examples of the conclusions section of an abstract are presented in Table 7 .

Examples of the conclusions section of an abstract

MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS

Citation of references anywhere within an abstract is almost invariably inappropriate. Other examples of unnecessary content in an abstract are listed in Table 8 .

Examples of unnecessary content in a abstract

It goes without saying that whatever is present in the abstract must also be present in the text. Likewise, whatever errors should not be made in the text should not appear in the abstract (eg, mistaking association for causality).

As already mentioned, the abstract is the only part of the paper that the vast majority of readers see. Therefore, it is critically important for authors to ensure that their enthusiasm or bias does not deceive the reader; unjustified speculations could be even more harmful. Misleading readers could harm the cause of science and have an adverse impact on patient care.[ 12 ] A recent study,[ 13 ] for example, concluded that venlafaxine use during the second trimester of pregnancy may increase the risk of neonates born small for gestational age. However, nowhere in the abstract did the authors mention that these conclusions were based on just 5 cases and 12 controls out of the total sample of 126 cases and 806 controls. There were several other serious limitations that rendered the authors’ conclusions tentative, at best; yet, nowhere in the abstract were these other limitations expressed.

As a parting note: Most journals provide clear instructions to authors on the formatting and contents of different parts of the manuscript. These instructions often include details on what the sections of an abstract should contain. Authors should tailor their abstracts to the specific requirements of the journal to which they plan to submit their manuscript. It could also be an excellent idea to model the abstract of the paper, sentence for sentence, on the abstract of an important paper on a similar subject and with similar methodology, published in the same journal for which the manuscript is slated.

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How to Write an Abstract for a Research Paper: Writing Guide & Examples

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An  abstract is a brief summary of a research paper that is usually between 150 and 250 words in length. The purpose of the abstract is to provide a concise overview of the research paper's main questions, scope, methodology, findings, and conclusions. The abstract is usually located at the beginning of the paper, after the title page and before the main body of the text. It serves as a preview, and can be useful for readers who want to quickly determine whether the paper is relevant to their interests.

This guide describes all the key parts of this crucial segment and demonstrates how to write an abstract for a research paper . Research abstract examples and tips are also offered to help you create this section effectively.

What Is an Abstract in a Research Paper?

First, let’s cover what is an abstract in research. A research paper abstract is a synopsis of your full study. Specifically, writing an abstract involves extracting the main aspects of your work in a given order. These components include your study purpose and study questions, design, main findings, interpretation, and conclusion. Based on this summary, readers will decide whether to look at the rest of your project. Hence, you must include sufficient key information as this makes the abstract of a research paper useful to your audience or professor. To determine if you have included adequate data, imagine yourself as a researcher conducting an investigation. Consider an abstract as the only section, and think about how much information you provided. Are you satisfied with it? Does it describe your study adequately? Revise your writing accordingly. But don’t be confused. An abstract is a self-contained text, not a part of a research paper introduction . Remember that scientific paper abstracts must highlight your manuscript’s selling point and lure a reader to go through it.  At first, it may sound difficult. But this guide will reveal every essential writing step. Alternatively, you can also contact StudyCrumb and pay to write research paper to avoid any further individual work.

What Is the Purpose of an Abstract?

The aforementioned definition demonstrates why abstract writing is important. Nevertheless, it is also necessary to understand the purpose of an abstract in a research paper. Well-written abstracts serve multiple objectives. For example, they communicate your key findings and allow readers to make an informed decision about how relevant your article is based on their interests and whether they should consider it. Reading an abstract of a scientific paper also prepares reviewers to grasp the key points and follow your detailed points and analyses. Another purpose of an abstract is for classification. Online libraries or journal databases, and search engines use abstracts for indexing published works. This allows users to retrieve what they are looking for quickly rather than reading full texts. Thus, a good abstract must include several key terms that potential readers would use for searching, as this makes discovering your work easy.

How Long Is an Abstract?

An abstract is perhaps the only section of your manuscript that is limited regarding how many words you can use. In general, it is usually limited to 150 and 300 words. However, for research paper abstract, most guidelines stick to the range of 200 and 250 words both for simple or small manuscripts and specific types of papers such as theses or dissertations. This restriction should not be exceeded no matter what. However, how long your abstract can be is influenced by the assignment instructions. Thus, it is essential to comply with any guidelines about the abstract length.

What Makes a Good Abstract for a Research Paper?

While the length aspect is vital, it is also essential to write a good abstract. This entails providing an honest and complete synopsis of your work through a coherent flow of ideas. An abstract in a paper should also be self-contained without the need for readers to peruse other parts for further information. Therefore, knowing how to write an effective abstract for a research paper can make a difference. Here are elements that make a good abstract for a research paper:

• Use one finely written, concise, and coherent paragraph that stands individually as an information unit.
• Add all the basic academic features of your manuscript, including background, objective, focus, method, findings/results, and conclusion.
• Do not write about information not covered in your document.
• Ensure the section is understandable to a wide audience and your subject-specific readers.
• Focus on issues instead of people.
• Develop it with the language of your main paper in a simple format for general readers.
• Put it just after your title page.

When to Write an Abstract?

Lengthy texts such as scholarly manuscripts usually require students to write an abstract section. You might also need to write an abstract for a scientific paper when:

• Submitting reports to journals for publication or peer review.
• Working on a book chapter proposal.
• Applying for research grants.
• Completing conference paper proposals.
• Composing book proposals.
• Writing theses or dissertations.

For undergraduates, you may be required to include an abstract in a research paper for others who have not read your main manuscript. Regardless of the type of work you are dealing with, it is necessary to draft your abstract after completing writing, as this enhances accuracy and conformity with other segments of a report.

What to Include in an Abstract of a Research Paper?

Another crucial aspect that you must consider is the structure of an abstract. Good abstracts are well-organized, which makes them more informative. Scientific guidelines emphasize the IMRad format as a standard way of unifying this section. The parts of an abstract in a research paper based on this system consist of: 

Introduction

• Discussion.

Do not forget to balance all your sections properly regarding methods included under each heading. Using this setup allows you to write a helpful, concise, and easy-to-understand abstract of a paper. Nonetheless, some  instructions may necessitate additional subheadings, particularly works such as clinical trials, observational studies, case studies, and meta-analyses. Hence, you should be attentive to your task requirements.

Sounds like you'll need lots of time to do it all properly? Use the best college paper writing service to avoid any trouble.

As the first section, an introduction reveals to readers what your work is about. Consequently, you should know how to start an abstract by writing a good beginning segment. Here, describe the scope, question/hypothesis, main objectives, and rationale for your study. In most cases, you can frame this part in 2-3 sentences. Each of them should describe a specific point to maximize word use. The introduction to an abstract part of a paper offers a background to your investigation, which should smoothly lead to an explanation of the methods that were used. Be careful here because writing an abstract for a research paper containing a lengthy introduction takes up space for other important sections. This affects the quality of an abstract in a scientific paper. Therefore, ensure that you provide brief, specific, and relevant information that keeps readers interested. Look at this example of an abstract introduction:

The present study explored the effect of technology in enhancing employment opportunities today. The benefits of technology have been examined in exploratory and descriptive studies. Nevertheless, no study has considered how technology increases employment opportunities.

Here are some more examples of how to begin your abstract. 

Methodology in research is usually the second longest part of your abstract paragraph. The focus here is on providing adequate information about what you did and how. Specifically, give essential facts about your study design, setting, sample, data collection and analysis instruments, measures, and parameters. The methodology part is vital as you write the abstract section of a research paper because it helps in verifying your manuscript’s credibility. An editor will ignore an abstract missing a methods section or that does not have a clear explanation. Therefore, practice caution and professionalism when writing this unit by including enough details and conveying the maximum quantity of information with few words. If you are unsure of how to organize this segment, consider this example of a good abstract methodology:

This study used a qualitative exploratory design in which data was collected from existing studies and documents. A sample of 120 peer-reviewed works and documents were analyzed using an interpretive paradigm.

This section is about what you found after conducting your research. It is an indispensable and longest part of a research abstract because anyone reading intends to gain insights into your study findings or which data your investigation uncovered. Therefore, avoid compromising its quality by ensuring that you include as much factual information about your results as the word count allows. Drafting the results of an abstract for research papers is not easy. However, the details you should express here include the number of participants, outcomes of your analysis, and actual data such as numbers or mean, etc. Remember to be descriptive and prioritize fresh and substantiated findings contradicting previous studies. Also, indicate any limitations regarding your results’ reliability and accuracy. Look at this sample abstract results:

Nine studies did not meet the research criteria and were excluded. An analysis of the remaining 91 studies revealed five major themes, including ease of skills acquisition, work-at-home opportunities, globalization, digital marketing, and increased networking.

This is a part of the abstract structure where you divulge what readers can take home from your work or what your results mean based on how you interpreted the issue. Use a few but precise sentences to highlight the findings relating to what your study was about. You should also mention any unexpected or important outcomes. Additionally, you can offer a personal judgment regarding the practical or theoretical implications of your results or how significant they are for the study field as a whole. While conclusions are very short parts of an abstract, they are the most impactful on average audiences since readers usually believe authors and consider their views reliable. For this reason, ensure that you are honest when writing an abstract in research by limiting your claims to what your data exposes. Here is an example of a scientific abstract conclusion:

Technology has a positive effect on employment as it creates more job opportunities through remote work. It also enables people from any part of the world to learn essential skills, which enhances their job prospects.

Check our guide on creating a concluding section if you want to know more information on how to write a conclusion for a research paper .

An abstract for research paper must also contain a range of keywords. These are important words or phrases that act as search terms for finding your work quickly. Therefore, in addition to knowing how to write an abstract for a research paper and what to write in an abstract, you should understand how to include useful keywords that capture essential aspects of your manuscript. Think about how you can find your work online. Which words or a combination of them will be typed in a search box? You should use those terms. Acronyms such as OCD, meaning obsessive-compulsive disorder, may also be included. While you are not limited regarding the number of keywords to be used, it is recommended to include 3-5 keywords. Keep in mind that the research abstract format for keywords is a separate line beginning with an indention, like a paragraph below your abstract. Indicate it by italicizing the word Keywords followed by a colon and space look like this:

Keywords: international marketing, globalization, medium-size businesses, B2B, adaptation.

Do not italicize your terms.

How to Write a Research Paper Abstract Step-By-Step

Shrinking a manuscript that you have prepared for several days, weeks, or months into a 300-word paragraph can be challenging when preparing the abstract. However, you can follow specific tricks on how to write an abstract for a paper to address the difficulty. Before you begin, you must consider the instructions provided carefully concerning aspects such as spacing, fonts, word limit, and subheadings. In this section, you will learn how to write a good abstract for a research paper step by step.

1. Explain Your Research Purpose

Students usually start an abstract for a research paper by identifying the study's purpose. Here is where you consider the reasons for conducting your research. For example, if your study problem is about technology and employment, so what? Why should readers care about your topic? In this part of the abstract, you can describe what was solved or why you feel your topic is relevant. Use this section to inform readers about your key argument, as it helps in generating a good abstract for a research paper. Remember to be descriptive by explaining the difficulties of your topic or gaps in knowledge you will address and how your investigation will affect the issue. Consider triggers such as why you conducted your research, how you performed it, what you found, the significance of your study and its results, and why others should read your paper.

