Abstracts

the same subject for the abstract. Generally, informational abstracts do not contain specific data, graphs, charts, figures, and tables; they do contain the relevance of the data, an explanation of the study’s rationale, purpose, a summary of the literature, a summary of the data collection methodology, analysis techniques, and conclusions.

Very often, a journal or a conference will request an abstract. Equally often, the type of abstract is not specified. The writer, proposing a manuscript or a presentation, needs to determine what the publisher or the conference authority seeks. For the most part, a well-written descriptive abstract is sufficient because it indicates what the article or presentation will entail. This will allow the journal’s editor or the reviewer of conference proposals to determine if the manuscript or presentation is current, relevant, scholarly, and of interest to the specific audience.

Sometimes a request is for an Executive Summary. This is, to a large extent, another term for an informational abstract. Executives are busy (or at least they think they are) and often they are more managers than experts in the discipline the manuscript involves. The executive needs sufficient facts to be familiar with the subject, to make decisions, and to have sufficient confidence in projected outcomes.

Under the best circumstances, creation of an abstract occurs AFTER completing the manuscript. Unfortunately, often, the request for an abstract pre-dates the finished manuscript. While a descriptive abstract is possible at this stage, an informational one is not, for obvious reasons. Also, in the situation of a confused chronology, a descriptive abstract may not, in fact, coincide with the final paper, especially if in preparation of the final manuscript, the study or discussion takes an unexpected turn. Editors and conference presentation proposal reviewers may not take kindly to surprises, and even less so to manuscripts that do not follow the original proposal.