sample abstract for a literature review

The Guide to Literature Reviews

• What is a Literature Review?
• The Purpose of Literature Reviews
• Guidelines for Writing a Literature Review
• How to Organize a Literature Review?
• Software for Literature Reviews
• Using Artificial Intelligence for Literature Reviews
• How to Conduct a Literature Review?
• Common Mistakes and Pitfalls in a Literature Review
• Methods for Literature Reviews
• What is a Systematic Literature Review?
• What is a Narrative Literature Review?
• What is a Descriptive Literature Review?
• What is a Scoping Literature Review?
• What is a Realist Literature Review?
• What is a Critical Literature Review?
• Meta Analysis vs. Literature Review
• What is an Umbrella Literature Review?
• Differences Between Annotated Bibliographies and Literature Reviews
• Literature Review vs. Theoretical Framework
• How to Write a Literature Review?
• How to Structure a Literature Review?
• How to Make a Cover Page for a Literature Review?
• Importance of a literature review abstract

How to write a literature review abstract?

Key reminders when writing a literature review abstract.

• How to Write a Literature Review Introduction?
• How to Write the Body of a Literature Review?
• How to Write a Literature Review Conclusion?
• How to Make a Literature Review Bibliography?
• How to Format a Literature Review?
• How Long Should a Literature Review Be?
• Examples of Literature Reviews
• How to Present a Literature Review?
• How to Publish a Literature Review?

How to Write a Literature Review Abstract?

A well-crafted abstract is the initial point of contact between your research and its potential audience. It is crucial to present your work in the best possible light. A literature review abstract is a concise summary of the key points and findings of a literature review that is published as a full paper. It serves as a snapshot of the review, providing readers with a quick overview of the research topic, objectives, main findings, and implications.

Unlike the full literature review, the abstract does not delve into detailed analysis or discussion but highlights the most critical aspects. An abstract helps readers decide whether the full article is relevant to their interests and needs by encapsulating the essence of the literature review. A literature review abstract offers a condensed version of the study that helps researchers identify the review's relevance to their work. This is important in academic settings, where individuals often revise numerous journal articles and papers to find pertinent information. A clear and informative abstract saves time and effort.

Here are the steps we recommend when writing abstracts for literature reviews:

Introduce the research topic : Begin by stating the subject of your literature review. Explain its significance and relevance in your field. Provide context that highlights the broader impact and necessity of your review. For example, "This literature review focuses on the impact of climate change on coastal ecosystems and its significance in developing sustainable management strategies."

State objectives : Clearly outline the literature review's main objectives or purposes. Specify what you aim to achieve, such as identifying gaps in the literature, synthesizing existing research, or proposing new directions for future studies. For instance, "This review aims to identify key areas where climate change impacts coastal ecosystems and to propose future research directions."

Summarize key findings : Provide a concise summary of the data collection methods and results. Include primary findings, trends, or insights from your review. Highlight the most important conclusions and previous research contributions, and explain their implications for the field. An example might be, "The review reveals significant changes in species composition due to rising sea temperatures, suggesting the need for adaptive management strategies."

Use clear and concise language : Ensure your abstract covers the main points of your literature review, using straightforward language and avoiding complex terminology or jargon. Write in the third person to maintain objectivity, and structure your abstract logically to improve readability. For example, avoid first-person phrases like "I found that..." and use "The review indicates that..." Keep your abstract concise, typically between 150-250 words. Make it comprehensive, offering a clear view of the review’s scope and significance without overwhelming readers with too much detail. Conciseness is key in abstract writing, as it allows readers to quickly grasp the essence of your review without wading through unnecessary information.

Optimize search engines : Incorporate relevant search terms and phrases to enhance discoverability through search engines. Choose a descriptive title that includes key phrases from your literature review. This makes your work more likely to appear with the search results and makes it more accessible to potential readers. With the example above, a researcher may use keywords like "literature review," "climate change," and "coastal ecosystems" to attract the right audience.

Quality literature reviews start with ATLAS.ti

Make your literature reviews stronger, ATLAS.ti is there for you at every step. See how with a free trial.

When writing your abstract, double-check it covers the critical points of your literature review. This includes the research topic, significance, objectives, data extraction methods, main findings, and implications for additional research. Avoiding ambiguity and complex terminology makes your abstract accessible to a wider audience, including those who may not be specialists in your field. Here are some important tips to keep in mind when writing abstracts:

Avoid using complex terminology or scientific jargon that might confuse readers. A good abstract should be accessible to a broad range of potential readers, including researchers and policymakers.

Avoid using quotations in your abstract; paraphrase the information to maintain clarity and conciseness. Write in the third person to ensure your abstract remains professional and focused.

Choose a descriptive title for your article mentioning key phrases from your literature review. Optimize the title for search engines to enhance its visibility and shareability. A well-crafted title can significantly impact the reach and impact of your research. Incorporating keywords into your title improves search engine optimization (SEO) and attracts readers' attention, making your work more discoverable.

Focus on the most important information, avoiding unnecessary details. Ensure a logical flow of ideas with clear and active language. Each sentence should contribute to explaining your literature review's key points. A well-structured abstract guides readers through your review logically, making it easier to follow and understand. It also leads readers through your review smoothly.

Make sure that your abstract accurately reflects the content of your literature review. Use relevant keywords and phrases to ensure your abstract remains focused and pertinent to your research. Accuracy is vital to maintain the interest of your readers and to guide those who read the full review to find the information they expect.

Proofread your abstract carefully to check for grammatical and typographical errors. Ensure that it is well-structured, polished, and error-free.

A well-written literature review abstract is vital for the effective dissemination of your research. It serves as the first impression of your work which engages readers and provides a succinct overview of your study's significance and findings. You will create an abstract that attracts readers and reaches a broader audience by introducing your topic, stating your objectives, summarizing key findings, and using clear language. Writing clear abstracts enhances the visibility, accessibility, and impact of your literature reviews.

Develop powerful literature reviews with ATLAS.ti

Use our intuitive data analysis platform to make the most of your literature review.

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:

Academic and Professional Writing

This is an accordion element with a series of buttons that open and close related content panels.

Analysis Papers

Reading Poetry

A Short Guide to Close Reading for Literary Analysis

Using Literary Quotations

Play Reviews

Writing a Rhetorical Précis to Analyze Nonfiction Texts

Incorporating Interview Data

Grant Proposals

Planning and Writing a Grant Proposal: The Basics

Additional Resources for Grants and Proposal Writing

Job Materials and Application Essays

Writing Personal Statements for Ph.D. Programs

• Before you begin: useful tips for writing your essay
• Guided brainstorming exercises
• Get more help with your essay
• Frequently Asked Questions

Resume Writing Tips

CV Writing Tips

Cover Letters

Business Letters

Proposals and Dissertations

Resources for Proposal Writers

Resources for Dissertators

Research Papers

Planning and Writing Research Papers

Quoting and Paraphrasing

Writing Annotated Bibliographies

Creating Poster Presentations

Thank-You Notes

Advice for Students Writing Thank-You Notes to Donors

Reading for a Review

Critical Reviews

Writing a Review of Literature

Scientific Reports

Scientific Report Format

Sample Lab Assignment

Writing for the Web

Writing an Effective Blog Post

Writing for Social Media: A Guide for Academics

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.

• Knowledge Base

Methodology

• How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates

How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates

Published on January 2, 2023 by Shona McCombes . Revised on September 11, 2023.

What is a literature review? A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources on a specific topic. It provides an overview of current knowledge, allowing you to identify relevant theories, methods, and gaps in the existing research that you can later apply to your paper, thesis, or dissertation topic .

There are five key steps to writing a literature review:

• Search for relevant literature
• Evaluate sources
• Identify themes, debates, and gaps
• Outline the structure
• Write your literature review

A good literature review doesn’t just summarize sources—it analyzes, synthesizes , and critically evaluates to give a clear picture of the state of knowledge on the subject.

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

Upload your document to correct all your mistakes in minutes

Table of contents

What is the purpose of a literature review, examples of literature reviews, step 1 – search for relevant literature, step 2 – evaluate and select sources, step 3 – identify themes, debates, and gaps, step 4 – outline your literature review’s structure, step 5 – write your literature review, free lecture slides, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions, introduction.

• Quick Run-through
• Step 1 & 2

When you write a thesis , dissertation , or research paper , you will likely have to conduct a literature review to situate your research within existing knowledge. The literature review gives you a chance to:

• Demonstrate your familiarity with the topic and its scholarly context
• Develop a theoretical framework and methodology for your research
• Position your work in relation to other researchers and theorists
• Show how your research addresses a gap or contributes to a debate
• Evaluate the current state of research and demonstrate your knowledge of the scholarly debates around your topic.

Writing literature reviews is a particularly important skill if you want to apply for graduate school or pursue a career in research. We’ve written a step-by-step guide that you can follow below.

Receive feedback on language, structure, and formatting

Professional editors proofread and edit your paper by focusing on:

• Academic style
• Vague sentences
• Style consistency

See an example

Writing literature reviews can be quite challenging! A good starting point could be to look at some examples, depending on what kind of literature review you’d like to write.

• Example literature review #1: “Why Do People Migrate? A Review of the Theoretical Literature” ( Theoretical literature review about the development of economic migration theory from the 1950s to today.)
• Example literature review #2: “Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines” ( Methodological literature review about interdisciplinary knowledge acquisition and production.)
• Example literature review #3: “The Use of Technology in English Language Learning: A Literature Review” ( Thematic literature review about the effects of technology on language acquisition.)
• Example literature review #4: “Learners’ Listening Comprehension Difficulties in English Language Learning: A Literature Review” ( Chronological literature review about how the concept of listening skills has changed over time.)

You can also check out our templates with literature review examples and sample outlines at the links below.

Download Word doc Download Google doc

Before you begin searching for literature, you need a clearly defined topic .

If you are writing the literature review section of a dissertation or research paper, you will search for literature related to your research problem and questions .

Make a list of keywords

Start by creating a list of keywords related to your research question. Include each of the key concepts or variables you’re interested in, and list any synonyms and related terms. You can add to this list as you discover new keywords in the process of your literature search.