2. Define a Research Problem

The next step towards writing a good abstract involves explaining the central issue or problem statement behind your investigation or that your paper addresses. Remember, you first identified your purpose, so build on that by focusing on one key problem. Abstracts for scientific papers usually include this section to demonstrate the scope of a manuscript. Avoid using too much jargon here by making it easy for your readers to see your main message. If your abstract does not include the primary question, then you do not understand why you are conducting your study. Remember that when writing a research abstract, your purpose and problem form the backbone of the work. Thus, do not leave this step until you have one concise study problem.

3. Introduce Your Research Approach

After identifying your research problem, you now need to explain how you addressed it in this part of an academic abstract. In other words, how did you conduct your study following your key problem? When writing an abstract for a paper, let your audience know what you did exactly to get to the findings. Abstract in research paper may include approaches such as experimentation, case study, document analysis, or simulation. You must also highlight the extent of a manuscript, such as how many documents were analyzed and which variables were used. While this section of an abstract for a paper may require a long sentence, ensure that anyone can read it without needing to pause in the middle.

4. Discuss Results

After clarifying your approach, your study abstract must disclose what was found. What is the solution to your research problem? Did you confirm your hypothesis? Remember to be direct, detailed, and clear. Specifically, writing a scientific abstract requires that you describe your results in exact numbers or percentages. This allows you to create an abstract of research paper that cannot be misinterpreted easily. Also, avoid vague words such as “significant”, “large”, “very”, or “small.” In this section, an abstract in a research paper should not include exaggerations or create expectations that your manuscript cannot fulfill. Rather, the focus should be on your most important findings to engage readers. However, do not attempt to fit all your results in this part.

5. Wrap Up Your Scientific Paper Abstract

You should also conclude an abstract after completing the aforementioned steps. This enables you to finish up a research paper abstract and end it. Here, describe what your results mean and why your overall work is important. Mention what the answer to your research problem implies and identify if it is specific or general. For example, are your results generalizable to a wider population or selected groups? When creating an abstract, describe why your readers should care about your results rather than re-stating the findings. What can people do with your study? As stated previously, an abstract is a brief summary in the beginning of a research paper or any other scientific work. Read our guide on how to write an abstract for a research paper and how to structure it for more explanation.

Research Paper Abstract Examples

As you can see, constructing an abstract is not difficult if you follow the above-mentioned steps. You can now compose your own one easily. Nonetheless, if you are still confused or unsure whether you are on the right path, feel free to look at different examples of an abstract for a research paper. You can also consider these three examples of abstracts in research papers and use one of them as a draft for your work. Need a research proposal example ? You will find it in one more blog on our platform. Research paper abstract example 1

Abstract page example 2

Example of an abstract for a research paper 3

Research Paper Abstract Format

Another important consideration is complying with the specified abstract writing format to avoid any confusion on how this section should be completed. Your layout depends on the citation style being used. Specifically, the main styles, such as APA, MLA, and Chicago, have individual rules regarding how to format an abstract in a research paper. However, to make it simple, an abstract template is usually provided to help you with the organization. In general, observe and stick to your paper’s requirements.

Extra Tips for Writing an Abstract

Writing an abstract for a research paper should not be a complex process. You already have a good idea about how to make an abstract after reading the previous sections. Remember that writing this segment is an essential part of your work because it prefaces the entire manuscript. Still, it is usually the last segment of your project to be written, which means that you should summarize your research easily. However, this can be a daunting undertaking for some students. Below are additional abstract writing tips and guidelines to help you.

Draw Inspiration From Research Paper Abstracts Examples

Even if you follow this article’s guidelines, without writing practice, it can be difficult to create good abstracts. Therefore, if you are still struggling to write, you can draw inspiration from sample abstracts. These can be found in peer-reviewed articles or course books in your school library or from online databases. Focus on samples from your study field e.g., science abstracts examples if you are into the sciences or those for social sciences if it is your field. Seek assistance from your professor to ensure that you consider a good abstract paper example. Another option is reading how to write an abstract example segment, as this offers you a quick refresher on composing abstracts.

Prepare an Abstract Outline

It is also essential to write a research abstract outline if you have not done so already. Creating an outline will help you write your actual abstract paper efficiently. Make sure to place your key argument at the top before reading each subheading of your manuscript as a starting point. Write one-sentence summaries of your main sections as you read in the order that they appear in your work. Also, do not forget to summarize your conclusion. What goes in an abstract, however, is limited. For example, the literature review cannot be included. Rather, you can state in a sentence how your work fits into the wider academic discourse.

Write Abstract From the Ground Up

While your abstract is a synopsis, you should write it from scratch and as a completely different part of your manuscript. Copying and pasting quotes or paraphrasing sentences should be avoided. Use new phrases and vocabulary instead when writing this section to keep it engaging and free of redundant words or sentences. Read how to write abstract for research paper for more clarification about what you should include.

Make Your Research Abstract Concise

Ensure that your research paper abstract is clear, concise, and coherent. It should be no more than 200-250 words. If it is longer, cut it down where necessary. Since readers just want to get the overall view of your claim, you can exclude unimportant information and construct brief sentences. This is how to write a paper abstract:

• Include essential information found in the paper only
• No exaggerations or inclusion of new ideas
• No use of abbreviations that are found only in the body because the abstract should be self-contained
• No dwelling on previous studies since this is a synopsis of your report.

Mistakes to Avoid When You Write an Abstract for a Research Paper

Even if you know how to write research abstract, check it several times to ensure that what you included agrees with your manuscript content completely. Avoid these common mistakes:

• Research paper abstracts should not include catchy phrases or quotes focused on grabbing your readers’ attention.
• Do not use direct acronyms because they require further explanation to help readers understand.
• Citing other studies is not needed.
• Do not use confusing/unnecessary terms or obscure jargon, as the general audience may not understand them.
• A scientific paper abstract should not be too specific. Rather, consider a wider overview of your paper.
• Do not include long quotations, figures, or tables. They take up precious space, and your audience does not need them.

Bottom Line on How to Write a Research Abstract

This guide discussed extensively how to write the abstract of a research paper. Reaching this section means that you now understand what is an abstract in writing. The article also provided several abstract writing examples to help you grasp the described ideas. It is your turn now to develop a nice abstract by applying what you have learned. Do not fret if you are still confused or cannot recall some points. You can just re-read a section to fully understand all concepts.

Our professional writers can compose a top-notch abstract or any other section of a research paper. You can also easily ask for comprehensive assistance with any task and get excellent work strictly according to your deadlines.

FAQ About How to Write an Abstract

1. what is an abstract.

An abstract is a takeaway from your research. Specifically, abstracts are standalone sections that describe an issue, techniques utilized in exploring the issue, and the outcome of these procedures. While each study field specifies what to include in this section, it should be a concise synopsis of your work.

2. Where does an abstract go in a research paper?

Place your research paper abstract at the beginning of your work immediately after a title page and before your table of contents. However, some manuscripts have an acknowledgments section. Here, your abstract appears after that part. It should also be on its page and in a single paragraph.

3. Do you write an abstract first or last?

Even though it appears at the top of your work, ensure that you write an abstract last after completing your research paper since it involves abstracting contents from your manuscript. This allows you to align this section with other parts, such as the title, introduction, and background.

4. Do I need to cite references in a research paper abstract?

It is usually inappropriate to include any reference within abstracts because this section should demonstrate original research. The abstract of a research paper must include a description of what you did in your paper, what you argued, and what you found. You will cite specific sources in your manuscript’s body.

5. What should not be included in an abstract?

These are what you shouldn’t include in the abstract of a research paper:

• Long sentences
• Excessive details or lengthy contextual information
• Filler words, redundant phrases, and repetitive information
• Incomplete sentences
• New information not found within your main text.

6. What tense should I use when writing an abstract?

Write an abstract using active voice. However, a substantial part of this segment may need passive sentences. Nonetheless, use concise and complete sentences when writing your abstract. Specifically, get to your point quickly and focus mostly on the past tense since you are reporting completed research.

Joe Eckel is an expert on Dissertations writing. He makes sure that each student gets precious insights on composing A-grade academic writing.

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Scholars often write abstracts for various applications: conference presentations may require an abstract or other short summary for a program; journal articles almost always require abstracts; invited talks and lectures are often advertised using an abstract. While the application may necessarily change the length of the abstract (a conference program may only allow for 50-75 words, for instance), the purpose and structure remains fairly constant.

Abstracts are generally kept brief (approximately 150-200 words). They differ by field, but in general, they need to summarize the article so that readers can decide if it is relevant to their work. The typical abstract includes these elements:

• A statement of the problem and objectives
• A statement of the significance of the work
• A summary of employed methods or your research approach
• A summary of findings or conclusions of the study
• A description of the implications of the findings

Regardless of field, abstract authors should explain the purpose of the work, methods used, the results and the conclusions that can be drawn. However, each field purports slightly different ways to structure the abstract. A reliable strategy is to write the abstract as a condensed version of your article, with 1-2 sentences summarizing each major section. This means that in many of the sciences and a large portion of the humanities, abstracts follow a version of the IMRAD structure: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion.

Most scientific journals require authors to submit such abstracts. It is generally advisable to write the abstract in the English language. That is because most papers in other languages, especially Asian nations, tend to publish an English abstract with common search engines, such as, the MLA site.

Example Abstract

This example abstract follows the IMRAD structure closely. The first two sentences are the introduction and background information. Sentences 3-5 describe the methods used in the study. Sentence 6 summarizes the results, while the last two sentences summarize the discussion and conclusion of the study; they also indicate the significance of the results.

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Research of Model Characteristics based on Probability Statistics Method for Condition Evaluation of Hydropower Unit

• Cao, Dengfeng

The paper introduces the condition evaluation method of hydropower unit based on the health sample with the long time and massive condition monitoring data. By analysing the probability statistics characteristics of units' status data, it designs the unit operating condition model, and makes the statistics analysis for two-dimension model, which consists of the unit feature value and single influence factor such as water head or active power, furthermore, it built and analyses the three-dimension condition model to get the different influence result by comparing the multi-dimension models. The statistical characteristics of unit operating condition model obtained can be the foundation and basis for implement of hydropower unit health condition evaluation.

