SOURCES AND SERVICES
Chapter 51 Types of Abstracts 51.1 By Type of Information
Abstracts can be classified into four (4) according to the type of information they contain.
1. Indicative (descriptive) abstract - This abstract simply describes or indicates what the document is about. Its main purpose is to indicate to the reader of the abstract whether or not he/she would want to read the original document.
2. Informative abstract - This provides readers with quantitative and qualitative information in the present document. Ideally, such an abstract obviates the necessity to refer to the original. It is intended for experimental studies but not for theoretical studies or opinion articles. An abstract can also become indicative-informative if it has the qualities of both.
3. Critical abstract - This abstract does not only describe the document content but also evaluates the work and its presentation. It indicates the depth and extent of the work. The abstractor expresses views on the quality of work of the author and compares/contrasts it with other works.
• Examples: Abstracts found in the following publications:
Applied Mechanics Review Referativnyi Zhurnal Mekhanika Mathematical Reviews
• At times, this abstract makes value judgment or editorial comment on general papers with broad overviews, on reviews, and on monographs. If it is heavily editorial, it cannot convey much basic information and is really just a review of the document rather than a true indication of the contents of the document.
4. Slanted or special purpose abstract - There are two types.
• Discipline-oriented abstract - This one is in which the information or description reported in a document is oriented to a specific discipline to which the abstracting service is devoted. In this type of abstract, emphasis may be given to the collateral information like modification of methods, new instruments, newly discovered documents or data sources, or findings that were only incidental to the author's major purpose.
• Mission-oriented abstract - This abstract is written to support application activities that may or may not be interdisciplinary in nature. It highlights or concentrates on a selected portion of a document's subject content.
Mission-oriented abstracts are produced to meet the needs of a particular industry or group of individuals whose interests are more homogenous and specialized.
• Indicative abstracts should preferably be prepared only when the nature or length of the document being abstracted will not permit the writing of an informative or informative-indicative abstract. The following are some typical examples for each type.
• Informative abstract
THE LOW-INCOME FARMERS IN A CHANGING SOCIETY
To identify some major differences among low-income farmers and to delineate the group that represents the real core of the persistently poor, data were obtained from 189 farm operators representing a stratified random sample in Fayette country, Pennsylvania in 1957. The five main categories of individuals identified were: (1) the aged, (2) the physically
handicapped, (3) the farm operator primarily oriented to non-farm opportunities, (4) the farm operator oriented to commercial agriculture, and (5) the farm operator oriented to subsistence agriculture. The characteristics of the core of low-income subsistence farmers who normally do not respond to either welfare or economic growth efforts were examined in greater detail. It was found that they: (1) retained traditional values while having lost many traditional subsistence skills, (2) failed to respond to greater agricultural efficiency and productivity efforts because commercial success was not highly valued, (3) placed emphasis on neighborliness and friendliness as their primary goals, and (4) must respond to an attempt to change prestige orientation if their cycle of poverty is to be broken.
• Indicative-informative abstract
DIAGNOSING INTERDEPARTMENTAL CONFLICT
Resolution on interdepartmental conflicts that decrease productivity may require structural reorganization to reduce authority-prestige ambiguity and internal social instability, and/or may require inter-group training to reduce and counseling to reduce point-of-view conflicts. A thorough study is needed of the goals and environment of the organization as a whole.
Experience (cited at numerous case histories) has demonstrated that three conditions must be established to reduce these interdepartmental conflicts. Each group must have internal social stability, including common interests and promotion opportunities. Groups in close contact must share external values through common training and point of view.
Authority, as indicated by work flow and control, must follow prestige lines to be legitimate.
• Critical abstract
1989. Pao, Y.C., Dept. of Eng. Mech.., Univ. of Nebr., Lincoln, Shy, D.S., et. al., On relationship between bulk modulus and relative volume of lung during inhalation-deflation maneuvers, p. 136-142, Journal of Biochemical Engineering, Transactions of the ASME v 104, n 2 (May 1982)
The paper presents an equation relating the bulk modulus of the lung to the relative volume during inflation and deflation. The average bulk modulus of the lung was obtained by injecting a 6-mm.-i.d. cannula in the main lobar bronchus. "Regional lobe" volume changes were measured by roentgen-videographically determined placement of 25 metal markers implanted in the excised lower lobes of three dogs. Whole lobe volumes at various transpulmonary pressures were measured by water
displacement. Pressure and volume measurements were used to calculate bulk modulus (K=AVP/AV). The "most satisfactory least squares curve fit"
of bulk modulus (K) vs. relative volume (V/Vmax) was obtained with the equation K=C(1-V/Vmax). Substituting for bulk modulus with the equation K=VdP/dV, and integrating enabled computer-generated pressure-volume plots, this equation provided a better pressure-volume curve fit than previously obtained, especially at low values of pressure and volume.
