Advice on Writing an Abstract for a Conference Presentation
Best: Here the author assumes the reader has basic knowledge of microbiological techniques and has deleted other superfluous information. The two sentences have been combined because they are related actions.Now your instructor may task you to write a lab report, but you have no idea what format to follow. Making a lab report is easy once you know the format and also, if you understand the experiment that you will do. Describe how the data were summarized and analyzed. Here you will indicate what types of descriptive statistics were used and which analyses (usually hypothesis tests) were employed to answer each of the questions or hypotheses tested and determine statistical siginifcance. You must relate your work to the findings of other studies - including previous studies you may have done and those of other investigators. As stated previously, you may find crucial information in someone else's study that helps you interpret your own data, or perhaps you will be able to reinterpret others' findings in light of yours. In either case you should discuss reasons for similarities and differences between yours and others' findings. Consider how the results of other studies may be combined with yours to derive a new or perhaps better substantiated understanding of the problem.
All citations from Pechenik, Jan A. A short guide to writing about Biology. pp. 54-102, Tufts University: Harper CollinsCollege Publishers. 1993. Now that youve learned how to write a lab report, it is easier for you to apply your learning in your study. Not only does this paper is required for you to do by your instructor, but along the process, you already learnedmore knowledge on the course of biology. Organize your presentation so your reader will understand the logical flow of the experiment(s); subheadings work well for this purpose. Each experiment or procedure should be presented as a unit, even if it was broken up over time. The experimental design and procedure are sometimes most efficiently presented as an integrated unit, because otherwise it would be difficult to split them up. In general, provide enough quantitative detail (how much, how long, when, etc. ) about your experimental protocol such that other scientists could reproduce your experiments.
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Rates: This sentence is addressing what was done, yet it barely conveys any information. The author states that different samples of enzymes were tested, but mentions nothing about the contents of the samples. Was the same enzyme used in every sample? What was in each sample, and what varied in each sample? Also, what does absorption have to do with enzyme activity? This correlation needs to be explained to the reader. One last detail that should be included is the wavelength of light that was used in the spectrophotometer. Did it remain constant or was it a variable as well? (return to Sample 1) This is a description of your experimental procedure. Avoid inclusion of the results. Dont write steps using list format: it should be a story of how you made it. Use passive voice, dont simply copy-paste the lab protocol. If you dont know how to write any step of procedure, ask yourself whether it is essential for the experiment and could affect the results. I. e. , tubes were marked A, B, C. Three grams of glucose was placed into each tube.
Things to consider as you write your Results section:
Temperature has an effect on the reaction.
Temperature affects the reaction.
Another reason, perhaps more important than the first, is that this format allows the paper to be read at several different levels. For example, many people skim Titles to find out what information is available on a subject. Others may read only titles and Abstracts. Those wanting to go deeper may look at the Tables and Figures in the Results, and so on. The take home point here is that the scientific format helps to insure that at whatever level a person reads your paper (beyond title skimming), they will likely get the key results and conclusions. Most journal-style scientific papers are subdivided into the following sections: Title, Authors and Affiliation, Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgments, and Literature Cited, which parallel the experimental process. This is the system we will use. This website describes the style, content, and format associated with each section. The results and findings in your study follow the research methodology employed by the researcher. This section should be brief.
Be sure to state the conclusions that can be drawn from your
results in light of these considerations. You may also choose to
briefly mention further studies you would do to clarify your
working hypotheses. Make sure to reference any outside sources as
shown in the Introduction section.
Do not introduce new results in the Discussion. Although
you might occasionally include in this section tables and figures
which help explain something you are discussing, they must not
contain new data (from your study) that should have been
presented earlier. They might be flow diagrams, accumulation of
data from the literature, or something that shows how one type of
data leads to or correlates with another, etc. For example, if
you were studying a membrane-bound transport channel and you
discovered a new bit of information about its mechanism, you
might present a diagram showing how your findings helps to
explain the channel's mechanism.
You will also be asked to designate a topical area for your submission. Examining SCBs archived conference proceedings may give you some idea of the types of presentations with which you will share a session if you choose, for example, stream ecology versus fish conservation versus water policy. Abstracts should be written after carrying out the research as any attempt to write an abstract before the completion of your work may lead to conflicting values and statements with the main body of your project work. Although it is the first section of your paper, the abstract should be written last since it will summarize the contents of your entire paper. A good strategy to begin composing your abstract is to take whole sentences or key phrases from each section of the paper and put them in a sequence that summarizes the contents. Then revise or add connecting phrases or words to make the narrative flow clearly and smoothly. Note that statistical findings should be reported parenthetically [i. e. , written in parentheses].
Differences, directionality, and magnitude: Report your results so as to provide as much information as possible to the reader about the nature of differences or relationships. For eaxmple, if you testing for differences among groups, and you find a significant difference, it is not sufficient to simply report that "groups A and B were significantly different". How are they different? How much are they different? It is much more informative to say something like, "Group A individuals were 23 larger than those in Group B", or, "Group B pups gained weight at twice the rate of Group A pups. " Report the direction of differences (greater, larger, smaller, etc) and the magnitude of differences ( difference, how many times, etc. ) whenever possible. See also below about use of the word "significant. " 3. Use appropriate methods of showing data. Don't try to manipulate the data to make it look like you did more than you actually did. Paraphrasing isnt merely just changing a few words.
2. Your abstract should be one paragraph, of 100-250 words, which summarizes the purpose, methods, results and conclusions of the paper.
