1

Instituto CUF, Matosinhos, Portugal

[email protected]
Tiago Jacinto1,2, Anders Bjerg, Krefting
2
Center for Research in Health
Technologies and Information Systems,
Faculty of Medicine, Porto, Portugal Research Centre, University
Hanneke van 3
Department of Pulmonary Diseases, of Gothenburg, P.O. Box
Helvoort3,
Radboud University Medical Center,
Nijmegen, The Netherlands 424, SE-405 30 Göteborg,
4
Department of Toxicology, Maastricht Sweden
Agnes Boots4, University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
5
Department of Pulmonology in Katowice,
Szymon Skoczyński5, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice,
Poland
Anders Bjerg6 6
Krefting Research Centre, University of
Gothenburg, Göteborg, Sweden

Doing Science: Writing

conference abstracts
Statement of Interest
None declared.
In this edition of Doing Science, we will
address abstract writing, with a focus on
The function of a typical
conference abstracts. scientific meeting abstract
By providing an opportunity for discuss-
ing your work with your peers in specialised As every researcher knows, the function of a
meetings, writing and submitting an abstract scientific abstract is to provide an overview of
is often the very first step when you want your work. But keep in mind that the abstract
to show the world the results of your work; is what the referees will use to decide whether
be it your research, a clinical case or a review your work is accepted or rejected for pre-
of the literature [1]. However, it can be be sentation on the meeting. Also, have you
a daunting task to condense hours and remembered that the abstract is the only part
hours of hard work into abstract format. But of a paper that is published in conference
fear not! This edition of Doing Science will proceedings [3]? Many researchers will even
give you several approaches to writing ab- acknowledge that when they scroll through a
stracts, using your own data as well as that of conference programme, they look only at the
others. titles of the abstracts. If a title seems
Before we begin, a key message: always interesting, they glance through the abstract.
remember that writing an abstract follows Thus, for the majority of readers, a paper
typically the same path as writing a paper does not exist beyond its abstract. When
[2]. Begin by planning it, before actually you’re writing your abstract, then, keep in
writing it, proofreading it, sharing it with mind two very important things: 1) the
colleagues and finally doing the final abstract should show that you have some-
revision and editing before you submit. In thing to say (the data you want to present);
most cases, the keys to success are an and 2) the abstract should attract readers to
attend your presentation – it is your only
important research question and interesting
chance to reach most of the delegates.
material to analyse in the hope of answering
it. That being said, good abstract writing
skills will increase your acceptance rate Writing a typical abstract
even for data of moderate importance, or
seemingly complicated research ideas. So A typical scientific abstract (both for papers
let’s begin... and for meetings) contains four basic parts
ERS 2014

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 Doing Science: Writing conference abstracts

Table 1 The parts of an abstract writing process [5]. The abstracts from a
Title
‘‘product’’-focused writer and a ‘‘process’’-
Short, descriptive and interesting focused writer may well look the same, but
they are conceived and crafted differently.
Background (optional) Regardless of your personal preferences,
N What is already known about the subject of your work? trying out different styles of writing is
N What is not known about the subject? challenging and stimulating.
In most cases, the background can be framed in just a few sentences, with each
Working around a graphic support such
sentence describing a different aspect of information
as a flow chart or mind map (fig. 1) is
Objective/Question/Hypothesis perhaps the most common way to aid the
State either a question or a hypothesis, or describe your specific research writing process. A flow chart can be used to
objective to clearly state the purpose of your work. illustrate the hierarchy of your ideas or key
findings, or to display how to move from (for
Methods
instance) your key findings to conclusions in
N Describe the subject(s) you studied (molecules, cell lines, tissues, organs,
a fluent and intuitive way.
animal or human population).
N State the experimental approach or the study design, including your variables. Another method that has gained popular-
The methods section should contain enough information to enable the reader ity in recent years is to first identify key
to understand what was done, and how. But, take care to mention only sentences, and then build the abstract around
important details of materials and methods. them. Once you have your research ideas and
data analysis settled, write the sentences
Results below [6]. (See table 2 for some examples.)
Include only results that answer your question, and only the most important
data, in a logical order! 1. Summarise your findings in one 10–14-
Data in an abstract can be presented as a table or graph. The only difference word sentence that contains one verb, is
from a graphical presentation in a paper is that in abstracts no title is given for not a title and is not a question [7]. If you
tables (usually) and no legends are included for graphs. Place the table or graph find this hard, your results may be too
after the sentence that states the results, not instead of the results sentence. diverse or your research question too
Conclusions
broad.
N What is the primary take home message/answer to your question? 2. Answer the question ‘‘What’s the topic?’’
N Additional findings of importance (other than the primary outcome) are in one sentence. You can assume that
optional. your readers know the field and thus
It is customary, but not essential, to express an opinion about the implications move straight into your specific topic.
of your findings. Try to place your findings in perspective. 3. State your key research question. This is
the single most important point for the
rest of your writing. An obscure or very
[4]. It describes the objectives of the study
complicated research question is a
(i.e. what hypothesis you tested or what
warning sign in any part of research.
question you attempted to answer); the
4. Summarise why you think your research
methods used; the major results; and your
question has not been adequately
interpretation. Additionally, your abstract may
answered in previous research.
begin with some very brief background
5. Describe how you addressed your
information to help the reader understand
research question. This may be both a
the question, and may end with a sentence
new idea and the methods used may be
stating implications or a recommendation
novel. If a chain of methods was used,
based on the answer. Since the abstract must
focus on the key steps. Methodological
make sense on its own, your abstract should
details are matters for a scientific
not include citations of the scientific literat-
presentation, not the abstract.
ure. Table 1 explains the parts of the abstract
in more detail 6. In one sentence, summarise the key
findings of your research.
7. Conclude the impact of your research.
Alternative approaches This is sometimes not always easy in
Each author conceptualises writing in their basic science, but should be attempted
own way. The previous section took an by any serious researcher.
approach centred on the final product; In some cases, by the time you have
however, some writers may prefer to think written sentences 2–7 above, you will have
about how this end-product comes about: the something that approximates to a complete

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 Doing Science: Writing conference abstracts

abstract. Commonly, however, you will need

to explicitly state your aim (which is often
more narrow than 3. above), and give some
concrete data to bolster 6. Either way, having
clearly stated the sentences 1–7 above will
have facilitated your thought process.

