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Start thinking about your Assignment #1 (individual genre analysis). Use these guiding questions to help you understand the value of your research. Take rough notes on your answers to these questions. Then take a look at the CARS model below. I want you to use this model to guide you in writing the introduction to your paper.

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Start thinking about your Assignment #1 (individual genre analysis). Use these guiding questions to help you understand the value of your research. Take rough notes on your answers to these questions. Then take a look at the CARS model below. I want you to use this model to guide you in writing the introduction to your paper.

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Use these phrases to help you write your abstract.

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Use these phrases to help you write your abstract.

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Ask yourself: “Why is my research important in this current moment of 2020 – politically, socially, historically?”

Ask yourself: "How does my research fit into existing research? What do others say, debate, discuss about my topic?"

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Ask yourself: Is there a gap in the research that your work is filling? Are there limits to our current knowledge that your research can help fill? Is there a controversy in the field, or a problem in society, that your research addresses?
Identify the gap.

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Ask yourself: how does my work resolve (or, in the case of a proposal, will resolve) the gap, shortcoming, or limitation in existing work or that it successfully extends or verifies past research?

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Just glance at this typical abstract from the field of health and medicine. I like the structured approach with headings; however, this isn't typical to our discipline.

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Just glance at this typical abstract from the field of health and medicine. I like the structured approach with headings; however, this isn't typical to our discipline.

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You can guide yourself in writing your abstract by using the headings and then deleting them when you've written your abstract.

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What are structured abstracts?

A structured abstract is an abstract with distinct, labeled sections (e.g., Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion) for rapid comprehension (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: PubMed Abstract Display for a Structured Abstract.

What kinds of structures are used?

Standardized formats for structured abstracts have been defined for original research studies, review articles and clinical practice guidelines ( 1, 2). The IMRAD format (INTRODUCTION, METHODS, RESULTS, and DISCUSSION), a defacto standard that reflects the process of scientific discovery ( 3), is commonly used as a structure for journal abstracts ( 4, 5). The CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) Group issued a guideline for how to report randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in journal and conference abstracts using a structured format ( 6).

Why use structured abstracts?

Structured abstracts have several advantages for authors and readers. These formats were developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s to assist health professionals in selecting clinically relevant and methodologically valid journal articles. They also guide authors in summarizing the content of their manuscripts precisely, facilitate the peer-review process for manuscripts submitted for publication, and enhance computerized literature searching ( 1, 2).

The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE, of which NLM is a sitting member), whose "Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals" document provides general guidelines for the format of manuscripts submitted to journals, requires the use of structured abstracts for original research articles, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses. ICMJE does acknowledge that the format required for structured abstracts differs from journal to journal and that some journals use more than one structure ( 7).

How are structured abstracts formatted in PubMed?

NLM uses all uppercase letters followed by a colon and space for the labels that appear in structured abstracts in MEDLINE/PubMed® citations (see Figure 1).

How can I search for structured abstracts in PubMed?

In a PubMed search box, type:

hasstructuredabstract

See the structured abstract search results in PubMed.

References:

7. International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals (ICMJE Recommendations). 2013 Aug [cited 2013 Aug 21]. Available from: http://www.icmje.org.

8. Ripple AM, Mork JG, Rozier JM, Knecht LS. Structured abstracts in MEDLINE: twenty-five years later. Bethesda, MD: National Library of Medicine; 2012 [cited 2014 Sep 17]. Available from: https://structuredabstracts.nlm.nih.gov/Structured_Abstracts_in_MEDLINE_Twenty-Years_Later.pdf.

9. Ripple AM, Mork JG, Thompson HJ, Schmidt SC, Knecht LS. Performance comparison of MEDLINE structured abstracts to unstructured abstracts. Poster session presented at: National Institutes of Health Research Festival; 2014 Sep 22-24; Bethesda, MD. Available from: https://researchfestival.nih.gov/festival14/poster-RSCHSUPP-19.html.
Last Reviewed: August 8, 2018

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A structured abstract is an abstract with distinct, labeled sections (e.g., Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion) for rapid comprehension (see Figure 1). Figure 1: PubMed Abstract Display for a Structured Abstract. Standardized formats for structured abstracts have been defined for original research studies, review articles and clinical practice guidelines ( 1, 2).