What Todays Students Need to Know about Writing Abstracts. International Journal of Business Communication January 3 (1966): 29-33; Swales, John M. and Christine B. Feak. Abstracts and the Writing of Abstracts. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2009. 2. Style: Write the text of the Results section concisely and objectively. The passive voice will likely dominate here, but use the active voice as much as possible. Use the past tense. Avoid repetitive paragraph structures. Do not interpret the data here. The transition into interpretive language can be a slippery slope. Consider the following two examples: Subheadings: When your paper reports on more than one experiment, use subheadings to help organize the presentation. Subheadings should be capitalized (first letter in each word), left justified, and either bold italics OR underlined. This part is the collection of all the data you obtained from your experiment. First, state the results of your experiment and then put visual aids, such as graphs, drawings,equations used, charts tables, etc. to support your results. Label your visual aids on what they are supposed to be representing and explain these parts carefully, so the readers will understand your visual aids right away.
This two phrases can be changed to: Three grams of glucose were placed into three labeled tubes. It doesnt matter how you will mark each tube. Why bother spending a couple hours writing a paragraph? First, many conferences have a finite capacity for presentations and thus a poor abstract could lead to outright rejection. Furthermore, the capacity for full-length oral presentations is often especially tight, so an abstract submitted for an oral presentation slot may be redirected to a format (poster session or a speed presentation session) that you might not prefer. Second, many conferees read abstracts to decide which presentations to attend, so a good title and abstract can increase your audience. Third, if you are a student you should consider competing in the Student Award competition for which abstracts are the first filter. The purpose of writing a biology lab report is to determine how well you performed your experiment and how much you understood based on your experience in the experimentation process.
(return to Sample 2) Sample 2: This experiment was performed to determine the factors that positively influence enzyme reaction rates in cellular activities since some enzymes seem to be more effective than others. Catecholase enzyme activity was measured through its absorption rate in a spectrophotometer, using light with a wavelength of 540 nm. We compared the absorbance rates in samples with varying enzyme concentrations and a constant pH of 7, and with samples with constant enzyme concentration and varying pH levels. The samples with the highest enzyme concentration had the greatest absorption rate of 95 percent compared to the sample with the lowest concentration and an absorption rate of 24 percent. This suggests that a higher concentration of enzymes leads to a greater product production rate. The samples with a pH between six and eight had the greatest absorption rate of 70 percent compared to an absorption rate of 15 percent with a pH of 4; this suggests that Catecholase is most effective in a neutral pH ranging from six to eight.
Findings from the research alongside the results gotten from the
analysis carried out in your work. The most important thing to
remember when writing the abstract is to be brief and state only
what is pertinent. No extraneous information should be included.
A successful abstract is compact, accurate and self-contained. It
also must be clear enough so someone who is unfamiliar with your
experiment could understand why you did what you did, and what
the experiment indicated in the end. An additional note is that
abstracts typically are written in the passive voice, but it is
acceptable to use personal pronouns such as I or we. Robert S.
Day, How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper, 4th
edition, Oryx Press, Phoenix, 1994.
Earlier editions also good. A bit more advanced, intended for
those writing papers for publication. Fun to read. Several copies
available in Columbia libraries. Clear summary: These two
sentences combine the results with the conclusion. This helps to
make the conclusions drawn from the results very clear to the
reader. The author also stated concrete numbers in the results so
the reader is aware of just how much the absorption rates changed
in each sample.
Of course in every science experiment or lab reports; you need to assume what will be the results of a certain problem you want to solve. This is called hypothesis. It is what youre going to expect based on the theories that youve studied that relates to your study. Hypothesis may not always be confirmed by the actual results of your study but rather it is making a prediction prior to performing the experiment. You can start your hypothesis statement along the lines of I expected or I hypothesized and end it with the expected outcome of the experiment, because X affects Y. This is a concise summary of the purpose of your work, general techniques, results and the conclusion. It should be ashort single-paragraph story of your biology lab. Dont write details about methods or analysis procedure; those should be written after finishingwhole report. Read your text and briefly point main statements in the abstract. How to Write a Research Abstract. Office of Undergraduate Research. University of Kentucky; Staiger, David L.
You should also indicate the statistical procedures used to analyze your results, including the probability level at which you determined significance (usually at probability). Present the results of your experiment(s) in a sequence that will logically support (or provide evidence against) the hypothesis, or answer the question, stated in the Introduction. For example, in reporting a study of the effect of an experimental diet on the skeletal mass of the rat, consider first giving the data on skeletal mass for the rats fed the control diet and then give the data for the rats fed the experimental diet. List down first all the instruments and tools you used in your experiments. Include specific amount and time measurement if necessary. Then write a step by step description of your procedures. Explain your procedure in a concise manner so your reader can understand what you are doing. Describe how you gathered the data of your study, the instruments or specimens needed in the experiment and the way you perform your experiment. The scientific format may seem confusing for the beginning science writer due to its rigid structure which is so different from writing in the humanities. One reason for using this format is that it is a means of efficiently communicating scientific findings to the broad community of scientists in a uniform manner.
Make sure that when writing the results, it should be easy to
understand so make it as comprehensive as possible. Make sure
thedata you put inthe results are solely based in your
experiment. 1. Why it was done and what is the problem being
addressed?
These two sections can be grouped together
into one brief statement summarizing why the experiment was
performed in the first place? What was the question trying to be
answered? Science is an exploration for truth. It is all about
curiosity and answering questions to find out why and how things
work. The scientific method is a clear example of this; first
state a problem or question and then try to determine the answer.
This section is the statement of the original problem. It is the
reason behind why an experiment is being done. This should not
include many details, rather it should be a simple statement. It
can even be stated in one or two sentences at the most.