Also, as expected, the bulk modulus was smaller at low volume, but the rate of change of modulus was greater during deflation than during inflation.
The authors assumed, without giving sufficient justification that the
"regional lobe" (the area bounded by the 25 markers) included a higher density of airways tha the rest of the lobe. Using this assumption, the authors claimed that the modulus and rate of change of modulus were different for parenchyma tissue and the airways during both inflation and deflation. No mention, however, was made of paired t-tests or any other statistical tests. In fact, if they had done a paired t-test, they would have discovered that none of these differences were significant, even at the 90 percent confidence level.
Other sources of error which were not addressed include : the difference in the properties of excised lung and intact lung due to blood in the vessels, surrounding tissue, negative pressure, etc.; the effect of strain rate in the modulus of lung tissue, which is a viscoelastic material; the difference between the true regional AV and the measured AV; and the differences between the mechanical properties of dog and human lung tissue.
Despite its limitations, the paper presents a step forward in the understanding of mechanical properties of the lung, and, thus, lung diseases. Therefore, it should be of benefit to researchers interested in respiratory mechanics and physiology.
D.S Feldman, USA 51.2 By Writer
There are three (3) possible groups who can prepare abstracts - authors, subject experts, and professional abstractors.
1. Author-prepared abstract - These abstracts are prepared by authors of documents for publication together with the document. This is submitted on time since it generally accompanies the article for publication. However,
authors do not necessarily write the best abstracts since they lack training and experience in abstracting as well as knowledge of abstracting rules.
2. Subject-expert prepared abstract - This type of abstract is prepared by a professional in the subject field concerned. It may be an excellent high-quality abstract if the subject expert is trained and experienced in the methods and procedures of abstracting. In general, subject experts volunteer as abstractors, but may not submit their abstracts on time. They are given a modest honorarium or none at all if they volunteer. Another agendum they might have is to be up-to-date to developments in their fields by getting liberal access to information in the documents they abstract.
3. Professional abstractor-prepared abstract - This kind of abstract is prepared by a professional abstractor, a person who has been trained in the procedures and methods of abstracting. He/she is one who has attained experience in abstracting, has foreign language expertise, and can cover subject areas in which subject areas cannot be found.
51.3 By Form
There are five (5) possible forms of abstracts.
1. Statistical or tabular abstract - This abstract is a summary of the data presented in tabular form. This is used in certain specialized subjects, such as economics, sociology and other social sciences, and in applied sciences like engineering, where data is frequently emphasized exclusively in statistical and tabular form.
• Example: Abstracts in Statistical Abstracts of the United States
2. Modular abstract - This abstract is a full content description of a document and consists of five (5) parts.
o citation o annotation o indicative abstract o informative abstract o critical abstract
• This was designed with the intention that abstracting service could process it to conform to its own unique requirements with a minimum of effort. Any one of the abstracts could be used, intact or edited as the case may be. Its purpose is to eliminate duplication and waste of intellectual effort involved in the independent abstracting of the same documents by several abstracting services. The following is an example.
Ablation of fiberglass-reinforced phenolic resin. R.E. Rosenweig and N. Beecher.
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Journal 1, 1802-9 (1963)
Annotation
A model was developed for charring and melting a composite4 material with glassy ablation combined with char-layer-molten-glass reaction.
Indicative Variables in ablasion of a fiberglass-phenolic resin composite include glass ablation and plastic pyrolysis, flow of melt, mass loss, reaction-heat absorption, mass injection, and coupling between pressure and chemical reaction.
Mathematical developments and approximations are discussed. Parametric examinations are made.
