It’s All About That Bass NO Treble: Writing a Dynamic Research Abstract

Abstract

Dissemination of the findings of a completed research study is the final step in the research process and essential in advancing the science in any discipline. An abstract is the most commonly used mechanism to convey research findings for the dissemination of a research study. Yet, writing a concise, logically coherent abstract remains a formidable task for many professionals. Writing a research abstract is both an art and a science that can be learned and mastered to increase the probability that it will be selected for presentation. The purpose of this hands-on learning experience is to guide the learner through the entire process of this scholarship activity. This will be achieved by providing the participants a brief didactic overview of the elements of a research-based abstract, reviewing examples of outstanding and less-than outstanding characteristics of abstracts, and engaging the learners in developing an abstract on a specific topic. Specific content of this workshop will be include the following: 1) knowing conference objectives and the abstract submission process, 2) how to create a winning and informative title, 3) summarizing the state-of-the science in the introduction sentence with two-to three- sentences, 4) scaling down the methods of the study to sufficiently detailed judge the validity of the work, 5) providing the results of the study, study participant characteristics, descriptive statistics, and findings for the study’s outcomes that are scientifically sound, yet understandable to all levels of researchers, and 6) stating concisely what can be concluded and its implications to advance the discipline.