What is an abstract?

An abstract gives you key information about an article or other resource. It is like a summary but with more detailed and structured information. Abstracts vary in length but are very rarely more than a few paragraphs.

Abstracts:

• provide information such as the scope of the article, research methodology used, theories applied, or surveys and instruments used.

• can help you determine if the article is relevant to your topic, more so than just the title.

• are standard for most research articles.  Although not every article you find in a Walden database will have an abstract.

• may also appear at the beginning of an article, before the introduction.

• may be written by the article's author or the publisher.

More Information:

• How do I get the full text of an article?
• How do I find and download the citation and abstract for an article?
• How do I write an abstract?
• Go to the Office of Research and Doctoral Services's Write Your Research: Abstract Assistance page

Do you have other Library questions?  Ask a Librarian!