• Social media, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok
• Body image, self-perception, self-esteem, mental health
• Generation Z, teenagers, adolescents, youth

Search for relevant sources

Use your keywords to begin searching for sources. Some useful databases to search for journals and articles include:

• Your university’s library catalogue
• Google Scholar
• Project Muse (humanities and social sciences)
• Medline (life sciences and biomedicine)
• EconLit (economics)
• Inspec (physics, engineering and computer science)

You can also use boolean operators to help narrow down your search.

Make sure to read the abstract to find out whether an article is relevant to your question. When you find a useful book or article, you can check the bibliography to find other relevant sources.

You likely won’t be able to read absolutely everything that has been written on your topic, so it will be necessary to evaluate which sources are most relevant to your research question.

For each publication, ask yourself:

• What question or problem is the author addressing?
• What are the key concepts and how are they defined?
• What are the key theories, models, and methods?
• Does the research use established frameworks or take an innovative approach?
• What are the results and conclusions of the study?
• How does the publication relate to other literature in the field? Does it confirm, add to, or challenge established knowledge?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the research?

Make sure the sources you use are credible , and make sure you read any landmark studies and major theories in your field of research.

You can use our template to summarize and evaluate sources you’re thinking about using. Click on either button below to download.

Take notes and cite your sources

As you read, you should also begin the writing process. Take notes that you can later incorporate into the text of your literature review.

It is important to keep track of your sources with citations to avoid plagiarism . It can be helpful to make an annotated bibliography , where you compile full citation information and write a paragraph of summary and analysis for each source. This helps you remember what you read and saves time later in the process.

Don't submit your assignments before you do this

The academic proofreading tool has been trained on 1000s of academic texts. Making it the most accurate and reliable proofreading tool for students. Free citation check included.

Try for free

To begin organizing your literature review’s argument and structure, be sure you understand the connections and relationships between the sources you’ve read. Based on your reading and notes, you can look for:

• Trends and patterns (in theory, method or results): do certain approaches become more or less popular over time?
• Themes: what questions or concepts recur across the literature?
• Debates, conflicts and contradictions: where do sources disagree?
• Pivotal publications: are there any influential theories or studies that changed the direction of the field?
• Gaps: what is missing from the literature? Are there weaknesses that need to be addressed?

This step will help you work out the structure of your literature review and (if applicable) show how your own research will contribute to existing knowledge.

• Most research has focused on young women.
• There is an increasing interest in the visual aspects of social media.
• But there is still a lack of robust research on highly visual platforms like Instagram and Snapchat—this is a gap that you could address in your own research.

There are various approaches to organizing the body of a literature review. Depending on the length of your literature review, you can combine several of these strategies (for example, your overall structure might be thematic, but each theme is discussed chronologically).

Chronological

The simplest approach is to trace the development of the topic over time. However, if you choose this strategy, be careful to avoid simply listing and summarizing sources in order.

Try to analyze patterns, turning points and key debates that have shaped the direction of the field. Give your interpretation of how and why certain developments occurred.

If you have found some recurring central themes, you can organize your literature review into subsections that address different aspects of the topic.

For example, if you are reviewing literature about inequalities in migrant health outcomes, key themes might include healthcare policy, language barriers, cultural attitudes, legal status, and economic access.

Methodological

If you draw your sources from different disciplines or fields that use a variety of research methods , you might want to compare the results and conclusions that emerge from different approaches. For example:

• Look at what results have emerged in qualitative versus quantitative research
• Discuss how the topic has been approached by empirical versus theoretical scholarship
• Divide the literature into sociological, historical, and cultural sources

Theoretical

A literature review is often the foundation for a theoretical framework . You can use it to discuss various theories, models, and definitions of key concepts.

You might argue for the relevance of a specific theoretical approach, or combine various theoretical concepts to create a framework for your research.

Like any other academic text , your literature review should have an introduction , a main body, and a conclusion . What you include in each depends on the objective of your literature review.

The introduction should clearly establish the focus and purpose of the literature review.

Depending on the length of your literature review, you might want to divide the body into subsections. You can use a subheading for each theme, time period, or methodological approach.

As you write, you can follow these tips:

• Summarize and synthesize: give an overview of the main points of each source and combine them into a coherent whole
• Analyze and interpret: don’t just paraphrase other researchers — add your own interpretations where possible, discussing the significance of findings in relation to the literature as a whole
• Critically evaluate: mention the strengths and weaknesses of your sources
• Write in well-structured paragraphs: use transition words and topic sentences to draw connections, comparisons and contrasts

In the conclusion, you should summarize the key findings you have taken from the literature and emphasize their significance.

When you’ve finished writing and revising your literature review, don’t forget to proofread thoroughly before submitting. Not a language expert? Check out Scribbr’s professional proofreading services !

This article has been adapted into lecture slides that you can use to teach your students about writing a literature review.

Scribbr slides are free to use, customize, and distribute for educational purposes.

Open Google Slides Download PowerPoint

If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• Sampling methods
• Simple random sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Cluster sampling
• Likert scales
• Reproducibility

 Statistics

• Null hypothesis
• Statistical power
• Probability distribution
• Effect size
• Poisson distribution

Research bias

• Optimism bias
• Cognitive bias
• Implicit bias
• Hawthorne effect
• Anchoring bias
• Explicit bias

A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources (such as books, journal articles, and theses) related to a specific topic or research question .

It is often written as part of a thesis, dissertation , or research paper , in order to situate your work in relation to existing knowledge.

There are several reasons to conduct a literature review at the beginning of a research project:

• To familiarize yourself with the current state of knowledge on your topic
• To ensure that you’re not just repeating what others have already done
• To identify gaps in knowledge and unresolved problems that your research can address
• To develop your theoretical framework and methodology
• To provide an overview of the key findings and debates on the topic

Writing the literature review shows your reader how your work relates to existing research and what new insights it will contribute.

The literature review usually comes near the beginning of your thesis or dissertation . After the introduction , it grounds your research in a scholarly field and leads directly to your theoretical framework or methodology .

A literature review is a survey of credible sources on a topic, often used in dissertations , theses, and research papers . Literature reviews give an overview of knowledge on a subject, helping you identify relevant theories and methods, as well as gaps in existing research. Literature reviews are set up similarly to other  academic texts , with an introduction , a main body, and a conclusion .

An  annotated bibliography is a list of  source references that has a short description (called an annotation ) for each of the sources. It is often assigned as part of the research process for a  paper .  

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.

McCombes, S. (2023, September 11). How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates. Scribbr. Retrieved August 12, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/dissertation/literature-review/

Is this article helpful?

Shona McCombes

Other students also liked, what is a theoretical framework | guide to organizing, what is a research methodology | steps & tips, how to write a research proposal | examples & templates, get unlimited documents corrected.

✔ Free APA citation check included ✔ Unlimited document corrections ✔ Specialized in correcting academic texts

How to Write a Literature Review

• Critical analysis
• Sample Literature Reviews
• Scaffold examples for organising Literature Reviews
• Writing an Abstract
• Creating Appendices
• APA Reference Guide
• Library Resources
• Guide References

What is an abstract?

What is an Abstract?

An abstract is a short summary of an article, essay or research findings. A well-written abstract will provide the reader with a brief overview of the entire article, including the article's purpose, methodology and conclusion. An abstract should give the reader enough detail to determine if the information in the article meets their research needs...and it should make them want to read more!

While an abstract is usually anywhere between 150 - 300 words, it is important to always establish with your teacher the desired length of the abstract you are submitting.

This excellent guide from the University of Melbourne is a great snapshot of how to write an abstract.

Here are a few links to some useful abstract examples:

University of New South Wales

University of Wollongong

Michigan State University

• << Previous: Scaffold examples for organising Literature Reviews
• Next: Creating Appendices >>
• Last Updated: Apr 8, 2024 9:14 AM
• URL: https://saintpatricks-nsw.libguides.com/lit_review

• UWF Libraries

Literature Review: Conducting & Writing

• Sample Literature Reviews
• Steps for Conducting a Lit Review
• Finding "The Literature"
• Organizing/Writing
• APA Style This link opens in a new window
• Chicago: Notes Bibliography This link opens in a new window
• MLA Style This link opens in a new window

Sample Lit Reviews from Communication Arts

Have an exemplary literature review.

• Literature Review Sample 1
• Literature Review Sample 2
• Literature Review Sample 3

Have you written a stellar literature review you care to share for teaching purposes?

Are you an instructor who has received an exemplary literature review and have permission from the student to post?

Please contact Britt McGowan at [email protected] for inclusion in this guide. All disciplines welcome and encouraged.

• << Previous: MLA Style
• Next: Get Help! >>
• Last Updated: Aug 8, 2024 11:00 AM
• URL: https://libguides.uwf.edu/litreview

How to Write an Abstract APA Format

Saul McLeod, PhD

Editor-in-Chief for Simply Psychology

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

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

Learn about our Editorial Process

Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc

Associate Editor for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Structure of the Abstract

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

1) The Rationale

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

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

2) The Method

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

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

3) The Results

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

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

4) The Conclusion / Implications

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

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

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

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

The above examples of abstracts are from the following papers:

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

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

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

5) Keywords

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Abstract SHOULD NOT contain:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

APA Style for Abstracts

An APA abstract must be formatted as follows:

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

Example APA Abstract Page

Download this example as a PDF

Further Information

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

How long should an APA abstract be?

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

Where does the abstract go in an APA paper?

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

What are the 4 C’s of abstract writing?

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

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

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

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

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

What is the abstract of a psychology paper?

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

Library Collection Move from August 1 - September 30. For more information, please visit our blog post.

Write Abstracts, Literature Reviews, and Annotated Bibliographies: Home

• Abstract Guides & Examples
• Literature Reviews
• Annotated Bibliographies & Examples
• Student Research

What is an Abstract?