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Phraseology to use in the first half of an abstract.

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Phraseology to use in the first half of an abstract.

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Phrases to use in writing The first half of your abstract A (6) (1)

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Phraseology for methods and results. (In your case, you may not have your results yet, so you can skip writing about results in this draft).

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Phraseology for methods and results. (In your case, you may not have your results yet, so you can skip writing about results in this draft).

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Outlining possible applications and implications of your work (5) (1)

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Swales' Model of Rhetorical moves in Research Articles: Create A Research Space (CARS)

The CARS Model (Create a Research Space), by John Swales

According to Swales, research writers frequently use three rhetorical moves to create a context for their work. These moves can happen both in the introduction of a piece, as well as on a larger scale, throughout the research paper/proposal/document:

MOVE 1: Establishing a Territory (Annotated Bibliography/Literature Review)

Writers demonstrate the relevance or importance of their research topic (exigency)

Ask yourself: "Why is my research important in this current moment of 2016 - politically, socially, historically?" Then

Example phrase: "In recent years, researchers have become increasingly interested in..." "A central issue in ______ is..." "Many recent studies have focused on..."

Writers selectively synthesize and review previous work in a literature review

Imagine that all past research on your topic is an ongoing academic conversation that you need to understand fully before joining in; then, to structure your synthesis, ask yourself: "What would X author say to Y author? Does X author extend Y author's research, or does she critique it, etc.?"

Example phrase: "Much research has examined ______, though different conclusions have been made."

MOVE 2: Establishing a Niche (Rhetorical Prospectus)

Writers show there is 1) some kind of gap, shortcoming, or limitation in existing work, or 2) that some extension or verification is required

Imagine that you now understand the conversation, and you see some limitation or place where extension is needed; join the conversation to make the limitation or need for more research clear.

Example phrases: (limitation) "However, these studies have failed to recognize the..." or (extension) "X...has been extensively studied. However, less attention has been paid to..."

MOVE 3: Occupying the Niche (Research Proposal)

Writers show how their work resolves (or, in the case of a proposal, will resolve) the gap, shortcoming, or limitation in existing work or that it successfully extends or verifies past research

Imagine that you now have everyone's attention, and that you must explain to fellow scholars how your ideas will add or move the conversation forward.

Example phrases - for proposal: "The purpose of this investigation is to..." or "To focus my research, I will ask the following questions..."

Example phrases - for research article or dissertation introduction: "The remainder of this paper is divided into five sections. Section 1 describes..."

Works Consulted:

Swales, John M. Genre Analysis: English in Academic and Research Settings (1990)

Swales, John M. and Christine B. Feak. Academic Writing for Graduate Students (2008)

[Adapted by Lisha Storey, May 2015]

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Swales' Model of Rhetorical moves in Research Articles: Create A Research Space (CARS) According to Swales, research writers frequently use three rhetorical moves to create a context for their work.

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Please watch my video. Then take a look at the materials in the columns on the right.

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Please watch my video. Then take a look at the materials in the columns on the right.

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Then draft out an abstract for your first paper in our class (Assignment #1).
Upload your draft on Moodle in your groups in the TASK 4: Abstract Forum.

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Spend about 15 - 20 minutes writing a draft of your abstract. If you don't finish, that is fine. 

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Spend about 15 - 20 minutes writing a draft of your abstract. If you don't finish, that is fine. 

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Upload your draft on the Forum on Moodle

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Upload your draft on the Forum on Moodle

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As you don't have the results to your research yet, you can skip this move in your abstract. But I still want you to think about the possible implications.

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As you don't have the results to your research yet, you can skip this move in your abstract. But I still want you to think about the possible implications.