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• Open access
• Published: 24 June 2024

Transcriptomic analysis of intestine following administration of a transglutaminase 2 inhibitor to prevent gluten-induced intestinal damage in celiac disease

• Valeriia Dotsenko   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0336-0533 1 ,
• Bernhard Tewes 2 ,
• Martin Hils   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5400-3600 3 ,
• Ralf Pasternack 3 ,
• Jorma Isola   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0849-5939 4 , 5 ,
• Juha Taavela   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3948-9555 1 , 6 ,
• Alina Popp 1 , 7 ,
• Jani Sarin 5 ,
• Heini Huhtala 8 ,
• Pauliina Hiltunen 9 ,
• Timo Zimmermann 2 ,
• Ralf Mohrbacher   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4976-3629 2 ,
• Roland Greinwald 2 ,
• Knut E. A. Lundin   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1713-5545 10 , 11 ,
• Detlef Schuppan   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4972-1293 12 , 13 ,
• Markku Mäki   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5053-3794 1 ,
• Keijo Viiri   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7167-5094 1 &

CEC-3 Investigators

Nature Immunology ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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• Coeliac disease

Transglutaminase 2 (TG2) plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of celiac disease (CeD) by deamidating dietary gluten peptides, which facilitates antigenic presentation and a strong anti-gluten T cell response. Here, we elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying the efficacy of the TG2 inhibitor ZED1227 by performing transcriptional analysis of duodenal biopsies from individuals with CeD on a long-term gluten-free diet before and after a 6-week gluten challenge combined with 100 mg per day ZED1227 or placebo. At the transcriptome level, orally administered ZED1227 effectively prevented gluten-induced intestinal damage and inflammation, providing molecular-level evidence that TG2 inhibition is an effective strategy for treating CeD. ZED1227 treatment preserved transcriptome signatures associated with mucosal morphology, inflammation, cell differentiation and nutrient absorption to the level of the gluten-free diet group. Nearly half of the gluten-induced gene expression changes in CeD were associated with the epithelial interferon-γ response. Moreover, data suggest that deamidated gluten-induced adaptive immunity is a sufficient step to set the stage for CeD pathogenesis. Our results, with the limited sample size, also suggest that individuals with CeD might benefit from an HLA-DQ2 / HLA-DQ8 stratification based on gene doses to maximally eliminate the interferon-γ-induced mucosal damage triggered by gluten.

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Microbiota in health and diseases

Gluten-containing cereals are essential foods worldwide. However, in up to 2% of individuals 1 , the ingestion of dietary gluten results in an abnormal immune response in the small intestine and the development of celiac disease (CeD). Predisposing genotypes (human leukocyte antigen (HLA), for example, HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 ) are necessary but not sufficient for the manifestation of CeD. Diarrhea, weight loss and malnutrition are classical bowel-related symptoms and signs of CeD, but anemia, osteoporosis and other autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes, are also frequent manifestations 2 , 3 , 4 .

Currently, a gluten-free diet (GFD) is the only accepted treatment option for individuals with CeD. However, the life-long strict and restrictive GFD is onerous and difficult to follow, and inadvertent gluten ingestion is common 5 , 6 , resulting in ongoing symptoms in nearly 50% of treated individuals 7 , 8 . Keeping the GFD also has a big impact on quality of life 9 . Inadvertent gluten ingestion often leads to ongoing duodenal mucosal injury, with inflammation and morphological changes 10 . Thus, even individuals on a GFD frequently have nutrient imbalances and deficiencies 11 , 12 . We have shown that despite having normal duodenal histomorphology, individuals with CeD on a GFD differ from individuals without CeD on the molecular level and display insufficient expression of micronutrient transporter genes 13 . Thus, adjunctive pharmacological therapy, together with a strict GFD, is needed to efficiently treat CeD.

The CeD autoantigen transglutaminase 2 (TG2) is expressed in the intestine, where it deamidates certain neutral glutamine residues to negatively charged glutamic acid residues in immunogenic gluten peptides 14 , 15 , 16 . These modified gluten peptides are more efficiently presented by HLA-DQ2 or HLA-DQ8 molecules on mucosal antigen-presenting cells, which leads to the activation and expansion of gluten-specific CD4 + type 1 helper T cells and the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines 17 , 18 . Eventually, this process leads to villus atrophy, crypt hyperplasia and the production of TG2 IgA.

TG2, being crucial for CeD pathogenesis, is a pertinent target for therapy, and this approach was recently tested in a phase 2, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-finding gluten challenge trial using the oral TG2 inhibitor ZED1227 (ref. 19 ). In this phase 2 trial, ZED1227 attenuated gluten-induced duodenal mucosal injury, both morphological deterioration and inflammation, and improved symptoms and quality of life scores in individuals with CeD 19 . Here, we report the results of the molecular histomorphometry assessment of ZED1227 efficacy along with intestinal mucosal transcriptomic analysis. Moreover, as the gene dose of HLA-DQ2 was shown to influence the severity of CeD 20 , 21 , we analyzed the efficacy parameters of ZED1227 relative to the HLA-DQ2 gene dose.

ZED1227 prevents gluten-induced transcriptomic changes

Duodenal biopsies were collected from 58 individuals with CeD before (GFD) and after a 6-week gluten challenge combined with treatment with 100 mg of the TG2 inhibitor ZED1227 per day (postgluten challenge drug (PGCd); n  = 34) or placebo (PGC placebo (PGCp); n  = 24). RNA extracted from the 116 biopsy samples was subjected to transcriptomic next-generation sequencing (NGS) analysis.

Principal component analysis (PCA) performed on all samples using DESeq2-transformed counts of all genes showed a moderate level of separation between groups (GFD drug (GFDd), GFD placebo (GFDp), PGCd and PGCp; Fig. 1a ). The PGCp group was clearly discernible, whereas the GFDd, GFDp and PGCd groups tended to cluster closer together. There was a clear cosegregation of transcriptomic profiles and mucosal morphology. Thus, a ratio of villus height to crypt depth (VH:CrD) of <1.2 separated from VH:CrD of ≥1.2 and overlapped with PGCp in the PCA (Fig. 1a ). A comparison of the PGCp versus GFDp groups detected 95 differentially expressed genes (DEGs; Fig. 1b,c ). Strikingly, only one DEG was detected when the GFDd group was compared to the PGCd group, whereas the comparison of the PGCp and PGCd groups indicated 180 DEGs (Fig. 1b,c and Supplementary Data 1 ).

a , PCA plot using DESeq2-transformed counts for all samples ( n  = 115). Green, dark green, violet and orange circles correspond to GFDd ( n  = 34), GFDp ( n  = 24), PGCd ( n  = 34), and PGCp ( n  = 23) samples, respectively. Yellow, blue and red shaded areas depict samples with a high (H; >2.5), medium (M; 1.2–2.5) and low (L; <1.2) range of VH:CrD, respectively. b , Table showing the number of DEGs (log 2  (FC) ≥ | 0.5 | and false discovery rate (FDR) ≤ 0.05) in the indicated comparisons. c , Volcano plot representations comparing DEGs as indicated. The green dots indicate DEGs (FDR ≤ 0.05) above the threshold (log 2  (FC) of ≥0.5 and ≤−0.5). The dashed horizontal line represents the FDR threshold of 0.05, and the vertical dashed lines represent the log 2  (FC) thresholds (≥| 0.5 |). d , Venn diagram illustrating the number of DEGs that are shared in the PGCp versus PGCd and PGCp versus GFDp comparisons. e , Correlation profile of all detected gene ( n  = 10,063) log 2  (FC) values between PGCp and GFDp and PGCp and PGCd comparisons. f , Pearson’s pairwise correlation heat map analyses of 220 DEGs visualizing the cross-correlations of the transcriptomic profiles of the samples (total n  = 115; GFDd n  = 34; GFDp n  = 24; PGCd n  = 34; PGCp n  = 23). Samples are organized in the ranking order of increasing VH:CrD ratio (indicated in the scatter charts above the heat map).

Source data

Because treating participants with ZED1227 eliminated the gluten-induced gene expression changes entirely, it can be assumed that the majority of the DEGs in the PGCp versus GFDp and PGCp versus PGCd comparisons were shared. Indeed, 56 of 95 (59%) DEGs after the gluten challenge were also differentially expressed, according to the comparison of the PGCp and PGCd groups (Fig. 1d ). This analysis suggests that a significant number of genes were ‘uniquely’ differentially expressed after gluten challenge (39 of 95) and between the PGCd and PGCp groups (124 of 180; Fig. 1d ). Closer inspection of both ‘uniquely expressed’ DEGs revealed that they were not uniquely differentially expressed in PGCd but, to an extent, were equivalent to those expressed in the GFD group, although this was not sufficiently statistically significant (for example, due to inadequate log (fold change) (FC) or expression level), relative to the PGCp group (Supplementary Fig. 1 ). When all detected gene log 2  (FC) values from the PGCp versus GFDp comparison were compared to those from the PGCp versus PGCd comparison, there was a positive correlation, suggesting a similar pattern of gene expression changes in both groups (Fig. 1e ). Accordingly, a Pearson’s pairwise correlation heat map analysis with the 220 selected genes showed that the GFDd, GFDp and PGCd groups had similar features, whereas the PGCp group significantly differed from all groups (Fig. 1f ). Similar to the results in Fig. 1a , ranking samples according to VH:CrD ratio made it evident that individuals with the most severe mucosal damage, that is, the lowest VH:CrD ratio, had a very different transcriptomic profile (Fig. 1f ).

ZED1227 sustains molecularly assessed intestinal functions

An analysis of the expression data of the 95 DEGs individually after the gluten challenge in the placebo group showed that the expression levels correlated with the VH:CrD ratio (Fig. 2a ). Reactome enrichment analysis showed that genes involved in the cellular response to interferon (IFN) signaling, both type 1 (IFNα/IFNβ) and type 2 (IFNγ), were upregulated and overrepresented in the gluten-induced gene expression profile (Fig. 2b , left, and Supplementary Data 2 ). Transcription motif analyses also indicated that genes harboring motifs for transcription factors transducing IFN signaling (for example, STAT1, RELA and IRF1) were significantly present (Supplementary Fig. 2 ). Notably, a reactome enrichment comparison of the DEGs in the PGCp versus PGCd groups revealed that the type 2 IFNγ signaling term was no longer statistically significant (Fig. 2b , right, and Supplementary Data 2 ). Similarly, the Gene Ontology term analyses showed that IFN-mediated inflammatory signaling was enriched in the gluten-induced gene expression profile (Fig. 2c and Supplementary Data 2 ).

a , Heat map of the 95 DEGs in the PGCp versus GFDp comparison. Samples are ordered by increasing VH:CrD ratio, as depicted in the scatter charts above the heat map (GFDd n  = 34; GFDp n  = 24; PGCd n  = 34; PGCp n  = 23). Genes are clustered according to Gene Ontology annotation. The z -score of normalized expression is plotted; OBP, other biological processes. b , Bar plot showing enriched Reactome terms of DEGs in the PGCp group relative to the GFDp and PGCd groups. Enriched terms were determined by overrepresentation analysis. P values were calculated by hypergeometric distribution (one-tailed test) and adjusted for multiple testing using the Benjamini–Hochberg method. Reactome terms with an FDR of <0.05 (–log 10  (FDR) > 1.3) were considered enriched. Green and gray dots denote significant and nonsignificant FDRs, respectively. c , Bar plots showing Gene Ontology biological process overrepresentation of DEGs in the PGCp group relative to the GFDp and PGCd groups. A Fisher’s exact overrepresentation test (one tailed) was used to find enriched categories. The obtained P values were adjusted for multiple testing using the Benjamini–Hochberg method. Gene Ontology terms with an FDR of <0.05 (–log 10  (FDR) > 1.3) were considered enriched. Green and gray dots denote significant and nonsignificant FDRs, respectively. d , GSZ score analyses were performed for categories including transit-amplifying cells, mature enterocytes, immune cells and duodenal transporters and are presented as box plots, with center lines representing the median, the box boundaries representing the interquartile range and the whiskers representing the minimum and maximum values. Values from individual participants are shown (GFDd + p n  = 58; PGCd n  = 34; PGCp n  = 23). GSZ scores were compared among groups using asymptotic P value estimation, with statistical significance defined as a P value of <0.05 (transit-amplifying cells: GFDd + p–PGCd P  = 0.3, PGCp–GFDd + p P  = 0.03, PGCd–PGCp P  = 0.004; mature enterocytes: GFDd + p–PGCd P  = 0.3, PGCp–GFDd + p P  = 0.005, PGCd–PGCp P  = 5.35 × 10 −4 ; immune cells: GFDd + p–PGCd P  = 0.73, PGCp–GFDd + p P  = 0.02, PGCd–PGCp P  = 0.03; duodenal transporters: GFDd + p–PGCd P  = 0.53, PGCp–GFDd + p P  = 0.02, PGCd–PGCp P  = 0.009).

