Evaluating the medical literature part I: Abstract, introduction, methods

✍ Scribed by Paul G. Cuddy; Robert M. Elenbaas; Julia K. Elenbaas

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1983
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 810 KB
• Volume: 12
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1097-6760
• DOI: 10.1016/s0196-0644(83)80296-0

✦ Synopsis

The purpose of the Abstract is to provide an abbreviated summary of the article. Although generally restricted in length (eg, 250 words), 2,3 a complete abstract should include information that identifies the study purpose, research design, methodology, and results; it may contain a brief statement of conclusions or recommendations. The good abstract is informative, and should be able to stand apart from the article.

Abstracts frequently are prepared by the author, and thus may reflect his biases. While it is possible that the author's abstract may be misleading or inaccurate, it is a given that study methods cannot be sufficiently explained due to space limitations. A critical examination of the study methods is crucial to any review. Thus after reading only the abstract, one cannot form a