An abstract is a summary of points (as of a writing) usually presented in skeletal form ; also : something that summarizes or concentrates the essentials of a larger thing or several things. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online)  

An abstract is a brief summary of a research article, thesis, review, conference proceeding or any in-depth analysis of a particular subject or discipline, and is often used to help the reader quickly ascertain the paper's purpose. When used, an abstract always appears at the beginning of a manuscript, acting as the point-of-entry for any given scientific paper or patent application. Abstraction and indexing services are available for a number of academic disciplines, aimed at compiling a body of literature for that particular subject. (Wikipedia)

An abstract is a brief, comprehensive summary of the contents of an article. It allows readers to survey the contents of an article quickly. Readers often decide on the basis of the abstract whether to read the entire article. A good abstract should be: ACCURATE --it should reflect the purpose and content of the manuscript. COHERENT --write in clear and concise language. Use the active rather than the passive voice (e.g., investigated instead of investigation of). CONCISE --be brief but make each sentence maximally informative, especially the lead sentence. Begin the abstract with the most important points. The abstract should be dense with information. ( Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association)

Abstract Guidelines

An abstract of a report of an empirical study should describe: (1) the problem under investigation (2) the participants with specific characteristics such as age, sex, ethnic group (3) essential features of the study method (4) basic findings (5) conclusions and implications or applications. An abstract for a literature review or meta-analysis should describe: (1) the problem or relations under investigation (2) study eligibility criteria (3) types of participants (4) main results, including the most important effect sizes, and any important moderators of these effect sizes (5) conclusions, including limitations (6) implications for theory, policy, and practice. An abstract for a theory-oriented paper should describe (1) how the theory or model works and the principles on which it is based and (2) what phenomena the theory or model accounts for and linkages to empirical results. An abstract for a methodological paper should describe (1) the general class of methods being discussed (2) the essential features of the proposed method (3) the range of application of the proposed method (4) in the case of statistical procedures, some of its essential features such as robustness or power efficiency. An abstract for a case study should describe (1) the subject and relevant characteristics of the individual, group, community, or organization presented (2) the nature of or solution to a problem illustrated by the case example (3) questions raised for additional research or theory.

• What is a Literature Review?

A literature review is a body of text that aims to review the critical points of current knowledge including substantive findings as well as theoretical and methodological contributions to a particular topic. Literature reviews are secondary sources, and as such, do not report any new or original experimental work.Most often associated with academic-oriented literature, such as a thesis, a literature review usually precedes a research proposal and results section. Its ultimate goal is to bring the reader up to date with current literature on a topic and forms the basis for another goal, such as future research that may be needed in the area.A well-structured literature review is characterized by a logical flow of ideas; current and relevant references with consistent, appropriate referencing style; proper use of terminology; and an unbiased and comprehensive view of the previous research on the topic. (Wikipedia)

Literature Review: An extensive search of the information available on a topic which results in a list of references to books, periodicals, and other materials on the topic. ( Online Library Learning Center Glossary )

"... a literature review uses as its database reports of primary or original scholarship, and does not report new primary scholarship itself. The primary reports used in the literature may be verbal, but in the vast majority of cases reports are written documents. The types of scholarship may be empirical, theoretical, critical/analytic, or methodological in nature. Second a literature review seeks to describe, summarize, evaluate, clarify and/or integrate the content of primary reports."

Cooper, H. M. (1988), "The structure of knowledge synthesis", Knowledge in Society , Vol. 1, pp. 104-126

• Literature Review Guide
• Literature Review Defined

Subject Guide

• Next: Abstract Guides & Examples >>
• Last Updated: Aug 14, 2024 2:04 PM
• URL: https://library.geneseo.edu/abstracts

Fraser Hall Library | SUNY Geneseo

Fraser Hall 203

Milne Building Renovation Updates

Connect With Us!

Geneseo Authors Hall preserves over 90 years of scholarly works.

KnightScholar Services facilitates creation of works by the SUNY Geneseo community.

IDS Project is a resource-sharing cooperative.

CIT HelpDesk

Writing learning center (wlc).

Fraser Hall 208

How do I Write a Literature Review?: #5 Writing the Review

• Step #1: Choosing a Topic
• Step #2: Finding Information
• Step #3: Evaluating Content
• Step #4: Synthesizing Content
• #5 Writing the Review
• Citing Your Sources

WRITING THE REVIEW 

You've done the research and now you're ready to put your findings down on paper. When preparing to write your review, first consider how will you organize your review.

The actual review generally has 5 components:

Abstract  -  An abstract is a summary of your literature review. It is made up of the following parts:

• A contextual sentence about your motivation behind your research topic
• Your thesis statement
• A descriptive statement about the types of literature used in the review
• Summarize your findings
• Conclusion(s) based upon your findings

Introduction :   Like a typical research paper introduction, provide the reader with a quick idea of the topic of the literature review:

• Define or identify the general topic, issue, or area of concern. This provides the reader with context for reviewing the literature.
• Identify related trends in what has already been published about the topic; or conflicts in theory, methodology, evidence, and conclusions; or gaps in research and scholarship; or a single problem or new perspective of immediate interest.
• Establish your reason (point of view) for reviewing the literature; explain the criteria to be used in analyzing and comparing literature and the organization of the review (sequence); and, when necessary, state why certain literature is or is not included (scope)  - 

Body :  The body of a literature review contains your discussion of sources and can be organized in 3 ways-

• Chronological -  by publication or by trend
• Thematic -  organized around a topic or issue, rather than the progression of time
• Methodical -  the focusing factor usually does not have to do with the content of the material. Instead, it focuses on the "methods" of the literature's researcher or writer that you are reviewing

You may also want to include a section on "questions for further research" and discuss what questions the review has sparked about the topic/field or offer suggestions for future studies/examinations that build on your current findings.

Conclusion :  In the conclusion, you should:

Conclude your paper by providing your reader with some perspective on the relationship between your literature review's specific topic and how it's related to it's parent discipline, scientific endeavor, or profession.

Bibliography :   Since a literature review is composed of pieces of research, it is very important that your correctly cite the literature you are reviewing, both in the reviews body as well as in a bibliography/works cited. To learn more about different citation styles, visit the " Citing Your Sources " tab.

• Writing a Literature Review: Wesleyan University
• Literature Review: Edith Cowan University
• << Previous: Step #4: Synthesizing Content
• Next: Citing Your Sources >>
• Last Updated: Aug 22, 2023 1:35 PM
• URL: https://libguides.eastern.edu/literature_reviews

About the Library

• Collection Development
• Circulation Policies
• Mission Statement
• Staff Directory

Using the Library

• A to Z Journal List
• Library Catalog
• Research Guides

Interlibrary Services

• Research Help

Warner Memorial Library

How to Write an Abstract for a Review Paper

Jerry P Black

Writing an abstract for a review paper is a specific skill because it involves summarizing and highlighting the key points, findings, and contributions of multiple sources. The purpose of a review paper abstract is to provide a concise and clear overview of the reviewed literature and to give readers a sense of what the review covers. Here’s how to write an abstract for a review paper:

1. Title of the Abstract

Start with a clear and informative title that reflects the main theme or focus of the review paper.

An abstract for a review paper is typically 150–250 words. It should be concise but comprehensive, offering a clear view of the review’s scope and significance.

3. Alignment

Ensure that the entire abstract is left-aligned. Do not indent the first line, and maintain a uniform left margin.

4. Font and Size

Use a legible font such as Times New Roman or Arial, and use a 12-point font size.

Trust your assignments to an essay writing service with the fastest delivery time and fully original content.

The abstract should provide a summary of the review paper, including the research topic, the significance of the topic, the review’s objectives, the methods used to select and analyze sources, the main findings, and the implications.

6. Research Topic and Significance

Begin by introducing the research topic that your review paper covers. Explain why this topic is significant and relevant in your field. What is the context or background for the review?

7. Objectives of the Review

State the main objectives or purposes of your review. What are you trying to achieve through this review? Is it to analyze, synthesize, compare, or critique existing literature on the topic?

Briefly describe the methods you used to select and analyze the sources included in the review. Explain whether you followed a systematic literature review approach, a meta-analysis, or another methodology. Mention any inclusion or exclusion criteria you used to choose the sources.

9. Main Findings

Summarize the primary findings, trends, or insights derived from the review. Highlight the most important conclusions and contributions made by the reviewed literature. This section should make it clear what readers can learn from the review.

10. Implications

Discuss the implications of the review’s findings for your field or the topic under investigation. Explain how the review contributes to the existing body of knowledge and the potential areas for future research.

11. Keywords

Include a list of keywords or key phrases that are relevant to the review. These terms will help readers locate your review in literature searches. Keywords should be italicized.

12. Proofreading

After writing the abstract, proofread it carefully to check for grammatical and typographical errors. Ensure that the abstract is clear, well-structured, and coherent.

Sample Abstract for a Review Paper

Here’s an example of an abstract for a hypothetical review paper on the impact of digital technology on education:

Title: Digital Technology in Education: A Comprehensive Review

This comprehensive review paper explores the multifaceted impact of digital technology on education. In an era characterized by rapid technological advancements, the integration of digital tools and platforms into educational settings has transformed teaching and learning. The primary objectives of this review are to assess the evolving landscape of digital technology in education, to analyze its implications for pedagogy, curriculum design, and student engagement, and to synthesize the main findings from a wide range of empirical studies and theoretical perspectives.

Drawing from an extensive collection of literature, this review offers insights into the challenges and opportunities of digital technology in education. The analysis spans a variety of contexts, including K-12 education, higher education, and online learning environments. Key findings suggest that while digital technology has revolutionized teaching and learning, it has also raised issues related to digital inequality, privacy, and digital distraction. The implications of this review point to the need for well-informed policies, innovative instructional strategies, and ongoing research to harness the full potential of digital technology in education.

Written by Jerry P Black

Hello, I'm Jerry P. Black, and I am your go-to essay wizard. I specialize in crafting impeccable and professional essays across a range of subjects

Text to speech

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

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.

Usability and User-Centered Theory for 21 st Century OWLs — by Dana Lynn Driscoll, H. Allen Brizee, Michael Salvo, and Morgan Sousa from The Handbook of Research on Virtual Workplaces and the New Nature of Business Practices . Eds. Kirk St. Amant and Pavel Zemlansky. Hershey, PA: Idea Group Publishing, 2008.

This article describes results of usability research conducted on the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL). The Purdue OWL is an information-rich educational website that provides free writing resources to users worldwide. Researchers conducted two generations of usability tests. In the first test, participants were asked to navigate the OWL and answer questions. Results of the first test and user-centered scholarship indicated that a more user-centered focus would improve usability. The second test asked participants to answer writing-related questions using both the OWL website and a user-centered OWL prototype. Participants took significantly less time to find information using the prototype and reported a more positive response to the user-centered prototype than the original OWL. Researchers conclude that a user-centered website is more effective and can be a model for information-rich online resources. Researchers also conclude that usability research can be a productive source of ideas, underscoring the need for participatory invention.