As gluten challenge impairs enterocyte differentiation and absorptive functions and increases inflammation, we analyzed how ZED1227 protects these cellular processes. Gene sets were formed based on human duodenal single-cell RNA-sequencing data 22 . Gene set z (GSZ) scores 23 were calculated for each sample. Samples in the PGCd group demonstrated the same GSZ score levels in the categories of transit-amplifying cells, mature enterocytes, immune cells and duodenal transporters as samples in the pooled GFDd and GFDp groups (GFDd + p) group (Fig. 2d ). Importantly, the PGCp group was consistently significantly different from the PGCd group, indicating that ZED1277 efficiently sustained intestinal functions to a level similar to that observed in individuals in the GFDd + p group. Bulk RNA-sequencing deconvolution that used duodenal single-cell RNA-sequencing data as a reference revealed similar patterns in cell proportion distributions, like a decrease in enterocyte numbers accompanied with a small increase in stem and Paneth cell numbers in the PGCp group (Supplementary Fig. 3a,b ). At the same time, markers for cytotoxic intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) seemed to not be altered (except HLA-E) by placebo and drug treatment (Supplementary Fig. 3c ), probably because of underrepresentation of these cell types in biopsy samples.

ZED1227 can halt the IFNγ response

Reactome and Gene Ontology enrichment analyses (Fig. 2b,c ) indicated that IFN signaling was one of the most significantly affected pathways in the gluten challenge. Interestingly, a 100-mg dose of ZED1227 for 6 weeks seemed somewhat insufficient in decreasing the IFNγ response, at least according to the Reactome enrichment analysis (Fig. 2b ). We decided to set up an intestinal epithelium-specific IFNγ response gene set to assess how well ZED1227 could inhibit inflammation using an epithelial-specific IFNγ response as a gauge. Human intestinal organoids composed of pure intestinal epithelium were treated with IFNγ, and a DEG set was analyzed against the DEGs induced by gluten challenge. We found that nearly half (43 of 95) of the gluten-induced gene expression changes in CeD were associated with the epithelial response to IFNγ (Fig. 3a and Supplementary Data 3 ). The GSZ scores calculated based on these 43 genes showed that, on average, ZED1227 inhibited the epithelial IFNγ response, as participants in the PGCd group had significantly lower GSZ scores than participants in the PGCp group (Fig. 3b ). However, when the GSZ scores of the PGCd and GFDd + p groups were compared, there was a slight but statistically significant difference. This suggests that either there was a residual IFNγ response in all/many participants in the PGCd group or ZED1227 was not able to inhibit the IFNγ response completely in some individuals. When GSZ scores were calculated for each sample, it was evident that some individuals (4 of 34 participants in the PGCd group) still had an active epithelial IFNγ response even after the high-dose (100-mg) ZED1227 treatment for 6 weeks (Fig. 3c ).

a , Venn diagram of all DEGs in human duodenal organoids ( n  = 3) after a 24-h treatment with 100 U ml –1 IFNγ (violet sphere) and PGCp versus GFD (orange sphere) comparisons. b , GSZ score analyses for the epithelial IFNγ-related gene set (GFDd + p n  = 58; PGCd n  = 34; PGCp n  = 23). The box plot center lines represent the median, the box boundaries represent interquartile range, and the whisker length represents the minimum and maximum range. Values from individual participants are shown. GSZ scores were compared among groups using asymptotic P value estimation, with statistical significance defined as a P value of <0.05 (GFDd + p–PGCd P  = 0.05, P GCp–GFDd + p P  = 6.07 × 10 −6 , PGCd–PGCp P  = 1.24 × 10 −4 ). c , Bar plot of epithelial IFNγ-related GSZ scores calculated for each sample. The dashed lines represent the threshold, outside of which the gene set was considered to be ‘on’ or ‘off’. The yellow bar below illustrates the samples in which the epithelial IFNγ-related GSZ scores were on and off (GFDd n  = 34; GFDp n  = 24; PGCd n  = 34; PGCp n  = 23). d , Expression of TGM2 mRNA in the GFDd, GFDp, PGCd and PGCp groups. The box plot center lines represent the median, the box boundaries represent interquartile range, and the whisker length represents the minimum and maximum range. Values from individual participants are shown. Likelihood ratio test (LRT) P values were calculated using DESeq2, with P values representing adjusted values for multiple testing using the Benjamini–Hochberg method (FDR; GFDd n  = 34; GFDp n  = 24; PGCd n  = 34; PGCp n  = 23). e , Expression of TGM2 mRNA in human duodenal organoids ( n  = 3) treated with 100 U ml –1 IFNγ (I) or mock treated (M) for 24 h. The box plot center lines represent the median, the box boundaries represent interquartile range, and the whisker length represents minimum and maximum range. Values from individual participants are shown. LRT P values were calculated using DESeq2, with P values representing adjusted values for multiple testing using the Benjamini–Hochberg method (FDR; P  = 9.48 × 10 −17 ). f , Correlation plot for TGM2 mRNA expression and epithelial IFNγ-related GSZ scores. Each dot represents an individual participant with CeD after gluten challenge. Pearson correlation coefficient values ( R ) are presented, and the P value ( P ) was calculated based on the t- distribution under the null hypothesis of no correlation using a two-tailed test; P  = 5.57 × 10 −8 .

IFNγ has been shown to induce TG2 activity in intestinal epithelial cancer cells, and this has been suggested to contribute to CeD pathogenesis 24 . Similarly, participants in the placebo group after the gluten challenge and concomitant IFNγ response had significantly higher expression of TGM2 , whereas in participants treated with ZED1227, TGM2 was expressed at a level similar to that observed in participants in the GFDd group (Fig. 3d ). Overproduced interleukin-21 (IL-21) in CeD is known to sustain IFNγ production 25 , and we also detected an induction in the IL-21 signaling pathway in participants in the PGCp group (Supplementary Fig. 4a,b ), but this was not statistically significant. We also found that the expression of TGM2 was positively correlated ( R = 0.65) with the epithelial IFNγ response (Fig. 3f ). Direct causality was further proven by treating human intestinal duodenal organoids with IFNγ, which resulted in a significant induction of TGM2 mRNA expression (Fig. 3e ) that could not be inhibited with ZED1227 treatment (Supplementary Fig. 4c ). IFNγ treatment induced TG2 activity in Caco-2 cells, which was inhibited by ZED1227 to the level observed following mock treatment (Supplementary Fig. 4d ). These observations could be explained by ZED1227 cell impermeability 26 and its binding mainly to enterocyte luminal surfaces 27 .

ZED1227 prevents activation of gluten-induced immunological pathways

As gluten challenge caused a significant IFNγ response and concomitant upregulation of TGM2 expression and activity, we analyzed gluten challenge-induced immunological pathway alterations and how ZED1227 can inhibit them. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) has been shown to transrepress inflammatory responses 28 , 29 . PPARγ is downregulated in celiac mucosa 30 , and this has been shown to be mediated by TG2 and gliadin 31 . We also found that PPARG gene expression (Fig. 4a ) and the corresponding signaling pathway (Fig. 4b ) are significantly less active after gluten challenge in the PGCp group than in the GFD and PGCd groups. We also observed a negative correlation between the expression of TGM2 and PPARG and the expression of PPARG and IEL count (Fig. 4c ). This suggests that the mucosal inflammatory response, kept in check by PPARγ, is lifted during the gluten challenge in CeD, and this can be prevented with ZED1227 treatment.

a , Expression of PPARG mRNA in the GFDd, GFDp, PGCd and PGCp groups. LRT P values were calculated using DESeq2, with P values representing adjusted values for multiple testing using the Benjamini–Hochberg method (FDR; GFDd n  = 34; GFDp n  = 24; PGCd n  = 34; PGCp n  = 23). b , GSZ score analyses for the PPAR signaling pathway from the KEGG database gene set. GSZ scores were compared among groups using asymptotic P value estimation, with statistical significance defined as a P value of <0.05 (GFDd + p n  = 58; PGCd n  = 34; PGCp n  = 23). c , Correlation plots for TGM2 mRNA expression (top) and IEL density (number of CD3 + cells per 100 enterocytes; bottom) against PPARG mRNA expression. Each dot represents an individual participant with CeD after gluten challenge. The Pearson correlation coefficient ( R ) is presented, and the P value ( P ) was calculated based on the t -distribution under the null hypothesis of no correlation using a two-tailed test ( TGM2 mRNA expression versus PPARG mRNA expression, P  = 1.14 × 10 −5 ; IEL density versus PPARG mRNA expression, P  = 2.95 × 10 −7 ). d , Expression of NOS2 mRNA in the GFDd, GFDp, PGCd and PGCp groups. LRT P values were calculated using DESeq2, with P values representing adjusted values for multiple testing using the Benjamini–Hochberg method (FDR; GFDd n  = 34; GFDp n  = 24; PGCd n  = 34; PGCp n  = 23). e , GSZ score analyses for selected KEGG, BIOCARTA and Reactome database gene sets. GSZ scores were compared among groups using asymptotic P value estimation, with statistical significance defined as a P value of <0.05 (GFDd + p n  = 58; PGCd n  = 34; PGCp n  = 23). The box plot center lines represent the median, the box boundaries represent interquartile range, and the whisker length represents minimum and maximum range. Values from individual participants are shown. f , Heat map for selected CeD-specific immune cell marker genes detected in Atlasy et al. 58 . Samples are ordered by increasing IEL density, as depicted in the scatter charts above the heat map (GFDd n  = 34; GFDp n  = 24; PGCd n  = 34; PGCp n  = 23). The z scores of normalized expression are plotted; PC, plasma cells; Inf-MF, inflammatory macrophages.

PPARγ inhibits the expression of proinflammatory cytokines, and it also silences inducible nitric oxide (NO) synthase (iNOS/NOS2) 32 . NOS2 is induced in the mucosa of individuals with active CeD mainly in macrophages and enterocytes 33 , 34 , 35 , leading to a systemic increase of NO in the plasma 36 .

NO is needed for the responsiveness of natural killer (NK) cells to the NK cell-activating factor IL-12, which stimulates cytotoxicity and IFNγ release 37 . Our data show that ZED1227 can inhibit gluten challenge-induced NOS2 upregulation (Fig. 4d ), resulting in overrepresentation of gene sets involved in the NO–IL-12 and NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity (Fig. 4e ) pathways. Also, pathways to antigen presentation and IgA production are normalized following ZED1227 treatment (Fig. 4e ). Analysis of the expression of immunological cell gene markers showed that ZED1227 inhibits the infiltration of cell types (especially CD8 + T cells, plasma cells, NK cells and macrophages) involved in the aforementioned inflammatory responses (Fig. 4f ).