Writing a non-typical
abstract: review or editorial
Although not as often requested, you may
occasionally be asked to prepare a more
general abstract about a specific topic within
your field. Covering a whole field rather than
your own work only might appear difficult at
first [9]. Writing a non-typical abstract will
require more preparation, for one thing: you
will need to familiarise yourself thoroughly
with the most recent and important work on
the given topic. Most likely, however, you are
already acquainted with much of that work
anyway because this is the reason why you
were asked to write a review abstract in the
first place! So consider it an honour and
privilege and use this opportunity to also
refresh and update your knowledge. Writing a
review abstract is also an excellent chance to
incorporate your own work and statements into
those of the hotshots within the field. But how?
1. As a start, clearly and concisely phrase
the topic of the abstract for yourself so
that you know exactly what aspects you Figure 1
want to address. Using a mind map to plan this article.
2. Second, define what you want to tell your
audience about the topic. Do you want
5. The ‘‘topic phrase’’ will be the heart of
to sum up what has already been done
your introduction paragraph, with a few
regarding this topic, give a clear mess-
more sentences to introduce the topic
age about the state of the field, or maybe
and highlight its importance.
even suggest future research directions?
6. Instead of the typical methods and
3. Once you have defined what you want to
results sections, this abstract contains
tell your audience, make a short working
only one mid-section, consisting of the
summary of the state-of-the-art literature.
literature overview including your own
Keep in mind that this summary only
work. Make sure to use your bullet-point
serves as a writing aid and will thus not be
summary to generate a coherent and
part of your actual abstract. Use bullet
logical written summary in which you
points or mind maps and don’t forget to
also address contradictory findings. Give
write down the corresponding references.
the authors credit by mentioning their
4. If appropriate, add your own work to this
name or study when summarising their
summary. Do not talk exclusively about
results.
your work, but blend it in for a smooth
7. The message phrase will be the centre of
and coherent summary.
your concluding paragraph and can be
Now it is time to start writing the real supplemented with a few sentences
abstract! (In reality, you are almost done regarding future directions and new
already.) possibilities.

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 Doing Science: Writing conference abstracts

Table 2 Sample sentences for writing a typical abstract, based on a real research paper [8]
1. ‘‘Passive smoking increases the risk of COPD in never-smoking subjects.’’
2. ‘‘In the Western world, smoking is the leading cause of COPD.’’
3. ‘‘Whether passive smoking causes COPD is yet unknown.’’
4. ‘‘Previous studies have included both smoking and never-smoking subjects, and have not measured post-bronchodilator
spirometry.’’
5. ‘‘A random sample of 2118 lifelong never-smokers completed spirometry with reversibility testing and questionnaires.’’
6.‘‘We found that exposure to passive smoking in multiple settings was an independent predictor of COPD in never-smoking subjects.
7. ‘‘Our findings strongly advocate measures against smoking in public places.’’

Writing a non-typical Formatting your abstract

abstract: invited talk Although every abstract you write will contain
basic parts as mentioned above for the typical
One of the signs that your scientific career is
and non-typical variants, the format will vary
evolving is receiving invitations to speak. Like
an invitation to write a review abstract, this is depending on the specific requirements of
an excellent chance to show your potential as the meeting. An abstract is always short and
a scientist and to share your work and views. is frequently written as a single paragraph [1].
One difference is that the provided topic will You write your abstract for the same audience
be less defined, and thus more open for as your final presentation, so use the same
additions and changes from your side, as well level of technical language. Regardless of
as your personal opinions as a scientist. Take which of the above writing approaches you
a few days to think about possible topics and choose, the formatting reference in table 3
approaches. It might also be useful to test will come in handy in the final preparations.
and discuss them with your colleagues to Once you have written the first draft, it is
sharpen your final choice of topic and time to begin the editing process. Often the
approach. After setting out your goal for the abstract will benefit from discussions with
talk, ‘‘all’’ you have to do is follow the your colleagues. Make yourself a promise to
guidelines given above for the non-typical start writing in good time before the submis-
review abstract. While preparing and writing, sion deadline, with regard to your own health
keep in mind that this abstract will be the as well as that of the conference database
roadmap for your talk as well. So for your own server.
sake, make sure to include only studies and
data you will present and do not make life too
difficult for yourself!

Table 3 Quick reference for conference abstracts

NBe concise: abstracts usually have no more than 250 words
NPlan the abstract as a single paragraph that is unified (one topic) and coherent This article is published to coincide with a
(i.e. ideas flow continuously) Junior Members Committee-organised ses-
NEdit it carefully for grammar, punctuation, typos, etc. sion on abstract writing and other generic
NEnsure your abstract conforms to the conference ‘‘house style’’ skills for early-career conference contribu-
Adapted from [10], with permission from Prof. Barbara Milech (Curtin University, Perth, tors at the ERS International Congress in
Australia). Munich.

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 Doing Science: Writing conference abstracts

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