abstract

An abbreviated summary of the main points of a long article or report, generally found at the beginning of the work. Increasingly, abstracts are also included in online search databases. An abstract can range from one to several paragraphs in length, and usually contains in some format: the motivation or justification for the research presented in the article, a problem statement that might include the scope of the project; the method(s) employed during research and analysis; the results of the research and analysis conducted, or the answer to the theoretical problem posed in the project; and finally, the conclusion, which indicates the future implications of the project's findings.