The effect of HLA-DQ genetic background on treatment outcomes

The fact that some participants treated with ZED1227 in the PGCd group still showed a significant epithelial IFNγ response (Fig. 3c ), as a sign of active residual CeD pathophysiology prompted us to study factors behind the incomplete response to treatment. To this end, we performed high-resolution genotyping for HLA class II DQ alleles using the arcasHLA tool 38 from aligned sequences obtained from genome-wide 3′ RNA-sequencing data. Five participants had too low coverage either at the HLA-DQB1 or HLA-DQA1 locus, according to RNA sequencing; thus, their allele typing was performed from blood samples collected at the on study inclusion. One participant from the placebo group, however, failed during identification. This participant is marked as ‘not identified’ in Table 1 and was excluded from subsequent analyses.

It is known that HLA-DQ2 gene dose correlates with the strength of the gluten-specific T cell response 20 ; thus, all obtained genotypes were divided into groups by their potential effectiveness in binding and presenting gliadins to T cells 39 , 40 . We were able to divide participants into three groups according to their HLA-DQ genotypes, with G1 being the high-gluten-response group and G3 being the low-gluten-response group (Table 1 ). However, one should note that the group sizes are relatively small.

When examining the changes in mean VH:CrD ratio within genotype groups over time (Fig. 5a ), it is evident that the groups exhibit different trajectories of change. Notably, the slope of the G1 group appears to deviate the most from the parallel pattern among the groups for both drug and placebo treatments.

a , The VH:CrD ratio remains higher in the drug group than in the placebo group, regardless of the genotype. Participants ( n  = 57) were divided into two groups according to the treatment received (drug or placebo). The VH:CrD ratio at PGC is shown as mean ± s.d. b , A two-way ANCOVA was performed with the VH:CrD ratio at PGC as a dependent variable, the VH:CrD ratio at GFD as a covariate and treatment (drug n  = 34 and placebo n  = 23) and HLA-DQ genotype group (G1, G2 and G3) as independent variables (ANCOVA, F 2,50  = 2.2, P  = 0.12). Post hoc pairwise multiple comparisons were performed between the drug and placebo groups among HLA-DQ genotype groups. The VH:CrD ratio at PGC is shown as estimated marginal means ± 95% confidence interval (95% CI; drug G1 n  = 6; drug G2 n  = 14; drug G3 n  = 14; placebo G1 n  = 2; placebo G2 n  = 6; placebo G3 n  = 15). c , The G1 genotype group showed weaker recovery after ZED1227 treatment as assessed by VH:CrD ratio. Participants ( n  = 34) belonging to the drug group were selected for one-way ANCOVA. The VH:CrD ratio at PGCd was used as a dependent variable, and the VH:CrD ratio at GFD was used as a covariate; HLA-DQ genotype group (G1, G2 and G3) served as independent variables (ANCOVA, F 2,30  = 5.11, P  = 0.012). Post hoc pairwise multiple comparisons were performed between HLA-DQ genotype groups, with P values adjusted by Bonferroni correction. Results are shown as estimate ± 95% CI. d , A two-way ANCOVA plot examining the effects of treatment and HLA-DQ genetic background on PGC epithelial response to IFNγ GSZ score (ANOVA, F 2,49  = 0.07, P  = 0.93). The epithelial response to IFNγ GSZ score at PGC is shown as estimated marginal means ± 95% CI (drug G3 versus placebo G3 P  = 5.50 × 10 −4 ; drug G1 n  = 6; drug G2 n  = 14; drug G3 n  = 14; placebo G1 n  = 2; placebo G2 n  = 6; placebo G3 n  = 15). e , Expression of enterocyte- ( APOB , APOA1 and TMSF4 ), proliferation- ( AGR2 , MKI67 and CENPF ) and inflammation-related ( STAT1 , GBP1 , TGM2 , CIITA , PPARG and NOS2 ) marker genes. Expression is shown as counts grouped by HLA-DQ genotype group (G1, G2 and G3) and are presented as mean (spheres) and s.d. (vertical lines; PGCd G1 n  = 6; PGCd G2 n  = 14; PGCd G3 n  = 14; PGCp G1 n  = 2; PGCp G2 n  = 6; PGCp G3 n  = 15).

The impact of treatment on VH:CrD ratio within different time points (GFD and PGC) across HLA-DQ genetic background groups (G1, G2 and G3) was assessed by fitting repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). In the placebo group, the interaction term between time point and HLA-DQ genetic groups was statistically significant ( P  = 0.003; Table 2 and Methods ), indicating that HLA-DQ genetic background has an impact on changes in VH:CrD ratio over the course of gluten challenge ( Methods ). For the drug group, however, the interaction term was not significant ( P  = 0.06; Table 2 and Methods ), suggesting that the drug appears to be effective in reducing the impact of gluten across all genotype groups. However, pairwise comparisons (Table 2 and Methods ) performed for the drug group showed that the impact of HLA-DQ genetic background is statistically significant for the G1 group ( P  = 0.05) and not significant for the G2 ( P  = 0.07) and G3 groups ( P  = 0.39).

Given the notable drop in the VH:CrD ratio after ZED1227 treatment in the high-gluten-response genotype group (G1), we analyzed the efficacy of treatments in each genotype group. A two-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was performed to examine the effects of treatment and HLA-DQ genetic background on VH:CrD ratio at PGC. After adjustment for the VH:CrD ratio at GFD, there was no statistically significant interaction between treatment and the HLA-DQ genotype group on the histomorphometry parameters ( Methods ), and pairwise multiple comparisons show significant differences between the PGC VH:CrD means in all genotype groups between participants receiving drug or placebo (Fig. 5b ). This suggests that, despite a substantial decrease in VH:CrD ratio after gluten challenge in the G1 group for participants treated with drug, the VH:CrD ratio was still higher in the drug group than in the placebo group, irrespective of the genotype.

The estimated difference in the VH:CrD ratio for participants treated with drug belonging to the G3 genotype versus the G1 genotype was −0.52 (95% CI of −0.86 to −0.19) with an adjusted P value of 0.01, as assessed by fitting a one-way ANCOVA model. Other estimated differences (G3–G2 and G2–G1) were not significant but showed the tendency of group G2 having the intermediate position between G1 and G3, when judging by VH:CrD ratio (Fig. 5c ). Interestingly, the G1 high-risk genotype specifically affected VH and not CrD (Extended Data Fig. 2a,b ).

The CeD pathophysiological epithelial IFNγ response was studied with a two-way ANCOVA statistical analysis, and pairwise comparisons showed that participants in the PGCd and G1 genotype groups still had an active IFNγ response and did not statistically differ from the placebo group (Fig. 5d ). In fact, in the bar plot presenting four participants in the PGCd group with an IFNγ response in Fig. 3c , three of these participants had the high-gluten-response genotype homozygous HLA-DQ2.5 and one had homozygous HLA-DQ8 associated with an intermediate response to gluten.

The inclination of the G1 group to be highly responsive to gluten and less reactive to ZED1227 was also observed at individual gene expression levels. Reduced expression of enterocyte marker genes ( APOB , APOA1 and TM4SF4 ) and increased expression of proliferation markers ( AGR2 , MKI67 and CENPF ) were observed in participants with G1 genotypes in both the ZED1227- and placebo-treated groups (Fig. 5e ). Inflammation-related genes ( STAT1 , GBP1 and TGM2 ) showed lower expression in PGCd samples with G2 and G3 genotypes, suggesting that they were more susceptible to ZED1227 treatment. In accordance with the higher residual CeD-associated epithelial IFNγ response in participants in the PGCd and G1 groups (Figs. 3b,c and 5d ), these inflammatory genes were more highly expressed in participants treated with either placebo or drug within the genotype group G1. Furthermore, ZED1227 was less able to prevent gluten challenge-induced attenuation of PPARγ-mediated inhibition of NOS2 expression, as the expression of these genes was at the same level in G1 genotypes in the PGCd group as in the G2 and G3 genotypes in the PGCp group (Fig. 5e ). Also, the HLA class II transcriptional coactivator CIITA was more highly expressed in individuals with the G1 genotype in the PGCd group (Fig. 5e ). Moreover, the G1 group was identified as more pathognomonic when its GSZ scores for ‘transit-amplifying cells’, ‘mature enterocytes, ‘immune cells’ and ‘duodenal transporters’ were assessed (Extended Data Fig. 2c ). In addition to IFNγ signaling, molecular pathways for PPAR and lipid signaling seemed to also be affected in the G1 group (Extended Data Fig. 2c ).

Molecular histomorphometric analysis of ZED1227 efficacy

We previously created a molecular histomorphometric model to assess gluten-dependent morphological deterioration and healing in the duodenum, that is, VH:CrD, in gene transcriptomic terms 13 . This model is based on the expression of four genes ( ATP8B2 , PLA2R1 , PDIA3 and TM4SF4 ), which we showed is significantly correlated with the extent of gluten-induced histological damage 13 . Scatter plots and partial regression plots for these genes showed that the relationship between gene expression and VH:CrD ratio was linear, and participants in the PGCp group tended to separate from participants in the GFD and PGCd groups (Fig. 6a ). Moreover, a comparison of traditional and molecular histomorphometry in the regression scatter plot revealed a high coefficient of determination ( R 2  = 0.86), indicating that the previously developed molecular histomorphometric tool was able to reliably estimate VH:CrD ratios in this independent study cohort (Fig. 6b ). Finally, box plot comparisons of groups with histomorphometric and molecular histomorphometric values indicated that ZED1227 efficiently inhibited gluten-induced mucosal damage in individuals with CeD (Fig. 6c ).

a , Scatter plots and regression plots for VH:CrD prediction model genes. A linear regression with 95% CI is shown. Each dot represents an individual participant (GFDd + p n  = 58; PGCd n  = 34; PGCp n  = 23); UMI, unique molecular identifiers. b , Observed versus predicted regression scatter plot for the model predicting VH:CrD. Each dot represents an individual participant ( n  = 115). A linear regression with 95% CI is shown; R 2  = 0.86, F 1,114  = 691.6, P  < 0.001. The red dashed line represents the ideal regression case, where x  =  y ; r.m.s.d., root mean square deviation. c , Box plot comparisons of groups with histomorphometry (measured VH:CrD) values and molecular histomorphometry (regression model based on RNA expression) values. The box plot center lines represent the median, the box boundaries represent interquartile range, and the whisker length represents minimum and maximum range. Values from individual participants are shown. Two-tailed unpaired Student’s t -tests were used for the PGCd versus PGCp group comparisons (VH:CrD observed: PGCd–PGCp P  = 6.41 × 10 −4 ; VH:CrD predicted: PGCd–PGCp P  = 4.04 × 10 −5 ; GFDd n  = 34; GFDp n  = 24; PGCd n  = 34; PGCp n  = 23).

