- Journal List
- Rev Bras Ter Intensiva
- v.25(2); Apr-Jun 2013
- PMC4031836
As a library, NLM provides access to scientific literature. Inclusion in an NLM database does not imply endorsem*nt of, or agreement with, the contents by NLM or the National Institutes of Health.
Learn more: PMC Disclaimer | PMC Copyright Notice
Rev Bras Ter Intensiva. 2013 Apr-Jun; 25(2): 77–80.
PMCID: PMC4031836
PMID: 23917970
Language: English | Portuguese
Author information Article notes Copyright and License information PMC Disclaimer
Abstract
The presentation of study results is a key step in scientific research, andsubmitting an abstract to a meeting is often the first form of public communication.Meeting abstracts have a defined structure that is similar to abstracts forscientific articles, with an introduction, the objective, methods, results andconclusions. However, abstracts for meetings are not presented as part of a fullarticle and, therefore, must contain the necessary and most relevant data. In thisarticle, we detail their structure and include tips to make them technicallycorrect.
Keywords: Abstracts and indexing as topic, Meetings as topic, Publishing/standards
Abstract
A apresentação dos resultados de um trabalho é ponto crucial da metodologiacientífica, e o envio de resumo para congressos é frequentemente sua primeira formade comunicação pública. O resumo contém estrutura definida e é semelhante aos resumosde artigos científicos, com introdução, objetivo, métodos, resultados e conclusões.No entanto, o resumo para congresso não é apresentado como parte de artigo completoe, por isso, ele deve conter as informações necessárias e mais relevantes. Nesteartigo, detalhamos sua estrutura e algumas dicas para torná-lo tecnicamentecorreto.
INTRODUCTION
Submitting abstracts for meetings is useful for communicating the first results of a newstudy, just as submitting scientific articles to journals for publication is the bestway of communicating the final results of a study. The submission of abstractsdescribing scientific studies for professional meetings encompasses a variety of goals.The study authors may be partly or fully evaluated by their peers, i.e., otherprofessionals in the same field may provide feedback and suggestions to refine themethod and results presented.(1) Thisis also an excellent way of pre-reporting a study, whether it is an observational orintervention study, promoting interaction between researchers interested in the sametopic.(1)
Abstracts should only include the most relevant data from the study, with the goal ofenabling the reviewer to assess whether the rationale and scientific context areappropriate to evaluate the topic.(2)Authors commonly clarify the details of the study, although this may result in aconfusing and poorly structured abstract. An abstract must have sufficient impact todraw the reviewers' and readers' attention, i.e., maintain their interest while readingthe text.
WRITING STYLE AND LANGUAGE
First, the instructions for writing the abstract and the deadline for its submissionshould be checked. The rules regarding the font type and size should be followed.Abstracts have word or character limits (including or excluding spaces) that are often250 to 300 words. Prior knowledge of this limit is important when writing theintroduction and method sections of the abstract because these sections are moreflexible and may be adapted to remain within the length limit. Clear and conciselanguage is necessary for each section of the abstract. The use of abbreviations isusually not allowed, despite the necessary economy of words. Abbreviations may be usedin very special cases that require the repetition of long terms. They should be writtenin full the first time the abbreviation appears in the text. Another tip is to avoidusing adjectives or adverbs, maintaining strictly scientific language; articles (mostlythe indefinite) may eventually be omitted. The use of the first person plural has becomeincreasingly common and is now often the most appropriate form for scientifictexts.(3) Overuse of the passivevoice renders the text boring, repetitive and impersonal. Traditional thinking regardingthe use of the first person as petulant is countered by the argument that researchersare indeed the ones performing the actions they describe and that they should beresponsible for them. This new approach may be used in abstract writing, although itapplies primarily to the article, and the use of passive voice is more common inabstracts, given the necessary economy of words.(3)
Misspellings should also be corrected because abstracts are frequently published in theannals of meetings without editing after submission. An up-to-date spell checker andword processing program should be used to correct grammatical errors and to count wordsand characters. The word count tools of the most common word processing programs,including Microsoft Word®, use different counting rules from most electronicsubmission sites. Thus, the count performed in word processing software often exceedsthe limit on the website. Therefore, although the writing may be mainly accomplishedusing a software program, final adjustments should be performed directly on thesubmission website.