• Order Tracking

How to Write an Abstract for Literature Review?

• How to Write an Abstract…

Table of Contents

Writing an Abstract for Literature Review

Before a researcher or an academic writer starts to become familiar with how to write an abstract for literature review , one should first be familiar with what exactly qualifies as a Literature Review .

While writing a research paper or dissertation , the literature review is the portion where you brief the guidance counselor – also referred to as a Project Coordinator – about the precise problem you are looking to study and explain in the research paper.

Not only does this enable the guidance counselor to determine that the pupil is on the right track, but also helps the writer lay down a robust foundation to support his or her claim with the help of cited references .

Learn how to write an abstract?

Basic Tips and Guidelines

It would be more helpful to explain this with a real example. A student is looking to study the notion that “Small & Medium Enterprises can benefit by switching over to Cloud Computing”. This is the claim and the study path to be explored. In the Literature Review, the writer can build his case by, first, writing on the history of Cloud Computing; how it started, where it comes from, pioneers, how it evolved etc.

Consequently, the writer will also define & explain Cloud Computing; its various service models, deployment models, components, real life applications of Cloud Computing, the advantages & disadvantages etc.

Now that you know what the Literature Review comprises, let’s come back to how to write an abstract for literature review . The flow is the same as your research paper; initiate with the introduction and talk about the problem or situation being studied, follow it with a description of the research methods brought in to implementation during the data collection & analysis phases , the results derived from the data analysis and, finally, the conclusion reached at the end.

Sample of an Abstract for a Literature Review

Here is a sample of how to write an abstract for literature review in light of the previously mentioned scenario:

Cloud Computing is a technology that brings many advantages with it for businesses that adopt it. In times of this recession when companies are resorting to either shutting down or come up with ways to reduce their operating expenditures, Cloud Computing offers Small & Medium Enterprises numerous benefits and a lifeline to stay in business. To validate this proposition, 10 SMEs that switched over to a Cloud Computing IT infrastructure in the last 12 months or less were chosen from various industries. The firms’ executives and decision makers were interviewed in detail about their IT operations before and after the implementation of Cloud Computing. The findings attained from the respondents clearly indicated a sharp reduction in both operating & capital expenses. This was evident by the lessening in the physical space required for the hardware, diminution of the IT staff headcount to monitor the systems, annulment of expenses incurred on software licensing and also for data recovery & systems security. The study clearly indicates that Cloud Computing is of immense importance to SMEs that wish to reduce their running costs yet continue expanding their operations.

Author:  Ozzy Mirza

For the first 2 decades of life, Ozzy lived a nomadic life; growing up in different countries, interacting with various cultures, gaining exposure to numerous lifestyles. His inscriptions reflect the blend of it all; versatility & candidness meet paper & pen.

Related Posts

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• Bull Med Libr Assoc
• v.88(4); 2000 Oct

Clarifying the abstracts of systematic literature reviews *

James hartley.

1 Department of Psychology Keele University Staffordshire United Kingdom

2 † Author's address for correspondence: James Hartley, B.A., Ph.D., Department of Psychology, Keele University, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, United Kingdom; email, [email protected]

Background: There is a small body of research on improving the clarity of abstracts in general that is relevant to improving the clarity of abstracts of systematic reviews.

Objectives: To summarize this earlier research and indicate its implications for writing the abstracts of systematic reviews.

Method: Literature review with commentary on three main features affecting the clarity of abstracts: their language, structure, and typographical presentation.

Conclusions: The abstracts of systematic reviews should be easier to read than the abstracts of medical research articles, as they are targeted at a wider audience. The aims, methods, results, and conclusions of systematic reviews need to be presented in a consistent way to help search and retrieval. The typographic detailing of the abstracts (type-sizes, spacing, and weights) should be planned to help, rather than confuse, the reader.

Several books and review papers have been published over the last twenty-five years about improving the clarity of the abstracts of articles in scientific journals, including several recent studies [ 1–5 ]. Three main areas of importance have been discussed:

• the language, or the readability, of an abstract;
• the sequence of information, or the structure, of an abstract; and
• the typography, or the presentation, of an abstract.

This paper considers the implications of the findings from research in each of these overlapping areas to the more specific area of writing abstracts for what are called “systematic reviews.” Such reviews in medical journals typically use standard procedures for assessing the evidence obtained from separate studies for and against the effectiveness of a particular treatment. The term “systematic” implies that the authors have used a standard approach to minimizing biases and random errors and that the methods chosen for the approach will be documented in the materials and methods sections of the review. Examples of such reviews may be found in Chalmers's and Altman's text [ 6 ] and in papers published in medical journals, particularly Evidence-Based Medicine. Figure 1 provides a fictitious example of an abstract for such a paper.

“Before” and “after” examples designed to show how differences in typography and wording can enhance the clarity of an abstract. Abstract courtesy of Philippa Middleton.

THE LANGUAGE OF THE TEXT

Research on the readability of conventional journal abstracts suggests that they are not easy to read. Studies in this area typically use the Flesch Reading Ease (R.E.) scores as their measure of text difficulty [ 7 ]. This measure, developed in the 1940s, is based upon the somewhat over simple idea that the difficulty of text is a function of the length of the sentences in the text and the length of the words within these sentences. The original Flesch formula is that R.E. = 206.835 − 0.846w − 1.015s (where w = the average number of syllables in 100 words and s = the average number of words per sentence). The scores normally range from 0 to 100, and the lower the score the more difficult the text is to read; Table 1 gives typical examples. Today, Flesch R.E. scores accompany most computerized spell checkers, and this removes the difficulties of hand calculation; although different programs give slightly different results [ 8, 9 ].

Table 1 The interpretation of Flesch scores

Table 2 summarizes the Flesch scores obtained for numerous journal abstracts in seven studies. The low scores shown here support the notion that journal abstracts are difficult to read. With medical journals, in particular, this difficulty may stem partly from complex medical terminology. Readability scores such as these are widely quoted, even though there is considerable debate about their validity, largely because they ignore the readers' prior knowledge and motivation [ 10, 11 ].

Table 2 Flesch Reading Ease scores reported in previous research on abstracts in journal articles

A second cause of difficulty in understanding text is that, although the wording may be simple and the sentences short, the concepts being described may not be understood by the reader. Thus, for example, although the sentence “God is grace” is extremely readable (in terms of the Flesch), it is not easy to explain what it actually means! In systematic reviews, to be more specific, the statistical concepts of the confidence interval and the adjusted odds ratio ( Figure 1 ) may be well understood by medical researchers, but they will not be understood by all readers.

A third cause of difficulty in prose lies in the scientific nature of the text that emphasizes the use of the third person, together with the passive rather than the active tense. Graetz writes of journal abstracts:

The abstract is characterized by the use of the past tense, the third person, passive, and the non-use of negatives…. It is written in tightly worded sentences, which avoid repetition, meaningless expressions, superlatives, adjectives, illustrations, preliminaries, descriptive details, examples, footnotes. In short it eliminates the redundancy which the skilled reader counts on finding in written language and which usually facilitates comprehension. [ 12 ]

In systematic reviews, it is easy to find sentences like “Trial eligibility and quality were assessed” that would be more readable if they were written as “We assessed the eligibility and the quality of the trials.” Furthermore, there are often short telegrammatic communications, some of which contain no verbs. Figure 1 provides an example (under the subheading “Selection criteria”).

There are, of course, numerous guidelines on how to write clear abstracts and more readable medical text [ 13–16 ] but, at present, there are few such guidelines for writing the abstracts of systematic reviews. Mulrow, Thacker, and Pugh [ 17 ] provide an excellent early example, and there are now regularly updated guidelines in the Cochrane Handbook [ 18 ].

Nonetheless, even when such guidelines are followed, evaluating the clarity of medical text is not easy. But some methods of doing so may be adapted from the more traditional literature on text evaluation. Schriver, for example, describes three different methods of text evaluation—text-based, expert-based, and reader-based methods [ 19 ]:

• Text-based methods are ones that can be used without recourse to experts or to readers. Such methods include computer-based readability formulae (such as the Flesch measure described above) and computer-based measures of style and grammar.
• Expert-based methods are ones that use experts to make assessments of the effectiveness of a piece of text. Medical experts may be asked, for example, to judge the suitability of the information contained in a patient information leaflet.
• Reader-based methods are ones that involve actual readers in making assessments of the suitability of the text, for themselves and for others. Patients, for example, may be asked to comment on medical leaflets or be tested on how much they can recall from them.

Although all three methods of evaluation are useful, especially in combination, this writer particularly recommends reader-based methods for evaluating the readability of abstracts in systematic reviews. This recommendation is because the readers of such systematic reviews are likely to be quite disparate in their aims, needs, and even in the languages that they speak. As the 1999 Cochrane Handbook put it:

Abstracts should be made as readable as possible without compromising scientific integrity. They should primarily be targeted to health care decision makers (clinicians, consumers, and policy makers) rather than just researchers. Terminology should be reasonably comprehensible to a general rather than a specialist medical audience [emphasis added]. [ 20 ]

Expert-based measures on their own may be misleading. For instance, there is evidence to suggest that the concerns of professionals are different from those of other personnel [ 21 ]. Wilson et al. [ 22 ], for instance, report wide differences between the responses of general practitioners (GPs) and patients in the United Kingdom in responses to questions concerning the content and usefulness of several patient information leaflets. Table 3 shows some of their replies.

Table 3 Differences between general practitioners (GPs) and patients in their views about particular patient information leaflets

THE STRUCTURE OF THE TEXT

In recent times, particularly in the medical field, there has been great interest in the use of so-called “structured abstracts”—abstracts that typically contain subheadings, such as “background,” “aims,” “methods,” “results,” and “conclusions.” Indeed, the early rise in the use of such abstracts was phenomenal [ 23 ], and it has no doubt continued to be so up to the present day. Evaluation studies have shown that structured abstracts are more effective than traditional ones, particularly in the sense that they contain more information [ 24–31 ]. However, a caveat here is that some authors still omit important information, and some still include information in the abstract that does not match exactly what is said in the article [ 32–35 ].