The ability of the TG2 inhibitor ZED1227 (ref. 26 ) to attenuate gluten-induced mucosal damage was previously reported in a proof-of-concept, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled 6-week trial with a daily 3-g gluten challenge 19 . TG2, the celiac autoantigen 14 , has a pivotal role in gluten-induced pathogenesis, leading to small intestinal mucosal injury with villus atrophy and crypt hyperplasia, the histological hallmarks of untreated CeD. Here, we sought to assess the efficacy of ZED1227 in preventing gluten-induced mucosal damage at the transcriptomic level. Remarkably, a 100-mg daily dose of ZED1227 inhibited virtually all gluten-induced transcriptomic changes (Fig. 1b,c ). Active CeD is accompanied by compromised enterocyte maturation, crypt hyperplasia due to the expansion of transit-amplifying cells 41 , 42 , 43 , immune cell infiltration 44 , 45 and decreased expression of duodenal transporters 13 , 46 , 47 . GSZ 23 scores based on published single-cell databases 22 clearly indicated that TG2 inhibition efficiently blocked all aforementioned gluten-induced intestinal manifestations in individuals with CeD (Fig. 2d ). Our recently published molecular histomorphometry regression model based on genome-wide transcriptomics analysis 13 was validated in this independent study sample. We showed a significant accordance between this new molecular tool and the traditional, more subjective biopsy-based microscopic histomorphometry reading. Overall, our transcriptomic findings strongly support the results of the clinical trial with ZED1227, which demonstrated that the inhibition of TG2 activity can efficiently and specifically prevent gluten-induced mucosal damage 19 . Our data also corroborate the previous findings that gliadin together with active TG2 induces attenuated PPARγ activity, which, together with a concomitant increase in IFNγ, lead to increased mucosal NO production and inflammation 30 , 31 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 . We show here that by inhibiting the gliadin deamidation activity of TG2, all these pathogenic immunological changes in CeD can be prevented (Fig. 4 ). In addition, studies have shown that gluten-derived peptides may have innate immune stimulatory properties, outside the realm of adaptive immunity, which can lead to epithelial stress in CeD 48 , 49 . Our data show, however, that halting the adaptive immunity pathway in CeD pathogenesis is sufficient to prevent gluten-induced mucosal damage, as we did not detect any molecular traces of mucosal damage remaining after ZED1227 treatment.

Gene Ontology and Reactome analyses indicated that gluten challenge most significantly affected genes related to the immune response, especially IFN-mediated defense mechanisms (Fig. 2b,c ). This is in agreement with previously published transcriptomic analyses of individuals with active CeD compared to individuals on a GFD or healthy individuals 47 , 50 , 51 . Notably, IFNγ secreted by gluten-reactive T cells in the celiac intestine induces TG2 expression and secretion and thus favors the pathogenic autoamplificatory loop of enhanced gluten deamidation by TG2, improved antigenic presentation on HLA-DQ2 or HLA-DQ8 and subsequent gluten-specific T cell activation 24 . The present study confirms the prominent role of IFN signaling in CeD pathogenesis, in line with findings that nearly half of the gluten-induced gene expression changes in duodenal biopsies can be recapitulated in human intestinal epithelial organoids treated with IFNγ (Fig. 3a ). We also detected the suggested autoamplificatory loop in our human data, as TGM2 expression positively correlated with the epithelial IFNγ response (Fig. 3f ). Notably, TGM2 expression was induced by IFNγ in human intestinal organoids ex vivo (Fig. 3e ), suggesting mutual amplification between these two key players in CeD pathogenesis. The functional relevance of this amplification loop was indeed confirmed in the clinical study in which the inhibition of TG2 activity by ZED1227 in individuals with CeD significantly inhibited both the (epithelial) IFNγ response (Fig. 3b ) and TGM2 expression (Fig. 3d ), resulting in protection from villous atrophy and intraepithelial lymphocytosis (Fig. 2d ).

However, even though TG2 inhibition exhibited significant efficacy, according to a comparison of the transcripts of the placebo/gluten challenge and the gluten challenge/ZED1227-treated group, which showed a transcriptome profile similar to that of the GFD groups, we detected heterogeneity regarding the gluten-induced and IFNγ-dependent cascade of pathogenic events among ZED1227-treated and gluten-challenged individuals with CeD. Four of these individuals still had a modestly active IFNγ response, and the majority (three of four) belonged to the HLA-DQ2.5 homozygous genotype (Fig. 3c ). HLA-DQ2.5 homozygous individuals have a fivefold higher risk of developing CeD than HLA-DQ2.5 heterozygous individuals 21 , which has been linked to the more efficient presentation of deamidated gluten peptides to gluten-specific T cells 20 . Moreover, homozygosity for HLA-DQ2 predisposes individuals to developing more rapid and severe villous atrophy 52 and is associated with malignant complications, such as refractory CeD type 2 and enteropathy-associated T cell lymphoma 53 , 54 . Along this line, we also found that individuals belonging to the high-gluten-response HLA-DQ genotype group (G1) were more sensitive to gluten, as their VH:CrD ratios dropped significantly more than individuals belonging to the mid- and low-gluten response groups (G2 and G3) during the gluten challenge, both in the placebo and drug groups (Tables 1 and 2 and Fig. 5a,b ). Thus, even after drug treatment, VH:CrD decreased significantly in the G1 versus G2 and G3 genotype groups after the gluten challenge. This was also evident when molecular histomorphometric features were assessed (Extended Data Fig. 2c ). We also discovered that PPAR signaling and lipid metabolism, previously reported to be dysregulated in CeD 30 , were less controlled in the G1 group (Extended Data Fig. 2c ). As IFNγ is known to inhibit PPAR and lipid metabolism 55 , it is conceivable that these are consequences of the overactive IFNγ response in individuals in the G1 group. Nevertheless, duodenal mucosal morphology and, especially, intraepithelial lymphocyte infiltration were significantly healthier in the ZED1227-treated group than in the placebo group, indicating that participants with G1 phenotypes may benefit from a higher dose and/or prolonged treatment with ZED1227. We suggest that the ZED1227 therapy program should include a personalized medicine approach in which HLA-DQ stratification is combined with TG2 dose adjustments, which may lead to an optimal treatment response and a more thorough abrogation of IFNγ-induced mucosal damage. According to our transcriptomic analysis of human intestinal organoids, ZED1227 does not appear to induce significant transcriptomic changes in the organoid model (Supplementary Fig. 5 ), consistent with the clinical safety observed in the phase 2 challenge study 19 .

We recognize the limitations of this study. The cohort is relatively modest and characterized by an uneven distribution of HLA-DQ genotypes. This resulted in small G1 subgroups within both the drug and placebo cohorts, which may have implications for statistical power and the generalizability of our results and warrants further corroborative studies. Additionally, we only had one dose of the drug available for this study. The transcriptomic analysis was conducted as an optional component of the study, and RNA isolation was not performed for all drug groups. This decision was made to focus our efforts on the drug group that showed the most significant improvement compared to the placebo group, allowing us to investigate potential transcriptomic changes effectively within the study’s scope.

In conclusion, the strategy to inhibit TG2 activity as a key upstream effector in gluten-induced immune activation in CeD, which has been proven efficient in the clinical study, was mechanistically buttressed by our transcriptomic analysis of the duodenal biopsies of individuals treated or not treated with ZED1227. Importantly, TG2 inhibition prominently prevented the gluten-induced IFNγ response and further downstream pathways that lead to mucosal inflammation, remodeling and villous atrophy. Our analysis also suggests that, based on HLA-DQ2.5 genetics, the dose or dose interval of ZED1227 may have to be adjusted for optimal efficacy, but larger sample sizes are required to confirm this assumption. Moreover, CeD-associated gene expression changes were observable, even on a strict GFD 13 , 56 , indicating that complete avoidance of gluten is impossible 5 , 6 . In fact, a recent meta-analysis found that 15% of foods labeled as gluten free and 28% labeled as naturally gluten free contained more than 20 mg kg –1 gluten 57 , the cutoff for qualifying as gluten free. Thus, an adjunctive TG2 inhibition-based therapy combined with a GFD would especially benefit highly gluten-sensitive individuals (possibly carrying a homozygous HLA-DQ genotype) by providing protection against intestinal damage that can occur even in a low-gluten environment.

Participants and biopsies

PAXgene-fixed and paraffin-embedded biopsies were collected from a multisite, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial aimed at dose finding and assessing the efficacy and tolerability of a 6-week treatment with ZED1227 capsules versus placebo in individuals with well-controlled CeD undergoing gluten challenge 59 . Full inclusion and exclusion criteria are published 19 . Briefly, participants who had a biopsy-proven CeD diagnosis, were on a self-reported strict GFD for at least 1 year and symptom free, showed normalized duodenal histology compared to the initial diagnostic biopsy finding (morphometrically defined as a mean VH:CrD of 1.5 or higher) and tested negative for serum anti-TG2 on study inclusion were included (GFD group; Extended Data Table 1 ). These participants then underwent a challenge with a cookie containing 3 g of gluten daily for 6 weeks (PGC group). At least 80% compliance was confirmed 19 .

Biopsy sampling was performed twice on study inclusion (denoted here as GFD) and at the final visit (denoted here as PGC; Extended Data Fig. 1 ). Duodenal forceps biopsies were immersed in PaxFPE (PAXgene fixative) and processed for paraffin block embedding using a standard formalin-free paraffin-infiltration protocol. For morphology, samples were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and measured using our validated morphometry rules separately for morphology (VH, CrD and VH:CrD) 60 .

This study used samples from two groups, placebo and the 100-mg ZED1227 group, which represented the highest dose drug group showing the most significant improvement compared to the placebo group. In total, 58 participants (drug group, n  = 34; placebo group, n  = 24; total number of biopsies = 116) of the 68 participants who had sufficient biopsy samples at both time points in the original trial 19 were included, as these exploratory (optional) studies required separate written informed consent. Demographic characteristics and duodenal histomorphometry changes in the form of VH:CrD ratio of the participants in the original cohort and in the present study are presented in Supplementary Tables 1 and 2 .

Human organoid cultures

Human duodenal tissues for establishing organoid cultures used in this study were sourced from deidentified surgical specimens ( n  = 3) of the duodenum obtained from participants who had undergone biopsy procedures unrelated to CeD at Tampere University Hospital. The protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Tampere University Hospital (ETL code R18082). Intestinal crypts containing stem cells were isolated following 2 mM EDTA dissociation of tissue samples for 30 min at 4 °C (ref. 61 ). Crypts were washed in PBS, and fractions enriched in crypts were collected. The supernatant was removed, and the crypt epithelial cells were seeded in 50% Matrigel (diluted with basal culture medium). Crypts were passaged and maintained in WELR500 culture medium, as previously described 62 . Organoids were treated with 100 U ml –1 IFNγ (Peprotech, 300-02) with or without 50 µM ZED1227 (Zedira) for 24 h and subjected to RNA sequencing to assess any adverse direct side effects to the intestinal epithelium (Supplementary Fig. 5 ).

Cell culture and treatments

Caco-2 colonic epithelial cells (ATCC, HTB-37; passage 22–35) were grown as standard monolayers in tissue culture flasks in complete MEM 1 g l –1 glucose medium (20% heat-inactivated fetal bovine serum, 1% nonessential amino acids, 1% penicillin–streptomycin, 1% GlutaMAX and 1% sodium pyruvate) at 37 °C in a 5% CO 2 atmosphere. Caco-2 cells were treated with 100 U ml –1 IFNγ (Peprotech, 300-02) with or without 50 µM ZED1227 (Zedira) or mock treated with DMSO for 24 h. Cells were collected by trypsinization and lysed in lysis buffer (50 mM Tris (pH 8.0), 150 mM NaCl and 1% IGEPAL) supplemented with 0.2 mM DTT and 1× Complete Protease Inhibitor Cocktail (Roche, 11836170001) and used for the transglutaminase activity assay.