Informative Melting and pyrolysis and other chemical reactions are considered in this theory of ablation of phenolic-resin fiberglass composite. In this theory, reaction occurs in a surface film in which carbon from pyrolysis of the resin reacts with the glass. For IRBM reentry, there is little temperature drop in the reaction zone, usually less than 1% and 6% maximum. Depth of the reaction zone was one thousandth that of the thermal thickness. The unreacting runoff in the melt was 40-80% and was a function of the possible reaction- enthalpy level. More than 89% of the material reaching the reaction zone was affected. At 1000-2000OC, the reaction assumed was: SiO2 + 3C → SiC + 2O. Up to a 25% increase in the ablation rate appeared only at lower reaction rates. Changing reaction enthalpy three times changed the reaction rate less than 10%. The value calculated according to this theory for peak reentry ablation rate was 38% below experimental value, critical.
This theory of ablation of carbon-contaminated glass extends the work of Bethe and Adams (Cr. Avco-Everett Research Laboratory, Research Report No. 38, 1958) on glasses. Experimental ablation was 38% greater than the calculated by this theory. Thorough error analysis was not included. Spalding (Aero Quarterly 223-74 (Aug. 1961)), and Scala (General Electric Co. MSVD. report R59SD401 (July 1959);
ARS Journal, 917-24) have treated similar problems.
3. Structured abstract - This refers to an abstract in non-narrative form wherein the abstractor lists the items in a worksheet or template as these are found in the document. This kind of abstract works well only for a subject area in which the essential elements/items are more or less the same from one study to another. This abstract may also take a form in which subheadings (e.g.
background of the study, objectives, methods, results, and conclusion) are included to facilitate scanning. Such type is commonly used in abstracting medical journals. Below is an example of a structured abstract.
BACKGROUND: Structured abstracts - which, like the present one, contain several subheadings - have replaced traditional abstracts in most medical journals.
Evaluation studies have shown that such abstracts provide more information, are of a higher quality, facilitate peer review, and are generally welcomed.
AIM: The aim of the studies reported here was to investigate a possible advantage for structured abstracts - namely: whether or not they are easier to search.
METHOD: Two studies are reported. In study 1, using an electronic database, 52 readers were asked to find the answers to two questions for each of eight abstracts set in the other format (say, traditional, followed by two questions for each of eight abstracts set in the other format). Time and error data were recorded automatically. In Study 2, using a printed database, 56 readers were asked to find five abstracts that reported a particular kind of study (e.g., studies with school children and reading tests) and then to find five more that reported another kind of study. Again, the order of presentation of the format of their abstracts was counterbalanced. Time and error data were recorded manually.
RESULTS: In Study 1, the participants performed significantly faster and made significantly fewer errors using the structured abstracts. There were, however, some unexplainable practice effects. In Study 2, the participants again performed significantly faster and made significantly fewer errors with the structured abstracts. In Study 2, however, there were asymmetrical transfer effects;
participants who responded first to the structured abstracts responded more quickly to the following traditional ones than did those participants who responded first to the traditional abstracts.
CONCLUSIONS: The overall findings, notwithstanding certain caveats, support the hypothesis that it is easier for readers to search structured abstracts than it is to search traditional ones.
4. Mini abstract - This is a highly-structured abstract designed primarily for computer-aided searches. It actually is an index-cum-abstract rolled into one.
The terms used in this abstract are drawn from a controlled vocabulary and are arranged in a specific sequence nearly approximating that of a sentence structure. It is also known as machine-readable index-abstract.
Example: Statement: A method is described for the determination of strontium and barium in human bone by radioactive analysis.
Mini abstract: /METHOD/DETERM/STRONTIUM/BARIUM/
BONE/HUMAN/RADIOACTIVATION/ANALYSIS
5. Telegraphic abstract - This document representation is presented in complete sentences which resemble a telegram. At times, it is just a string of terms
without syntax. It originated in the early computerized retrieval system development at Western Reserve University.
Chapter 52 - Abstracting: Techniques, Methods, and Standards 52.1 Abstracting Plan
An abstracting plan is a record of basic abstracting decisions. It should be developed in advance of any actual abstracting activity. This should be maintained, revised, and updated periodically. There are some reasons why an abstracting plan should be developed.
• to ensure that the principles of abstracting (i.e. accuracy, brevity, and clarity) are always borne in mind in order that researchers will be lead to the relevant documents
• to save the reading time of the user
• to be consistent in the type of abstracts to be produced
• to keep the abstract within reasonable limits
• to ensure that the abstractor follows the library's or information center's policy as to how the abstract should be structured.
