If your abstract is to be assessed formally, it might only be worth about 10 marks at most, but it is very easy to obtain a high score; it is also just as easy to lose silly marks. Students who gain few marks for their abstract do so because they have no idea what an abstract is or how to write one. You can learn by examining the following abstracts against the criteria set down below of what an abstract ought to contain:
• a statement of the problem/issue that you are investigating, including an indication of the need for your research;
• your research methods;
• your results/findings;
• your main conclusion(s)/recommendation(s).
Example 1 (an abstract on cybercrime) Abstract
The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the adverse effect of Internet crime on the modern business community.
Cybercrime is a recent computer security issue that has evolved quickly without adequate opportunity for the issues surrounding it to become widely acknowledged and subsequently acted upon. Although there has been an abundance of tools to try and protect organizations from cyber breaches, existing research shows that e-security breaches are
common-place. Furthermore, cyber-related legislation has been slow to keep pace with computer security breaches, even to the extent of creating additional barriers for those attempting to combat crime.
Out of 10, this would get a mark of 1 or 2, for a number of reasons. The student identifies his research area only in vague terms: something to do with ‘cybercrime’. There is no indication of what area in cybercrime his dis-sertation tackles (the actual disdis-sertation was a study of current preventative measures with a view to understanding why cybercrimes appear to be on the increase), although he does suggest the motivation behind his studies: the continued proliferation of cyberattacks on organizations. So, in terms of the first task that a student ought to do in an abstract – identify his research area and motivation behind his research – this student has failed to be specific about his research area. Worse, this student threw away marks by failing to address the other aspects that ought to be covered in a good abstract: how he approached his research (e.g. research strategy and data collection techniques), his findings and conclusions, and his way forward. In effect, his abstract is quite empty and devoid of meaningful information.
An improved abstract is as follows (for the purpose of emphasis, the key abstract elements are in bold, and in square parentheses – they would not appear so in the finished version):
Abstract
[Motivation] Cybercrime – crime on the Internet – is of growing concern in the business community. Despite UK Government initiatives (such as BS7799) and growing sales in software solutions (e.g. anti-virus software), cyber attacks are on the increase. [Research Focus] This dissertation focuses on ways to assess the effectiveness of current preventative measures to cybercrime and to under-stand why organizations continue to be vulnerable to cybercrime. [Research Methods] This dissertation met these twin research aims through an extensive study of relevant literature and the implementation of practical research. The latter was carried out through a Case Study with Company XXX using semi-structured interviews with key I.T. security personnel. [Findings] This research produced a number of key findings: recent surveys confirm a significant increase in the incidences of cybercrime and their impact on the business community but also the types of cybercrime (viruses, hacking, spam, identity theft, fraud, privacy issues, web vandalism, etc.); organizations lacked the security expertise to deal with cybercrime and so depended too much on readily available technical ways to combat cybercrime (and failing); organizations were not aware of Government recommendations on how to address internet-based security issues; and Govern-ments and law enforcement agencies tended to localize cybercrime, allocating scant resources to contributing to a global solution. [Conclusions] The main conclusions drawn from this research were that current approaches to fighting cybercrime are deficient because they fail to embrace an holistic approach, instead opting for a narrow local software-based focus, and that a lack of
communication between major stakeholders at local, national and international level has hindered security development. [Recommendation] This research argues for a multi-pronged model to reduce incidences of cybercrime. One that takes into account Risk-Assessment models, local management of company policies, implementation issues (including proper resourcing and review policies), the need for global support infrastructures, and a means of fostering communica-tion networks.
Notice that each of the features expected of a good abstract – research focus, motivation behind the research, research methods, findings and conclu-sions/recommendations – are to be found in the rewritten version. Note also that you can start with the motivation before identifying your specific research focus.
A common mistake by students
A common mistake by students is to think up their abstract from scratch, without taking into account what they have written in their completed disserta-tion. This is harebrained, because you can get the information about your research area – motivation, research approach, findings and conclusions/
recommendations – by referring to the relevant chapters in your dissertation and summarizing the appropriate segments, then sticking them in your abstract. For instance, when summarizing your research area for the abstract, go to your dissertation Introduction, locate your specific research objectives, summarize them into one or two sentences and insert this summary into your abstract. Do the same for the other parts that go to make up your abstract.
Students often lose stupid marks in their abstract by either ignoring what they have actually written in their dissertation or, worse, contradicting their own work!