RNA extraction and RNA sequencing

Total RNA was extracted from the PaxFPE-fixed biopsy specimens ( n  = 116) 63 using additional cuttings from the samples on which histomorphometry was previously assessed 19 . For extraction, an RNeasy kit (Qiagen) was used according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Library preparation and NGS were performed by the Qiagen NGS Service. A total of 10 ng of purified RNA was converted into NGS cDNA libraries. Library preparation was quality controlled using capillary electrophoresis. Based on the quality of the inserts and the concentration measurements, the libraries were pooled in equimolar ratios and sequenced on a NextSeq (Illumina) sequencing instrument according to the manufacturer’s instructions, with 100-bp read length for read 1 and 27-bp read length for read 2. The raw data were demultiplexed, and FASTQ files for each sample were generated using bcl2fastq2 software (Illumina).

RNA from the duodenal organoids was isolated using an RNeasy kit (Qiagen) following the manufacturer’s instructions. RNA purity and concentration were measured using a NanoDrop One spectrophotometer (NanoDrop Technologies). Preparation of the RNA library and transcriptome sequencing was conducted by Novogene. mRNA was purified from total RNA using poly(A) selection and subjected to library construction. Sequencing was performed on an Illumina platform, and 150-bp paired-end reads were generated.

Bioinformatic analyses

Data quality was checked using FastQC. The 3′ adapter sequences were trimmed, reads without adapters were kept, and reads with <15 bp were removed. Reads were aligned to the human genome reference consortium human build 38 (GRCh38) using the splice-aware aligner STAR. For all downstream analyses, genes with low expression (read counts that were equal to the number of samples multiplied by 5) were excluded. One sample with low total reads (1.13 million reads) was excluded, leaving 115 samples for subsequent analyses. The mean total reads for all samples were 3.51 ± 0.07 million reads. A secondary differential expression analysis involving normalization of unique molecular identifier counts and a subsequent pairwise differential regulation analysis was performed using the DESeq2 package 64 . Pre- and post-treatment samples were compared, and the paired nature of samples was included as a term in the multifactor design formula. The obtained P values were adjusted for multiple testing using the Benjamini–Hochberg method 65 . Genes with an FDR of <0.05 and | log 2  (FC) | of ≥0.5 identified by DESeq2 were assigned as differentially expressed.

Gene Ontology enrichment and Reactome enrichment analyses were performed using topGO 66 and ReactomePA 67 R packages. GSZ scores, as a particular type of overrepresentation analysis, were calculated as previously described 68 . For comparison of groups, mean GSZ score asymptotic P value calculation was applied to our datasets 69 . Gene lists for transit-amplifying cells, mature enterocytes, immune cells and duodenal transporters were retrieved from healthy human duodenal single-cell sequencing analyses published by Busslinger et al. 22 or our DEG analysis from human duodenal organoids treated with IFNγ versus mock-treated organoids. Cell-type proportions for CeD biopsy bulk RNA-sequencing data were estimated with the MuSiC analysis toolkit 70 using single-cell RNA-sequencing data from duodenal adult biopsies 71 as a reference.

Exact HLA genotypes, with a focus on DQ status ( HLA-DQA1 and HLA-DQB1 alleles), were determined in silico from RNA-sequencing data using the arcasHLA tool 38 . FASTQ files were used as input files. The minimum gene read count required for genotyping was set at 5. Due to low expression, low resolution 72 (Field1, allele group) was taken into consideration in the subsequent statistical analyses.

Statistical analysis

Statistical tests were conducted as specified in the legends of the respective figures using R version 4.3.0 (R Foundation for Statistical Computing). A repeated-measures ANOVA was used to assess the impact of treatment on VH:CrD ratio within different time points (GFD and PGC) across HLA-DQ genetic background groups (G1, G2 and G3). This analysis comprised 57 participants with identifiable HLA-DQ genotypes. Three null hypotheses were proposed: (1) VH:CrD means are equal across time points, (2) VH:CrD means are equal among HLA-DQ groups, and (3) there is no interaction between these two factors. As a post hoc analysis, multiple pairwise t -tests were used to identify differences between time points for each genotype group. To assess how the impact of the HLA-DQ genotype group on the VH:CrD outcome varies with different time points, a one-way ANOVA model was used. To address multiple testing, a Bonferroni correction was applied to P values (total tests performed = 2). Statistical significance was determined as P  < 0.05.

To assess the interaction between treatment groups and HLA-DQ genetic backgrounds on VH:CrD and epithelial response to IFNγ GSZ score at PGC, a two-way ANCOVA was conducted using these values at PGC as the dependent variable, HLA-DQ genetic background (G1, G2 and G3 genotype groups) and treatment (placebo or drug) as independent variables and baseline VH:CrD ratio and epithelial response to IFNγ GSZ score (from the GFD group), respectively, as a covariate. This analysis included 57 participants, with 1 participant from the placebo group excluded due to an unidentified allele type. The study formulated the following two null hypotheses for the two-way ANCOVA analysis: (1) no VH:CrD (epithelial response to IFNγ GSZ) difference at PCG exists between treatment groups (placebo and drug) while accounting for VH:CrD (epithelial response to IFNγ GSZ) at GFD and (2) no VH:CrD (epithelial response to IFNγ GSZ) differences at PCG exist across HLA-DQ genetic backgrounds (G1, G2 and G3 genotype groups) controlling for VH:CrD (epithelial response to IFNγ GSZ) at GFD. For the one-way ANCOVA, only participants in the drug group ( n  = 34) were selected. The null hypothesis for this analysis was that there is no significant effect of HLA-DQ genetic background (represented by HLA-DQ genotype groups) on VH:CrD within the PGCd group, while adjusting for VH:CrD at GFDd. The one-way ANCOVA regression model included VH:CrD at PGCd as the dependent variable, VH:CrD at GFDd as a covariate and HLA-DQ genotype group (G1, G2 and G3) as independent variables. The same type of approach was used for VH and CrD values. Post hoc pairwise multiple comparisons using estimated marginal means calculation (also known as least-squares means) were conducted between the drug and placebo groups for the two-way ANCOVA as well as between HLA-DQ genotype groups for the one-way ANCOVA. To address multiple testing, the Bonferroni correction was applied to P values (total tests performed = 3). Statistical significance was defined as an adjusted P value of <0.05.

Quantitative real-time PCR

Human duodenal organoids ( n  = 3) were treated with 50, 100 or 200 U ml –1 IFNγ (Peprotech) and/or 2, 25 and 50 µM ZED1227 (Zedira) for 24 h. Total RNA was isolated using TRIzol Reagent (15596018), following the manufacturer’s instructions, and 500 ng was subjected to cDNA synthesis using an iScript cDNA Synthesis kit (Bio-Rad). Real-time PCR reactions were performed with SsoFast EvaGreen Supermix (1708890, Bio-Rad) and oligonucleotides for human TGM2 (forward: 5′-TGTGGCACCAAGTACCTGCTCA-3′; reverse; 5′-GCACCTTGATGAGGTTGGACTC-3′) and GAPDH (forward: 5′-GTCTCCTCTGACTTCAACAGCG-3′; reverse: 5′-ACCACCCTGTTGCTGTAGCCAA-3′) in triplicate. The results presented were calculated as fold change to the reference sample (nontreated sample), normalized by housekeeping gene expression ( GAPDH ) as described in Schmittgen and Livak 73 . Plot whiskers represent the standard error for mean difference between three independent means.

Transglutaminase activity assays in Caco-2 cells

Transglutaminase activity was measured using a hydroxamate-based colorimetric method modified from Folk and Cole 74 . In short, each reaction contained 75 mM hydroxylammonium chloride, 30 mM Z-Gln-Gly, 10 mM CaCl 2 and 10 mM DTT in 200 mM Tris-HCl buffer (pH 8.0) mixed with cell lysate in a final volume of 100 µl. After a 2-h incubation at 37 °C, the reaction was stopped by the addition of 50 µl of stop buffer (1.67% (wt/vol) FeCl 3 , 4% (wt/vol) trichloroacetic acid and 4% (vol/vol) HCl). The reaction output was measured at 530 nm, and the activity was expressed as nanomoles of hydroxamate produced in 120 min per milligram of total protein, using l -glutamic acid γ-monohydroxamate for the standard curve.

HLA genotyping

Five participants had too low coverage either at the HLA-DQB1 or HLA-DQA1 locus according to RNA sequencing; thus, their allele typing was not performed. For four of those individuals, blood pellet samples stored at −80 °C were available. DNA was extracted from 100 µl of sample using a QIAamp DNA Blood Mini kit (51104, Qiagen) following the manufacturer’s protocol. HLA-DQB1 and HLA-DQA1 typing was performed at the Immunogenetics Laboratory at the University of Turku, and the method was based on an asymmetrical PCR and a subsequent hybridization of allele-specific probes, as previously described 75 , 76 .

Molecular histomorphometry regression model

A regression model predicting VH:CrD ratios, developed in our previous study 13 , was used on the current dataset. Models were evaluated by observed versus predicted regression.

Reporting summary

Further information on research design is available in the Nature Portfolio Reporting Summary linked to this article.

Data availability

Bulk RNA-sequencing data from participant biopsies and patient-derived intestinal organoids described in this study are available in the European Genome–Phenome Archive under accession numbers EGAS50000000337 and EGAS50000000338 . Additional data used in this paper include a full single-cell RNA-sequencing dataset of intestinal regions of adult donors ( https://www.gutcellatlas.org/ ), lists of human duodenal cell types and transporter genes expressed along the upper gastrointestinal tract downloaded from supplementary files included within Busslinger et al. 22 , lists of immune cell marker genes downloaded from supplementary files included within Atlasy et al. 58 and pathway gene sets (Reactome, KEGG and BIOCARTA) downloaded from the Human MSigDB Collections at https://www.gsea-msigdb.org/gsea/msigdb/collections.jsp . Source data are provided with this paper. All other data are present in the article and Supplementary Information or are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Code availability

Code used in this study is freely available on GitHub at https://github.com/IntestinalSignallingAndEpigeneticsLab/Dotsenko-et-al.-2024 .

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Acknowledgements

We thank the individuals who participated for making this study possible. We also thank the expert staff for their participation in sample collection. We thank K.-L. Kolho for providing intestinal biopsies to initiate organoid cultures. This work was Dr. Falk Pharma-sponsored clinical trial supported by the Academy of Finland (310011), the Finnish Cultural Foundation, Mary och Georg C. Ehrnrooths Stiftelse, Päivikki and Sakari Sohlberg Foundation, Laboratoriolääketieteen Edistämissäätiö sr and the Competitive State Research Financing of the Expert Responsibility Area of Tampere University Hospital grant. V.D. was supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation. D.S. received project related support from the German Research Foundation (DFG) Collaborative Research Center SFB TR355/1 (490846870) project B08 (Treg in celiac disease). The funding sources played no role in the design or execution of this study or in the analysis and interpretation of the data. We acknowledge the Adult Stem Cell Organoid Facility from Tampere University for their service. Ethics approvals TUKIJA dnro 223/06.00.01/2017 and EudraCT 2017-002241-30 were obtained for the Dr. Falk Pharma-funded clinical trial. The study was conducted with deidentified data of the participants who had consented to the use of their anonymized data in research. The protocol to initiate human intestinal organoid cultures from biopsies was approved by the Ethics Committee of Tampere University Hospital (ETL code R18082).