The following criteria should be carefully considered in developing an abstracting plan.
• Users of the abstract - Determine who the users are, their information-seeking behavior, and their needs with regard to the currency, accuracy, and reliability of the abstract, their point of view, and their terminology preferences.
• Documents to be abstracted - Which documents acquired by the library/information need to be abstracted?
• Parts of the documents to be abstracted - Which items in the documents will be of utmost interest to the users of the abstract?
• Type of abstract to produce - This will determine if abstracts will be indicative, informative, indicative-informative, structured, slanted, slanted but indicative, slanted but informative, and so on.
52.2 Abstracting Manual of Procedures
Relative to the abstracting plan, an abstracting manual of procedures provides specific guidelines in abstracting various types of documents. It is considered more as a manual of style in abstracting.
The following are usually included in the manual of procedures in abstracting.
• a summary of the abstracting process (i.e. reading and understanding the document, selecting the important phrases and passages, organizing these to produce a rough draft, and writing the final draft)
• instructions on transcribing the bibliographic reference whether on paper or electronic worksheets
o rules on the sequence of the bibliographic elements o transcribing the author's/authors' name(s)
§ number of author's name(s) to be transcribed if there are more than three
§ natural or inverted order of transcribing o transcribing the title of the article
§ which words in the title should be capitalized o transcribing the title of the periodical
§ in full or abbreviated form (if abbreviated, what standards must be observed)
§ italicized or underlined
o transcribing the volume and/or issue number o transcribing inclusive pages of article o transcribing date of publication
§ abbreviations for month and year
• instructions on style of writing, particularly on the following items o Topic sentence - Begin the abstract with a topic sentence.
o Sentences within the abstract - Use complete sentences but simple, and transitional words and phrases for coherence.
o Verbs - Use verbs in the active voice.
o Pronouns - Use third-person pronouns.
o Language - Use simple language.
o Abbreviations - Use commonly understood and easily intelligible abbreviations.
o Terminology - Use standard and familiar terms. Avoid the use of trade jargons and colloquial terms.
o Verbosity - Ideas in phases must be completely expressed through the minimum number of words.
o Redundancy - Avoid the use of a word whose meaning is already conveyed elsewhere in a passage.
o Number of words - This determines the specified length of the abstract.
52.3 Abstracting Standards
There are various organizations and institutions that issued standards in producing good-quality abstracts. Some of these organizations are named below, with the title of the standards issued by each.
• Armed Services for Technical Information Agency (ASTIA) - Guidelines for Cataloging and Abstracting. 2002.
• Defense Documentation Center (DDC) - Abstracting Scientific and Technical Reports of Defense-Sponsored RRDT/E AD 667000. 1968.
• UNESCO - Guide for the Preparation of Author's Abstracts for Publication.
1968.
• International Organization for Standardization (ISO) - ISO 214-1976 - Documentation: Abstracts for Publication and Documentation. 1976.
52.4 Abstracting Process
The process of abstracting is composed of several stages.
1. Reading and understanding - This is the very first and essential step wherein the introductory paragraphs and text are scanned for key information. This concludes with comprehension (i.e. textual meaning interpretation).
2. Selection - This is a process of purposeful elimination developed by means of contraction, reduction, and condensation strategies. Here, the abstractor may mark the important phrases and passages and jot down marginal notes.
3. Interpretation - The abstractor makes a second interpretation using reasoning and inference. At this point, the abstractor starts organizing the phrases and passages previously marked, as well as the marginal notes jotted down. Then, a raft-draft of the abstract is produced.
4. Synthesis (analytical description) - In writing the final draft, the prefixed analytical description level or desired type of abstract is carefully considered.
In scientific or scholarly abstracts, information must be so organized that the abstract should contain the following.
• Objective or purpose - This should be stated unless this is already clear from the title of the document or can be derived from the remainder part of the abstract.
• Methodology - The techniques of approaches employed should be described but only to the degree necessary for comprehension. New techniques should be identified clearly and the basic methodological principle, the range of operation and the accuracy obtained would be described as well.
• Results and conclusion - Results and conclusions should be clearly
• Results and conclusion - Results and conclusions should be clearly