Example 2 (an abstract on software piracy) Abstract
The aim of this project is to examine the impact of software piracy facing the modern business. With the Internet becoming an ever-present phe-nomenon, in homes and the business community, the problem of soft-ware piracy – in all its various guises – appears inexorable. As a result, many organizations continue to toil in the on-going battle to prevent this phenomenon escalating.
The question has to be posed: is software piracy a problem that is solvable or do organizations have to concede that it is here to stay? This project tackles these difficult questions. However, it is possible to deal with piracy in a strategic and cost-effective way.
Once again, as in Example 1, this is a poor abstract, deserving of only 2 or 3 marks out of a possible 10. Why? To begin with, although the student makes her research area clear (‘The aim of this project . . .’) and suggests the import-ance of her work (‘With the Internet becoming an ever-present phenomenon . . .’), she fails to state her research methods. It is also unclear if the sentence beginning ‘As a result . . .’ is personal opinion or based on her research find-ings. Similarly, is the last sentence (‘However, it is possible . . .’) a conclusion to her research or is it a personal comment plucked out of thin air? And what is she recommending as a result of her research? This vagueness has cost her marks.
What follows is an improved version, incorporating the main abstract elem-ents (research focus, motivation behind the research, how the research was implemented, findings and conclusion/way forward):
Abstract
[Research Focus] The aim of this dissertation is to investigate the extent and nature of software piracy, concentrating on three types of software piracy facing organizations today: applications software piracy, music piracy and movie piracy. [Motivation] The use of modern technology, in particular the Internet, to facilitate new avenues for software piracy makes the need for this research timely. [Research Methods] This research project was based on a review of relevant literature and questionnaires sent to one organization in Scotland.
[Findings] The findings underline that there is an increase in software piracy and that different types of piracy have different markets (e.g. applications soft-ware piracy directed at the business community whereas music piracy is aimed at the young) and, correspondingly, different, although overlapping, solutions.
[Conclusion] The main conclusion to be drawn from this work is that software piracy is both a criminal problem and a cultural issue, [Recommendation] at the heart of which lies a solution based on ethical awareness training.
Keywords: software piracy, music piracy, movie piracy, ethics, training.
Notice that the abstract includes a line for ‘keywords’. This is good practice:
it helps the reader even more to get a handle on what your research is about and is a professional touch that ought to meet with approval from your tutor.
Try to use no more than five keywords or terms, otherwise it just gets confusing for the reader.
Example 3 (an abstract on plagiarism)
What follows is an example of a very good abstract (on Plagiarism), even though the ‘motivation’ part drags on somewhat:
Abstract
[Motivation] In this digital age where plagiarism is a growing phenomenon
in universities, it is imperative that senior management, tutors and staff understand collectively how to deal with the problem. The term plagiarism itself is often vague, leading to misunderstandings about what is acceptable and unacceptable practice. Similarly, at the chalk-face level, tutors may lack the skills necessary to detect plagiarism. At a wider, institutional level, pro-cedures may lack coherence and consistency, leading to potential claims by students of unfair treatment. [Research Focus] This dissertation develops a workable definition of plagiarism, explores how students plagiarize, offers guidance on how to detect plagiarism, and presents a formal model on how to deal with cases of suspected plagiarism. [Research Methods] The research methods consisted of a wide review of relevant literature on plagiarism, coupled with the collection and analysis of empirical data. The latter is based on a survey of staff from 10 universities in the UK, using questionnaires.
[Findings/Conclusions] The findings from this research show that the term
‘plagiarism’ is often misunderstood; that the Internet is a core vehicle for pla-giarism; and that central to combating plagiarism is the need for a coherent, consistent university-wide approach. [Recommendations] This dissertation proffers such an approach, through the use of a Staff Awareness and Training module.
Keywords: plagiarism, e-plagiarism, cheating, plagiarism software, essay banks.
What is good about this abstract? It is contains all the ingredients of a com-plete abstract: it provides a statement of the ‘problem/issue’ – in this case, plagiarism – including ‘an indication of the need for’ the research (growing problem, lack of staff understanding on how to deal with it); it identifies the chosen research methods (literature review + survey of staff from 10 uni-versities); it outlines the findings (confusion over the term plagiarism, use of the Internet to facilitate plagiarism, etc.); and it points to a way forward (adoption of a Staff Awareness and Training module).
Finally, keywords are included to add a nice, professional touch. Note that you can merge your findings and conclusions together if you find it convenient to do so.
The next section provides an abstract template to help you write an