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A list of members and their affiliations appears at the end of the paper.

Authors and Affiliations

Celiac Disease Research Center, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University and Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland

Valeriia Dotsenko, Juha Taavela, Alina Popp, Markku Mäki & Keijo Viiri

Dr. Falk Pharma GmbH, Freiburg, Germany

Bernhard Tewes, Timo Zimmermann, Ralf Mohrbacher & Roland Greinwald

Zedira GmbH, Darmstadt, Germany

Martin Hils & Ralf Pasternack

Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland

Jorma Isola

Jilab Inc, Tampere, Finland

Jorma Isola & Jani Sarin

Department of Gastroenterology and Alimentary Tract Surgery, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland

Juha Taavela

University of Medicine and Pharmacy ‘Carol Davila’ and National Institute for Mother and Child Health, Bucharest, Romania

Unit of Health Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland

Heini Huhtala

Department of Pediatrics, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland

Pauliina Hiltunen & Marja-Leena Lähdeaho

Norwegian Coeliac Disease Research Centre, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

Knut E. A. Lundin

Department of Gastroenterology, Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet, Oslo, Norway

Institute of Translational Immunology and Celiac Center, Medical Center, Johannes-Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany

Detlef Schuppan

Division of Gastroenterology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

Department of Gastroenterology, Internal Medicine Clinic, Tartu University Hospital, Tartu, Estonia

Lääkärikeskus Aava Helsinki Kamppi, Helsinki, Finland

Jari Koskenpato

Clinical Research Services Turku–CRST Oy, Turku, Finland

Mika Scheinin

Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University and Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland

Marja-Leena Lähdeaho

Department for Gastroenterology, Infectious diseases and Rheumatology, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Charité–University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany

Michael Schumann

Department of Medicine 1, Hector Center for Nutrition, Exercise, and Sports, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany

Yurdagül Zopf

Department of Internal Medicine IV, Jena University Hospital, Friedrich-Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany

Andreas Stallmach

I. Department of Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

Ansgar W. Lohse

Department of Gastroenterology, Gastrointestinal Oncology, Hepatology, Infectious Diseases and Geriatrics, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

Stefano Fusco

Department for Internal and Integrative Medicine, Kliniken Essen-Mitte, Essen, Germany

Jost Langhorst

Department for Internal and Integrative Medicine, Sozialstiftung Bamberg, Medical Faculty, University of Duisburg-Essen, Bamberg, Germany

Department of Medicine II, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany

Helga Paula Török

University College Hospital Galway, Galway, Ireland

Valerie Byrnes

Gastroenterology Department and Institute for Digestive Research, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania

Juozas Kupcinskas

Medical Department, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Innlandet Hospital Trust, Gjøvik, Norway

Øistein Hovde

Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway

Jørgen Jahnsen

Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Hospital Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland

Luc Biedermann & Jonas Zeitz

Swiss Celiac Center, Center for Gastroenterology, Clinic Hirslanden, Zurich, Switzerland

Jonas Zeitz

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• , Jari Koskenpato
• , Mika Scheinin
• , Marja-Leena Lähdeaho
• , Michael Schumann
• , Yurdagül Zopf
• , Andreas Stallmach
• , Ansgar W. Lohse
• , Stefano Fusco
• , Jost Langhorst
• , Helga Paula Török
• , Valerie Byrnes
• , Juozas Kupcinskas
• , Øistein Hovde
• , Jørgen Jahnsen
• , Luc Biedermann
•  & Jonas Zeitz

Contributions

V.D., K.V. and M.M. conceptualized the study. K.V. and V.D. drafted the manuscript. V.D. and K.V. performed data analysis and figure generation. H.H. assisted in statistical analyses. P.H. performed gastroscopies to obtain duodenal biopsies and organoids. B.T., M.H., R.P., J.I., J.T., A.P., J.S., T.Z., R.M., R.G., K.E.A.L. and D.S. assisted in the logistics of data collection and results interpretation. All authors read and approved the final paper.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Keijo Viiri .

Ethics declarations

Competing interests.

V.D. and K.V. received funding from Dr. Falk Pharma to Tampere University to conduct the study. B.T., T.Z., R.M. and R.G. are employees of Dr. Falk Pharma. The data presented here are the subject of patent applications EP24173619.8 and EP24173615.6 filed by Dr. Falk Pharma, and B.T., T.Z., R.M., R.G., V.D. and K.V. are inventors on these applications. M.H. and R.P. are employees of Zedira. A.P. is a consultant for JiLab Oy. J.T. is a consultant for Jilab Oy and Dr. Falk Pharma. K.E.A.L. is a consultant for Amyra, Bioniz Pharmaceuticals, Chugai Pharmaceutical, Dr. Falk Pharma, Itrexon Actobios, TOPAS Therapeutics and Takeda California. D.S. is the data and safety monitor for Boehringer Ingelheim (Phil.) and is a consultant for the Dr. Falk Pharma, Takeda, Immunic, Sanofi and TOPAS Therapeutics. J.I. is the owner of Jilab Oy. M.M. is the founder, owner and Chair of the Board of Maki HealthTech (MHT). MHT receives Management/Advisory Affiliation fees from Dr. Falk Pharma and other funding not related to the research from Topas Therapeutics, Calypso Biotech, Vaccitech, ImmunogenX, Equillium and Immunic. MHT holds patents (patent number 7361480 (United States) and European Patent Office Number 1390753) licensed to Labsystems Diagnostics from where MHT receives royalties via Tampere University Hospital. All other authors declare no competing interests.

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Nature Immunology thanks Bana Jabri and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work. Primary Handling Editor: S. Houston, in collaboration with the Nature Immunology team. Peer reviewer reports are available.

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Extended data

Extended data fig. 1 schematic presentation of the study..

Samples ( n  = 116; n of patients = 58), in a form of PAXgene fixed and paraffin-embedded biopsies, were collected from the trial, aimed at dose-finding, and assessing the efficacy and tolerability of a 6-week treatment with ZED1227 capsules vs. placebo in subjects with well-controlled celiac disease undergoing gluten challenge. Biopsy sampling was performed twice: on study inclusion (GFDd, n  = 34; GFDp, n  = 24) and at the final visit (PGCd, n  = 34; PGCp, n  = 24). Duodenal forceps biopsies were immersed in PAXgene fixative and processed for paraffin block embedding using a standard formalin-free paraffin-infiltration protocol. Created with BioRender.com .

Extended Data Fig. 2 Histomorphometric features and molecular pathways displaying reduced control in G1 genotype.

a , Subjects (n = 34), belonging to drug group were selected for one-way ANCOVA. VH at PGCd used as a dependent variable and VH at GFD as covariate and HLA-DQ genotype group (G1, G2, G3) as independent variables. ANCOVA, F (2, 30) = 6.56, P = .004. Post-hoc pairwise multiple comparisons were performed between HLA-DQ genotype groups, with p values Bonferroni adjusted. Results demonstrated as estimate ± 95% CI. b , Subjects (n = 34), belonging to drug group were selected for one-way ANCOVA. Cr at PGCd used as a dependent variable and CrD at GFD as covariate and HLA-DQ genotype group (G1, G2, G3) as independent variables. ANCOVA, F (2, 30) = 3.6, P = .04. Post-hoc pairwise multiple comparisons were performed between HLA-DQ genotype groups, with p values Bonferroni adjusted. Results demonstrated as estimate ± 95% CI. c , Gene set Z-score was calculated for gene sets enriched in the categories of transit amplifying cells, mature enterocytes, immune cells, duodenal transporters and Reactome database pathways for patients in drug and placebo groups at PCG (PGCd (n = 34), PGCp (n = 23)). GSZ grouped by HLA-DQ genotype group (G1, G2, G3) and presented as mean (spheres) and sd (vertical lines).

Supplementary information

Supplementary information.

Supplementary Tables 1 and 2 and Figs. 1–5.

Reporting Summary

Peer review file, supplementary data 1.

List of DEGs in the PGCp versus GFDp comparison, PGCd versus GFDd comparison and PGCp versus PGCd comparison.

Supplementary Data 2

Results of the overrepresentation analysis for Reactome terms for the PGCp versus GFDp and PGCp versus PGCd comparisons and results of the overrepresentation analysis for Gene Ontology biological process terms for the PGCp versus GFDp and PGCp versus PGCd comparisons.

Supplementary Data 3

List of DEGs in the I versus M and Z versus M comparisons.

Supplementary Data 4

Enrichr results for the PGCp versus GFDp and PGCp versus PGCd comparisons (see Supplementary Fig. 2).

Supplementary Data 5

Supplementary Data for Fig. 5

Supplementary Data 6

Source data for Supplementary Tables 1 and 2 and Figs. 1–5.

Source Data Fig. 1

Statistical source data.

Source Data Fig. 2

Source data fig. 3, source data fig. 4, source data fig. 5, source data fig. 6, source data extended data fig. 2, source data extended data table 1, rights and permissions.

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Dotsenko, V., Tewes, B., Hils, M. et al. Transcriptomic analysis of intestine following administration of a transglutaminase 2 inhibitor to prevent gluten-induced intestinal damage in celiac disease. Nat Immunol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41590-024-01867-0

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Experimental Research on the Determination of Experimental Parameters for Measuring Thermal Diffusivity with a Wide Temperature Range Based on Laser Flash Method

• Published: 27 June 2024
• Volume 45 , article number  104 , ( 2024 )

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• Yong Wang 1 ,
• Fengning Jing 1 ,
• Yunsheng Fan 1 &
• Guofeng Wang 1  

Thermal diffusivity is an essential thermophysical factor for designing thermal protection materials. At present, the laser flash method is widely employed for measuring thermal diffusivity, and reasonable determination of experimental parameters is a prerequisite for accurate measurement. In this paper, high-purity graphite is used as the reference specimen, and measurement temperature ranges from 25 °C to 1500 °C. Besides, experimental investigations on the influence of the laser flash method such as specimen thickness, laser pulse energy, and temperature increase rate on the measurement of thermal diffusivity for high-purity graphite are carried out. The results indicate that for high-purity graphite samples, a sample thickness of 3 mm is more appropriate. Additionally, the setting of laser pulse voltage and width is related to the measurement temperature, and the measurement results are more easily affected by the laser pulse width. When measuring temperatures below 600 °C, it is necessary to set both the laser pulse width and voltage to the smallest possible values, provided that a stable signal can be collected. When the temperature is above 600 °C, the laser pulse voltage does not affect the measurement results, but the influence of laser pulse width still needs to be considered to a certain extent. It is only when the measured temperature exceeds 900 °C that neither the laser pulse voltage nor the laser pulse width influences the measurement results. Furthermore, the temperature increase rate has a relatively small impact on the measurement results and can be adjusted according to the measured temperature. The research results can provide a basis for the calibration of experimental parameters in the high-temperature flash method measuring instrument.

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This work is supported by the Fundamental Research Projects of the Educational Department of Liaoning Province (Grant No. LJKMZ20220362).

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Yong Wang, Xin He, Fengning Jing, Yunsheng Fan & Guofeng Wang

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Wang, Y., He, X., Jing, F. et al. Experimental Research on the Determination of Experimental Parameters for Measuring Thermal Diffusivity with a Wide Temperature Range Based on Laser Flash Method. Int J Thermophys 45 , 104 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10765-024-03399-z

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10765-024-03399-z

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