Additional research has shown that structured abstracts are sometimes easier to read and to search than are traditional ones [ 36, 37 ], but others have questioned this conclusion [ 38, 39 ]. Nonetheless, in general, both authors and readers apparently prefer structured to traditional abstracts [ 40–42 ]. The main features of structured abstracts that lead to these findings are that:

• the texts are opened-up and clearly subdivided into their component parts, which helps the reader perceive their structure;
• the abstracts sequence their information in a consistent order under consistent subheadings, which facilitates search and retrieval; and
• the writing under these subheadings ensures that authors do not miss out anything important.

Nonetheless, there are some difficulties—and these difficulties become more apparent after considering the structured abstracts of systematic reviews. First of all, the typographic practice of denoting the subheadings varies from journal to journal [ 43, 44 ]. Second, and of more relevance here, there is a range of subheadings used both within and among journals [ 45, 46 ], which militates against rapid retrieval. Table 4 shows an example of these variations by listing the subheadings used in the abstracts in just one volume of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Finally, it appears that some authors omit important subheadings or present them in a different order (e.g., reporting the conclusions before the results) [ 47 ].

Table 4 Different numbers of subheadings used in abstracts in the same volume of the Journal of the American Medical Association

The implications of these difficulties are that a decision needs to be made, based upon appropriate evaluation studies, about what are the key subheadings that can be used consistently in systematic reviews. The journal Evidence-Based Medicine, for example, uses the following six subheadings: “Question(s),” “Data sources,” “Study selection,” “Data extraction,” “Main results,” and “Conclusions,” but the Cochrane Handbook [ 48 ] recommends another seven: “Background,” “Objectives,” “Search strategy,” “Selection criteria,” “Data collection and analysis,” “Main results,” and “Reviewers' conclusions.” Presumably, these different sets of subheadings have developed over time with experience. For example, “Objective(s)” initially preceded “Question(s)” in Evidence-Based Medicine. In the future, refining these subheadings further may be possible by using appropriate typographic cueing, to separate important from minor subheadings, such as those headings used in the Journal of the American Medical Association. It will be essential, however, to use consistent terminology throughout the literature to aid both the creation of and retrieval from the abstracts of systematic reviews. Editors may consult their readers and their authors for possible solutions to this problem.

THE TYPOGRAPHIC SETTING FOR ABSTRACTS OF SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS

Early research on the typographic setting of structured abstracts in scientific articles suggests that the subheadings should be printed in bold capital letters with a line space above each subheading [ 49 ]. But this research has been done with structured abstracts that only have four subheadings. However, the abstracts of systematic reviews are likely to have more than four-subheadings—indeed, as noted above, six or seven seem typical. Also, some of these subheadings may be more important than others.

Generally speaking, there are two ways of clarifying the structure in typography. One is to vary the typography, the other to vary the spacing [ 50, 51 ]. In terms of typography, not overdoing is best; there is no need to use two cues when one will do. Thus, it may be appropriate to use bold lettering for the main subheadings and italic lettering for the less important ones, without adding the additional cues of capital letters or underlining. Also, as the subheadings appear as the first word on a line, placing a line space above them enhances their effectiveness, so there is no need to indent the subheadings as well. The abstracts published in the Cochrane Library follow this procedure.

Finally in this section, it should be noted that it is easier to read an abstract:

• that is set in the same type-size (or larger) than the body of the text of the review, unlike many journal abstracts, [ 52 ];
• that does not use “fancy'” typography or indeed bold or italic for its substantive text [ 53 ]; and
• that is set in “unjustified text,” with equal word spacing and a ragged right-hand margin, rather than in “justified text,” with unequal word spacing and straight left- and right-hand margins. This is particularly the case if the abstract is being read on screen [ 54 ].

CONCLUSIONS

The research reviewed above suggests that, in presenting the abstracts to systematic reviews, attention needs to be paid to their language, their structure, and their typographic design. Figure 1 shows a “before and after” example for a fictitious abstract for a systematic review. The purpose of this example is to encapsulate the argument of this paper and to show how changes in wording and typography can enhance the clarity of an abstract for a systematic review.

Acknowledgments

The author is indebted to Iain Chalmers, Philippa Middleton, Mark Starr, and anonymous referees for assistance in the preparation of this paper.

* Based on invited presentation at the VIIth Cochrane Colloquium, Rome, Italy, October 1999.

• Berkenkotter C, Huckin TN. Genre knowledge in disciplinary communication . Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. 1995 [ Google Scholar ]
• Hartley J. Three ways to improve the clarity of journal abstracts . Brit J Educ Psychol . 1994 Jun. 64 ( 2 ):331–43. [ Google Scholar ]
• Swales JM. Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings . Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press. 1990 [ Google Scholar ]
• Swales JM, Feak C. Academic writing for graduate students . Michigan: University of Michigan Press. 1994 [ Google Scholar ]
• Anonymous. A proposal for more informative abstracts in clinical articles. Ad Hoc Working Group for Critical Appraisal of the Medical Literature . Ann Intern Med . 1987 Apr. 106 ( 4 ):598–604. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Chalmers I, Altman DG. eds. . Systematic reviews . London, U.K.: British Medical Journal Publishing Group. 1995 [ Google Scholar ]
• Flesch R. A new readability yardstick . J Appl Psychol . 1948 Jun. 32 :221–3. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Mailloux SL, Johnson ME, Fisher DG, and Pettibone TJ. How reliable is computerized assessment of readability? Computers and Nursing . 1995 Sep–Oct. 13 ( 5 ):221–5. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Sydes M, Hartley J. A thorn in the Flesch: observations on the unreliability of computer-based readability formulae . British Journal of Educational Technology . 1997 Apr. 28 ( 2 ):143–5. [ Google Scholar ]
• Davison A, Green G. eds. . Linguistic complexity and text comprehension: readability issues reconsidered . Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. 1988 [ Google Scholar ]
• Hartley J. Designing instructional text . 3d ed. East Brunswick, NJ: Nichols. 1994 [ Google Scholar ]
• Graetz N. Teaching EFL students to extract structural information from abstracts . In: Ulijn JM, Pugh AK, eds. Reading for professional purposes. Leuven, Belgium: ACCO. 1985 125. [ Google Scholar ]
• National Information Standards Organization. An American national standard: guidelines for abstracts . Bethesda, MD: NISO Press. 1997 [ Google Scholar ]
• Hall GM. How to write a paper . London, U.K.: BMJ Pub Group. 1994 [ Google Scholar ]
• Hartley J. What does it say? text design, medical information and older readers . In Park DC, Morrell RW, Shifren K, eds. Processing of medical information in aging patients. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. 1999 233–47. [ Google Scholar ]
• Matthews JR. Successful scientific writing: a step-by-step guide for biological and medical scientists . 2d ed. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. 2000 [ Google Scholar ]
• Mulrow CD, Thacker SB, and Pugh JA. A proposal for more informative abstracts of review articles . Ann Intern Med . 1988 Apr:  108 ( 4 ):613–5. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Clarke M, Oxman AD. eds. . Cochrane reviewers' handbook 4.0 [updated July 1999] . In: The Cochrane Library, issue 2 [database on CDROM]. The Cochrane Collaboration. Oxford, U.K.: Update Software. 2000 [ Google Scholar ]
• Schriver KA. Evaluating text quality: the continuum from text-focused to reader-focused methods . IEEE Trans Prof Comm . 1989 Dec. 32 ( 4 ):238–55. [ Google Scholar ]
• Berry DC, Michas IC, Gillie T, and Forster M. What do patients want to know about their medicines, and what do doctors want to tell them? a comparative study . Psychol and Health . 1997. 12 ( 4 ):467–80. [ Google Scholar ]
• Wilson R, Kenny T, Clark J, Moseley D, Newton L, Newton D, and Purves I. Ensuring the readability and efficacy of patient information leaflets . Newcastle, U.K.: Sowerby Health Centre for Health Informatics, Newcastle University. Prodigy Publication. 1998  no. 30. [ Google Scholar ]
• Harbourt AM, Knecht LS, and Humphreys BL. Structured abstracts in MEDLINE 1989–91 . Bull Med Libr Assoc . 1995 Apr. 83 ( 2 ):190–5. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Hartley J. Applying ergonomics to Applied Ergonomics: using structured abstracts . Appl Ergonom . 1999 Dec. 30 ( 6 ):535–41. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Hartley J, Benjamin M. An evaluation of structured abstracts in journals published by the British Psychological Society . Brit J Educ Psychol . 1998 Sep. 68 ( 3 ):443–56. [ Google Scholar ]
• Haynes RB. More informative abstracts: current status and evaluation . J Clin Epidemiol . 1993 Jul. 46 ( 7 ):595–7. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• McIntosh N, Duc G, and Sedin G. Structure improves content and peer review of abstracts submitted to scientific meetings . European Science Editing . 1999 Jun. 25 ( 2 ):43–7. [ Google Scholar ]
• Scherer RW, Crawley B. Reporting of randomized clinical trial descriptors and the use of structured abstracts . JAMA . 1998 July 15. 280 ( 3 ):269–72. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Taddio A, Pain T, Fassos FF, Boon H, Ilersich AL, and Einarson TR. Quality of nonstructured and structured abstracts of original research articles in the British Medical Journal, the Canadian Medical Association Journal and the Journal of the American Medical Association . Can Med Assoc J . 1994 May 15. 150 ( 10 ):1611–5. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Tenopir C, Jacso P. Quality of abstracts . Online . 1993 May. 17 ( 3 ):44–55. [ Google Scholar ]
• Froom P, Froom J. Deficiencies in structured medical abstracts . J Clin Epidemiol . 1993 Jul. 46 ( 7 ):591–4. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Pitkin RM, Branagan MA. Can the accuracy of abstracts be improved by providing specific instructions? a randomized controlled trial . JAMA . 1998 Jul 15. 280 ( 3 ):267–9. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Pitkin RM, Branagan MA, and Burmeister L. Accuracy of data in abstracts of published research articles . JAMA . 1999 Mar 24–31. 281 ( 12 ):1110–1. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Hartley J.. Are structured abstracts more/less accurate than traditional ones? a study in the psychological literature. Journal of Information Science. 2000; 26 (4) [ Google Scholar ]
• Hartley J, Sydes M.. Are structured abstracts easier to read than traditional ones? J Res Reading. 1997; 20 (2):122–36. [ Google Scholar ]
• Hartley J, Sydes M, Blurton A.. Obtaining information accurately and quickly: are structured abstracts more efficient? J Info Sc. 1996; 22 (5):349–56. [ Google Scholar ]
• Booth A, O'Rourke AJ.. The value of structured abstracts in information retrieval from MEDLINE. Health Libr Rev. 1997; 14 (3):157–66. [ Google Scholar ]
• O'Rourke AJ. Structured abstracts in information retrieval from biomedical databases: a literature survey . Health Informatics J . 1997 Jan. 3 ( 1 ):17–20. [ Google Scholar ]
• Hartley J, Sydes M.. Which layout do you prefer? an analysis of readers' preferences for different typographic layouts of structured abstracts. J Info Sci. 1996; 22 (1):27–37. [ Google Scholar ]
• Hartley J. Typographic settings for structured abstracts . J Technical Writing and Communication . 2001  in press. [ Google Scholar ]
• Dronberger GB, Kowitz GT.. Abstract readability as a factor in information systems. J Am Soc Inf Sci. 1975; 26 :108–11. [ Google Scholar ]
• Roberts JC, Fletcher CH, and Fletcher SW. Effects of peer review and editing on the readability of articles published in Annals of Internal Medicine . JAMA . 1994 Jul 13. 272 ( 2 ):119–21. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]

Title Page Setup

A title page is required for all APA Style papers. There are both student and professional versions of the title page. Students should use the student version of the title page unless their instructor or institution has requested they use the professional version. APA provides a student title page guide (PDF, 199KB) to assist students in creating their title pages.

Student title page

The student title page includes the paper title, author names (the byline), author affiliation, course number and name for which the paper is being submitted, instructor name, assignment due date, and page number, as shown in this example.

Title page setup is covered in the seventh edition APA Style manuals in the Publication Manual Section 2.3 and the Concise Guide Section 1.6

Related handouts

• Student Title Page Guide (PDF, 263KB)
• Student Paper Setup Guide (PDF, 3MB)

Student papers do not include a running head unless requested by the instructor or institution.

Follow the guidelines described next to format each element of the student title page.

Professional title page

The professional title page includes the paper title, author names (the byline), author affiliation(s), author note, running head, and page number, as shown in the following example.

Follow the guidelines described next to format each element of the professional title page.

Free Al Office Suite with PDF Editor

Edit Word, Excel, and PPT for FREE.

Read, edit, and convert PDFs with the powerful PDF toolkit.

Microsoft-like interface, easy to use.

Windows • MacOS • Linux • iOS • Android

• Articles of Word

How to Write an Abstract - Steps with Examples

Writing reports, papers, and assignments is a significant part of college life, and it often involves complex writing and analysis. One of the most challenging aspects can be crafting an effective abstract. After completing your report, summarizing it concisely can seem daunting. In this guide, I’ll walk you through how to write an abstract for paper that clearly and effectively summarizes your work, making it easier for your readers to grasp the main points.

What to Include & How to Structure Your Abstract?

A.what to include.

An abstract serves as a concise summary of a research paper, providing readers with a quick overview of its essential aspects. It typically begins by setting the context and significance of the research, outlining the broader field and specific topic under study. Central to the abstract is a clear articulation of the research question or problem that the study addresses, emphasizing its relevance and importance within the discipline. Building upon existing literature, the abstract succinctly summarizes previous research while highlighting gaps or limitations that motivate the current study.

Context or Background: Briefly introduce the general and specific topics of your research.

Central Question or Problem: Clearly state the research question or problem addressed.

Previous Research: Summarize what is already known and highlight gaps or limitations.

Methods: Outline the research or analytical methods used.

Findings: Present the main findings or arguments.

Significance: Explain the implications or significance of your findings.

B.How to Structure

Introduction:

Begin with a sentence that sets the context and importance of your research topic.

Briefly mention the specific aspect of the topic that your paper focuses on.

Provide a concise summary of the methods used in your study.

Mention any unique approaches or innovations in your methodology.

Summarize the most significant findings of your research.

Highlight any unexpected results or patterns observed.

Conclusion:

Conclude with the significance of your findings.

Discuss how your research contributes to the field and suggest areas for future study.

C.Things to Avoid

Citing References: Avoid including citations or detailed literature reviews.

Detailed Explanations: Keep descriptions of methods and data concise.

Jargon and Technical Language: Use clear and accessible language to ensure understanding

Types of Abstract

There are two primary types of abstracts: descriptive and informative.

1.Descriptive Abstract:

A descriptive abstract provides a brief overview of the purpose and scope of the research without delving into specific details of findings or conclusions. It aims to give readers a snapshot of what the paper is about.

An example of a descriptive abstract would be where in a study analyzing economic homogamy among spouses, a descriptive abstract might introduce the topic and outline the general findings about increasing economic resemblance between partners without specifying the detailed methods or specific results.

2.Informative Abstract:

An informative abstract offers a comprehensive summary of the entire research paper, including the purpose, methods, results, and conclusions. It provides readers with a clear understanding of the study's objectives and outcomes.

For instance, in a research paper on reprogramming fibroblasts into induced cardiac progenitor cells, an informative abstract would detail the methods used (such as specific gene factors and signaling pathways), summarize the main findings (including the types of cells generated and their potential applications), and discuss the broader implications for cardiac regenerative therapy.

Both types of abstracts serve distinct purposes: descriptive abstracts give a broad overview suitable for quickly understanding the topic, while informative abstracts provide detailed insights into the research, making them ideal for readers seeking in-depth knowledge without reading the full paper.

How to Write an Abstract for paper in 4 Steps [With Examples]

Now that we know an abstract is simply a concise summary of our entire research, the next step is to learn how to write an abstract for a research paper. Remember, the structure of an abstract needs to be followed strictly, and it should be within 300 words to ensure it is impactful and fulfills its purpose. The structure includes:

Problem Statement (1-2 sentences)

Methodology (1-2 sentences)

Results (2-3 sentences)

Significance (1-2 sentences)

With this structure in mind, I will be writing an abstract on the topic 'Ethical Implications of Facial Recognition Technology in Public Surveillance'. To assist me, I will be using WPS Writer as my writing tool because it not only provides me with the necessary editing tools for writing my research paper but also utilizes WPS AI to save time and enhance the meaning of my abstract.

Problem Statement

So first of all, in an abstract, we have the Problem Statement. A problem statement, or research gap, serves as a concise description of the issue or challenge addressed in the research. Students and researchers often end up writing line after line when discussing the research gap, although just 1-2 lines will suffice.

Let's take a look at the draft I have written for the problem statement on WPS Writer.

To shorten this problem statement effectively while ensuring it describes the issue concisely, I'll use WPS AI for assistance. Here's how:

Step 1: Highlight the problem statement using your mouse.

Step 2: After highlighting the text, you will see a floating menu with quick edit tools. Click on the "WPS AI" icon.

Step 3: Upon clicking the WPS AI icon, a list of WPS AI options will appear. Select "Make Shorter".

Step 4: WPS AI will process the text, and once shortened, review it. If satisfactory, click “Replace”; otherwise, opt for “Rewrite” to refine further.

Step 5: With the problem statement shortened, I'll add a human touch by making final adjustments before moving to the next part of our abstract.

Methodology

Next up, we need to discuss the methods used during our research. This includes outlining the specific techniques, procedures, or approaches employed to gather data and analyze findings, ensuring transparency and replicability in scholarly work.

And now, with the help of WPS AI, I'll be shortening my methodology statement to make it more concise and fit my abstract.

Ensure to review any changes made because WPS AI is a writing assistant designed to help you write better, but reviewing is critical to ensure the end result meets your expectations.

After discussing the methodology, we present the results of our research. This section summarizes the key findings and outcomes obtained through the applied methods, providing a clear picture of what was discovered or achieved.

Similar to other sections, I have created a rough draft of my research findings, which I believe are important to include in my abstract.

Now with the assistance of WPS AI, I can further condense my draft. Remember, results can be a bit longer compared to other sections of our abstract, so I'll aim for 2-3 sentences to maintain relevance.

Significance

Finally, we need to discuss the significance of our research and its contributions to the field. This involves explaining how our findings will impact the topic of research and provide a foundation for future studies.

With my significance statement further shortened using WPS AI, I now have my complete abstract statement totaling over 220 words, providing a brief overview of my entire research.

Once you have completed writing your abstract, the next step is to include keywords—a crucial element in learning how to write an abstract for a project or research paper in APA style. When publishing your paper, it's essential to include these keywords at the end of the abstract.

They should highlight important aspects of your research, aiding readers in finding your paper during literature searches. APA Style guidelines specify the formatting rules for these keywords, ensuring consistency and clarity in scholarly publications.

Place keywords directly below the abstract.

Indent the first line of keywords by 0.5 inches.

Use an italicized heading for "Keywords:"

Separate each keyword with a comma and maintain standard font style for keywords.

Remember, the abstract is written once the entire research paper has been completed, so it is the final step before you submit your research paper for publication or to your college professor.

When inputting keywords, think from a reader's perspective about what they are searching for, and include those search terms as your keywords.

While writing your abstract, remember that your research findings are already completed, so the abstract is always in the present or past simple tense.

Avoid delving deeply into the problem when describing your problem statement.

Use verbs like "investigate, test, analyze, evaluate, calculate" to describe the purpose of your research.

In the results section, highlight the most important findings because sometimes research findings are extensive and it might leave you confused about which ones to include.

Mention any limitations encountered during your research.

Bonus Tips: How to Perfect your Abstract with WPS AI

When crafting your essay with WPS AI, you're setting yourself up for success. WPS AI offers a suite of tools designed to elevate your writing to new heights, ensuring your paper is not only well-written but also perfectly formatted and crystal clear. Whether you're brainstorming ideas or fine-tuning your final draft, WPS AI is your comprehensive writing assistant.

Content Generation and Idea Formation:

WPS AI aids in generating and refining ideas, helping you structure your thoughts cohesively. It provides guidance on developing strong arguments and organizing your essay logically, ensuring your content flows smoothly.

Grammar and Style Correction:

WPS AI acts as a meticulous proofreader, detecting and correcting grammatical errors, punctuation mistakes, and stylistic inconsistencies. It ensures your writing adheres to standard grammar rules and enhances readability.

Coherence Enhancement:

Beyond surface-level corrections, WPS AI enhances the coherence of your writing. It identifies areas where transitions between paragraphs or ideas could be smoother, ensuring your paper maintains a clear and logical progression of thought.

Clarity Check:

Clarity is paramount in effective writing. WPS AI evaluates the clarity of your sentences and paragraphs, suggesting improvements to eliminate ambiguity and enhance understanding. It helps refine your tone and ensures your message is conveyed effectively to your audience.

Formatting Assistance:

Formatting can often be a tedious task. WPS AI automates the process, ensuring your paper meets the required formatting guidelines effortlessly. Whether it's APA, MLA, Chicago, or any other style, WPS AI ensures your paper looks polished and professional.

Real-time Feedback and Iterative Improvement:

As you write, WPS AI provides real-time feedback, offering suggestions for improvement as you draft your essay. This iterative process allows you to refine your writing continuously, incorporating feedback on the go.

FAQs about writing an abstract for paper

1. is it necessary for an abstract to adhere to a standard structure.

No, an abstract does not always need to follow a standard structure. While a standard format offers familiarity, focusing on the most compelling aspects of your research is crucial. Here are some key points to keep in mind:

Significant Discoveries: If your research unveils groundbreaking results, prioritizing these can immediately capture attention, even if it diverges slightly from the traditional structure.

Innovative Method: Highlighting a fresh or distinct approach from the outset can captivate readers interested in your research methodology.

2. Does the use of technical jargon in an Abstract enhance the reader's comprehension?

Using too much technical language in an abstract usually doesn't help readers. Here's why it might cause trouble:

Excludes Readers: An excessive use of jargon can create a barrier, potentially alienating readers who could otherwise benefit from your research.

Hides Important Ideas: Sometimes, technical language makes it hard to understand your thoughts clearly. Utilizing clear and everyday language enhances your ability to communicate complex ideas effectively.

When to Incorporate Technical Language:

Clarify Terms: If technical terms are necessary, provide clear explanations upon their initial use.

Maintain Balance: Strive for clarity while demonstrating proficiency in the technical vocabulary of your field.

3. When should I write the Abstract?

Once you've finished your research, write the abstract as the final step. This allows you to concisely summarize your entire thesis, dissertation, or research paper, capturing all its main points and findings.

4. How long should an Abstract be?

Abstract lengths for theses and dissertations typically range between 200 and 300 words. Many universities enforce strict word limits, so it's crucial to check your institution's specific requirements before submitting your abstract.

Ease Your Academic Life With WPS Office

Writing a paper can be a challenging journey, but when you're creating your abstract, you're figuratively and literally wrapping it up. WPS Office is a great companion to have on this journey. From generating ideas to perfecting your final draft, WPS AI equips you with the tools and guidance on how to write an abstract for paper. It ensures that your essay not only meets academic standards but also stands out for its coherence, clarity, and impeccable presentation. Download WPS Office now and make your academic life easier.

• 1. How to Write A Literature Review - Steps with Examples
• 2. How to Write a Hook- Steps With Examples
• 3. How to Write a Proposal [ Steps & Examples]
• 4. How to Write A thesis statement - Steps with Examples
• 5. How to Write a Call to Action - Steps with Examples
• 6. How to Write an Argumentative Essay- Steps with Examples

15 years of office industry experience, tech lover and copywriter. Follow me for product reviews, comparisons, and recommendations for new apps and software.

Information

• Author Services

Initiatives

You are accessing a machine-readable page. In order to be human-readable, please install an RSS reader.

All articles published by MDPI are made immediately available worldwide under an open access license. No special permission is required to reuse all or part of the article published by MDPI, including figures and tables. For articles published under an open access Creative Common CC BY license, any part of the article may be reused without permission provided that the original article is clearly cited. For more information, please refer to https://www.mdpi.com/openaccess .

Feature papers represent the most advanced research with significant potential for high impact in the field. A Feature Paper should be a substantial original Article that involves several techniques or approaches, provides an outlook for future research directions and describes possible research applications.

Feature papers are submitted upon individual invitation or recommendation by the scientific editors and must receive positive feedback from the reviewers.

Editor’s Choice articles are based on recommendations by the scientific editors of MDPI journals from around the world. Editors select a small number of articles recently published in the journal that they believe will be particularly interesting to readers, or important in the respective research area. The aim is to provide a snapshot of some of the most exciting work published in the various research areas of the journal.

Original Submission Date Received: .

• Active Journals
• Find a Journal
• Proceedings Series
• For Authors
• For Reviewers
• For Editors
• For Librarians
• For Publishers
• For Societies
• For Conference Organizers
• Open Access Policy
• Institutional Open Access Program
• Special Issues Guidelines
• Editorial Process
• Research and Publication Ethics
• Article Processing Charges
• Testimonials
• Preprints.org
• SciProfiles
• Encyclopedia

Article Menu

• Subscribe SciFeed
• Recommended Articles
• Google Scholar
• on Google Scholar
• Table of Contents

Find support for a specific problem in the support section of our website.

Please let us know what you think of our products and services.

Visit our dedicated information section to learn more about MDPI.

JSmol Viewer

Community resilience evaluation and construction strategies in the perspective of public health emergencies: a case study of six communities in nanjing.

1. Introduction

2. literature review, 2.1. resilience theory, 2.2. resilience assessment, 3. materials and methods, 3.1. evaluation system, 3.2. weights, 4. samples and results, 4.1. study area.

• Suojin Village Community (I) is established in the 1980s, the community covers an area of 0.45 square kilometers and has a population of 12,000. It located in the central part of Xuanwu District, bordered by Xuanwu Lake Street to the east, Taipingmen and Houzaimen Street to the south, Xuanwu Lake and Xuanwumen Street to the west, and the Shanghai–Nanjing Railway and Hongshan Street to the north.
• Bancang Community (II) was established in the 1980s, covering an area of 0.28 square kilometers with a population of 6800. It is bordered by the Purple Mountain to the south, Jiangwangmiao Community to the east, Xuanwu Lake to the west, and is adjacent to Suojincun Street.
• Zixincheng Community (III) was established in the 1980s, covering an area of 0.35 square kilometers with a population of 6000. It is bordered by Purple Mountain to the east, Xuanwu Lake to the west, Baima Park and Bei’anmen Street to the south, and Ningxi Road to the north.
• Jiangwangmiao Community (IV) was established in the 1990s, covering an area of 0.32 square kilometers with a population of 6000. It is bordered by Ningxi Road to the south, National Highway 312 to the west, and Huaxin West Road to the north.
• Huayuan Road Community (V) was established in the 1990s, covering an area of 0.47 square kilometers with a population of 13,700. Garden Road runs through the community, which is bordered by Huaxin West Road to the east, Nanjing Forestry University to the west, Garden Road Neighborhoods 5 and 8 to the south, and Xuanwu Avenue to the north.
• Yingtie Village Community (VI) was established in the 1990s, covering an area of 0.57 square kilometers with a population of 13,000. It is bordered by the Jingwu Overpass to the east, Yingtuo Huayuan Road Community to the south, the East Long-Distance Bus Station to the west, and Xuanwu Avenue to the north.

4.2. Resilience Evaluation Results

4.2.1. first-level indicator, 4.2.2. second-level indicator, 4.2.3. third-level indicator, 4.3. validity and reliability of the empirical results.

• Suojin Village Community (I) established an efficient information communication mechanism to ensure that residents were kept up to date with the latest pandemic developments. Among the interviewed residents, there was widespread satisfaction with the community’s pandemic prevention and control performance. However, it performs poorly in pedestrian and bicycle lane (B1). Thus, it is advised that the walking and cycling systems be improved, the public transit system be made more accessible, the transportation network and transfer facilities be laid out sensibly, and the environment for slow traffic be improved in the ensuing resilience enhancement construction. Furthermore, the community slow traffic road system’s design and optimization must be combined in order to offer adaptable motor vehicle management plans, such as restricting parking during public health emergencies to lower safety risks.
• Bancang Community (II) performs well in public service facilities (B9) and recovery adaptability (B14). Residents expressed universal satisfaction with the community’s pandemic prevention and control performance: during the pandemic, the town plaza was rapidly converted into an emergency center, significantly slowing the spread of the virus. However, it performs poorly in open space (B4). Thus, it is advised that open green spaces be used for more purposes and that outdoor activity areas be planned with consideration for the local climate and the demands of the occupants throughout the ensuing resilience enhancement construction. In addition, it may guarantee comfortable slow traffic by improving the accessibility and connection of public areas like parks and block green areas. Simultaneously, adjust the spatial layout in accordance with the requirements of the inhabitants, such as by including rest spaces and lights in the park, to provide a better open area for everyday community activities.
• Zixincheng Community (III) performs poorly in emergency support facilities (B10). The majority of the citizens were dissatisfied with the community’s pandemic prevention and control performance. It is recommended to improve the configuration of medical equipment to ensure meeting various medical needs. Balanced layout and adding facilities to fill gaps and expand service coverage are essential. Additionally, establishing a 15-min disaster prevention and epidemic prevention zone and increasing facilities such as health stations can enhance epidemic prevention capabilities.
• Jiangwangmiao Community (IV) performs poorly in transportation space (B3). It is recommended to optimize the punctuality of public transportation and integrate non-motorized transportation, increase the density of bus stops, and reduce waiting times. Additionally, it is crucial to strategically allocate public transportation, medical facilities, and open spaces, establish a network of slow traffic and life services covering the community, and promote the development of a healthy community.
• Huayuan Road Community (V) performs poorly in emergency defense space (B7). It is recommended to optimize emergency shelters to respond to public health emergencies. It is suggested to establish construction standards that match the community, renovate public buildings to meet disaster response needs, and consider public and commercial facilities as potential shelters. Establishing and updating relevant databases for the rapid conversion of space use is also recommended.
• Yingtie Village Community (VI) performs poorly in supply storage space (B6). It is recommended to improve community emergency material reserves by establishing dedicated storage facilities. Implementing efficient material storage and rotation systems, and integrating community resources to optimize emergency provisioning, are crucial steps. Ensuring the seamless supply and utilization of materials in both emergency and normal situations, covering all residents and organizations, will enhance emergency response capabilities.

5. Discussion

5.1. optimization strategy from a full cycle perspective, 5.1.1. optimization strategy for preparation and prevention phase, 5.1.2. optimization strategy for impact and response phase, 5.1.3. optimization strategy for recovery and adaptation phase, 5.2. practical application in real-world circumstances, 5.3. limitations of the study, 6. conclusions, author contributions, institutional review board statement, informed consent statement, data availability statement, acknowledgments, conflicts of interest.

• Wu, Z.Q.; Feng, F.; Lu, F. Space design for urban resilience. Time Archit. 2020 , 4 , 84–89. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Wu, Z.Q.; Lu, F.; Yang, T.; Feng, F. Challenges for urban space governance under the major epidemic impack. City Plan. Rev. 2020 , 44 , 9–12. [ Google Scholar ]
• Norris, F.H.; Stevens, S.P.; Pfefferbaum, B.; Wyche, K.F. Community resilience as a metaphor, theory, set of capacities, and strategy for disaster readiness. Am. J. Community Psychol. 2008 , 41 , 127–150. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Duan, J.; Yang, B.; Zhou, L. Planning improves city’s immunity: A written conversation on COVID-19 breakout. City Plan. Rev. 2020 , 44 , 115–136. [ Google Scholar ]
• Lim, S.; Allen, K.; Bhutta, Z. Measuring the health-related Sustainable Development Goals in 188 countries: A baseline analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015. Lancet 2016 , 388 , 1813–1850. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Cutter, S.L. The landscape of disaster resilience indicators in the USA. Nat. Hazards 2016 , 80 , 741–758. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Collier, M.J.; Nedović-Budić, Z.; Aerts, J. Transitioning to resilience and sustainability in urban communities. Cities 2013 , 32 , 21–28. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Garcia-Perez, A.; Cegarra-Navarro, J.G.; Sallos, M.P. Resilience in healthcare systems: Cyber security and digital transformation. Technovation 2023 , 121 , 102583. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Cimellaro, G.P.; Reinhorn, A.M.; Bruneau, M. Framework for analytical quantification of disaster resilience. Eng. Struct. 2010 , 32 , 3639–3649. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Gunderson, L.H.; Holling, C.S. Panarchy: Understanding Transformations in Human and Natural Systems ; Island Press: Washington, DC, USA, 2002. [ Google Scholar ]
• Gunderson, L.H.; Holling, C.S.; Pritchard, L. Resilience of large-scale resource systems. Scope-Sci. Comm. Probl. Environ. Int. Counc. Sci. Unions 2002 , 60 , 3–20. [ Google Scholar ]
• Galderisi, A.; Limongi, G.; Salata, K.D. Strengths and weaknesses of the 100 resilient cities initiative in southern Europe: Rome and Athens’ experiences. City Territ. Archit. 2020 , 7 , 16. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Mileti, D. Disasters by Design: A Reassessment of Natural Hazards in the United States ; Joseph Henry Press: Washington, DC, USA, 1999. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• UNISDR. Living with Risk: A Global Review of Disaster Reduction Initiatives ; United Nations: Geneva, Switzerland, 2004. [ Google Scholar ]
• Coles, E.; Buckle, P. Developing community resilience as a foundation for effective disaster recovery. Aust. J. Emerg. Manag. 2004 , 19 , 6–15. [ Google Scholar ]
• Cutter, S.L.; Barnes, L.; Berry, M. A Place-based model for understanding community resilience to natural disasters. Glob. Environ. Change 2008 , 8 , 598–606. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Twigg, J. Characteristics of a Disaster-Resilient Community: A Guidance Note , 2nd ed.; Aon Benfield UCL Hazard Research Centre: London, UK, 2009. [ Google Scholar ]
• Magis, K. Community Resilience: An Indicator of Social Sustainability. Soc. Nat. Resour. Int. J. 2010 , 23 , 401–416. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Chandra, A.; Acosta, J.; Howard, S.; Uscher-Pines, L. Building Community Resilience to Disasters: A way forward to Enhance Nationa1 Health Security. Rand Health Q. 2011 , 1 , 6. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Lopez-Marrero, T.; Tschakert, P. From theory to practice: Building more resilient communities in flood-prone areas. Environ. Urban. 2011 , 23 , 229–249. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Bruneau, M.; Chang, S.E.; Eguchi, R.T. A framework to quantitatively assess and enhance the seismic resilience of communities. Earthq. Spectra 2012 , 19 , 733–752. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Berkes, F.; Ross, H. Community Resilience: Toward an Integrated Approach. Soc. Nat. Resour. Int. J. 2013 , 26 , 5–20. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Fabbricatti, K.; Boissenin, L.; Citoni, M. Heritage Community Resilience: Towards new approaches for urban resilience and sustainability. City Territ. Archit. 2020 , 7 , 17. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Rifat, S.A.; Liu, W. Measuring community disaster resilience in the conterminous coastal United States. ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020 , 9 , 469. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Jewett, R.L.; Mah, S.M.; Howell, N. Social cohesion and community resilience during COVID-19 and pandemics: A rapid scoping review to inform the United Nations research roadmap for COVID-19 recovery. Int. J. Health Serv. 2021 , 51 , 325–336. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Fransen, J.; Peralta, D.O.; Vanelli, F. The emergence of urban community resilience initiatives during the COVID-19 pandemic: An international exploratory study. Eur. J. Dev. Res. 2022 , 34 , 432–454. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Peng, C.; Guo, Z.; Peng, Z. Research Progress on the Theory and Practice of Foreign Community Resilience. Urban Plan. Int. 2017 , 32 , 60–66. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• O’Connell, D.; Walker, B.; Abel, N. The Resilience, Adaptation and Transformation Assessment Framework: From Theory to Application ; Csiro: Canberra, Australia, 2015. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Meng, L.J.; Yun, Y.X. Disaster Resilience Improvement Strategy of Existing Communities Based on RATA Resilience Evaluation System: A Case Study of Existing Communities in Dongxing Road, Hedong District, Tianjin. In Proceedings of the 60 Years of Planning: Achievements and Challenges: Annual National Planning Conference, Shenyang, China, 24–27 September 2016; pp. 194–205. [ Google Scholar ]
• Yang, B.Q.; Li, G.C. Evaluation and analysis of social resilience of international communities based on DPSRC model: A case study of 16 international communities in Xiaobei, Guangzhou. Areal Res. Dev. 2020 , 39 , 70–75. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Yan, C.; Chen, J.T.; Duan, R. Evaluation Index System for Fireproof Resilience of Historic Blocks Based on PSR Model: A Case of Three Lanes and Seven Alleys in Fuzhou. Sci. Technol. Eng. 2021 , 21 , 3290–3296. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Zhang, F.; Liu, Q.; Zhou, X. Vitality Evaluation of Public Spaces in Historical and Cultural Blocks Based on Multi-Source Data, a Case Study of Suzhou Changmen. Sustainability 2022 , 14 , 14040. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Shang, Z.H.; Ou, X.J.; Zeng, L.H.; He, J.Q. Risk Assessment of City Community Public Safety: A Case Study of Chigang Community of Humen Town, Dongguan. Trop. Geogr. 2013 , 33 , 195–199. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Golany, B.; Roll, Y. An application procedure for DEA. Omega 1989 , 17 , 237–250. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Sun, M.; Zhu, T. Review on the Evaluation System of Public Safety Carrying Capacity about Small Town Community. Asian Agric. Res. 2014 , 6 , 77–79. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Zheng, B.; Hao, Y.H.; Ning, N. Community resilience to disaster risk in Sichuan province of China: An analysis of TOPSIS. Chin. J. Public Health 2017 , 33 , 699–702. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Guo, X.D.; Su, J.Y.; Wang, Z.T. Urban safety and disaster prevention under the perspective of resilience theory. Shanghai Urban Plan 2016 , 71 , 41–44. [ Google Scholar ]
• Fox-Lent, C.; Linkov, I. Resilience Matrix for Comprehensive Urban Resilience Planning ; Springer International Publishing: Cham, Switzerland, 2018. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Fox-Lent, C.; Bates, M.E.; Linkov, l. A matrix approach to community resilience assessment: Anillustrative case at Rockaway Peninsula. Environ. Syst. Decis. 2015 , 35 , 209–218. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Chen, C.K.; Chen, Y.Q.; Shi, B.O.; Xu, T. An model for evaluating urban resilience to rainstorm flood disasters. China Saf. Sci. J. 2018 , 28 , 1–6. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Shi, Y.; Ji, F.; Zhang, H.B. Research on evaluation indicators of disaster resilience of urban communities. J. Acad. Disaster Prev. Sci. Technol 2019 , 21 , 47–54. [ Google Scholar ]
• Zhang, F.; Zhou, X. Structural renovation of blocks in build-up area of Jiangnan cities, taking Suzhou new district as an example. iScience 2023 , 26 , 108553. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Zhang, Y.L. Study on Community Emergency Capacity Assessment Based on the Fuzzy Comprehensive Assessment. Ind. Saf. Environ. Prot. 2011 , 37 , 14–16. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Zhou, X.; Ye, F.; Zhang, F.; Wang, D. Analysis and Optimization of Residential Elements from the Perspective of Multi-Child Families in the Yangtze River Delta Region. Buildings 2024 , 14 , 1649. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Moghadas, M.; Asadzadeh, A.; Vafeidis, A. A multi-criteria approach for assessing urban flood resilience in Tehran, Iran. Int. J. Disaster Risk Reduct. 2019 , 35 , 101069. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]

Click here to enlarge figure

Share and Cite

Zhang, F.; Wang, D.; Zhou, X.; Ye, F. Community Resilience Evaluation and Construction Strategies in the Perspective of Public Health Emergencies: A Case Study of Six Communities in Nanjing. Sustainability 2024 , 16 , 6992. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16166992

Zhang F, Wang D, Zhou X, Ye F. Community Resilience Evaluation and Construction Strategies in the Perspective of Public Health Emergencies: A Case Study of Six Communities in Nanjing. Sustainability . 2024; 16(16):6992. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16166992

Zhang, Fang, Dengyu Wang, Xi Zhou, and Fan Ye. 2024. "Community Resilience Evaluation and Construction Strategies in the Perspective of Public Health Emergencies: A Case Study of Six Communities in Nanjing" Sustainability 16, no. 16: 6992. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16166992

Article Metrics

Article access statistics, further information, mdpi initiatives, follow mdpi.

Subscribe to receive issue release notifications and newsletters from MDPI journals