Title, authors and affiliations
The title, authors and their affiliations must be included, regardless of the form ofsubmission, electronic or otherwise. The title should be catchy and self-explanatory.All unnecessary words should be deleted. There are essentially two standards: one inwhich the title asks a question relating to the study objectives and one in which themain finding of the study is given.(4) The latter format has recently become more popular. Ideally, thetitle should also provide information on the mechanism and the population to which itapplies. Thus, "Effects of early use of antibiotics" sounds less interesting thanwhen phrased in the form of a question, such as "Do antibiotics alter the outcomes ofsepsis?", although both describe the objective of the study. Conversely, "Early useof antibiotics reduces mortality in patients with shock, but not in those withsepsis" is much more appealing and descriptive.
The format of the authors' names should comply with the rules of the meeting.Ideally, the full name should always be provided, without abbreviations, to avoidambiguity or errors in the author indexing process, when the abstract is published inan indexed journal. However, writing a name with an abbreviated middle name or theauthor's last name first may be required. The format of affiliations should also bestandardized, and the rules of the meeting should be followed. Usually, the name ofthe institution should be written out in full, indicating the city, state andcountry. Including all authors' e-mail addresses is commonly required in electronicsubmission systems.
ABSTRACT STRUCTURE
Abstracts may have different structures, depending on the rules established by thescientific committee of a meeting. They may be continuous or structured.(2) Usually, review articles and reports ofclinical cases use unstructured abstracts, i.e., the text is not divided into sectionsand is written as a single block. All key parts are included, and the flow of the textis maintained. Usually, structured abstracts are divided into the following sections:introduction or rationale, methods, results and conclusions. Structuring abstracts inthis form is advised so that they comply with the rules of the event, as the use ofother sections may result in automatic rejection. For example, one of the most frequenterrors is the use of an introduction section when only objectives section isrequired.
Introduction and objectives
The introduction or study rationale description is the first part of most abstractsfor meetings. An introductory sentence on the general topic is welcome, especially ifit describes something that is general knowledge (e.g., "Maintenance of bloodpressure at very low levels has a negative impact on cerebral ischemia"). Next, thetopic or question that the study will address is given (e.g., "The use of nimodipinein the treatment of cerebral ischemia reduces the effects of oxidation in neurons,although it may lead to hypotension").
The study objectives should be cited next. The objective(s) should be described asspecifically and concisely as possible.(2) Try to avoid citing too many objectives, as in a scientificarticle, because the goal of the abstract is to inform the reader of only the mainpoints of the study. As already mentioned, there may be no room for introducing thetopic. In this case, the proper formulation of the objectives is even morecritical.
Methods
The methodology should be based on a few main points: the study design; the studysetting (intensive care unit, emergency unit or ward); the inclusion and exclusioncriteria; the intervention applied (or the data observed) and the outcomes to beanalyzed. How the study objective was developed, the topics of observation orintervention in the patients studied, and the methods of data analysis should beclarified. "Prospective observational study included patients over 18 years of age,admitted to the ICU and under mechanical ventilation for 48 hours, after signing theconsent form" and "Patients in the period following thoracic surgery were excluded"are appropriate sentences. Note that the exclusion criteria are included in theuniverse of inclusion, e.g., for the first case above, there is no need to mentionexcluding those below 18 years of age. The intervention applied or the data collectedto address the objective should be mandatorily described. There is no need mentionall the data collected in detail, e.g., demographic data may be cited instead of age,gender and race, among others. The numerical form in which the data are shown, e.g.,mean and standard deviation or percentage, and the main statistical tests used shouldbe reported if there is enough space. The statistical analysis may be summarized oromitted if there are not enough words/characters available; the reviewers will likelyassume that the statistical analysis was properly performed. Eventually, the authorsshould report more specific statistical analyses, including regressions andpropensity scores. The most common error in this section is the inclusion of results,e.g., data or the number of patients included. Although a statement of the approvalof the study by an ethics committee is mandatory in the body of the full article, itis not usually required in meeting abstracts due to a lack of space. As a result, allethical rules are presumably properly followed. Some systems require the responsibleauthor state that these precepts were fully met during submission of theabstract.
Results
The results constitute the main summary of the study, and the author(s) should savemore words for that section.(3) Theinitial description of the population studied, followed by the analysis addressingthe main objective, is the essential part of the results. The abstract must reportthe number of patients included because this information is necessary to judge thevalidity of the results presented. Tables or figures may be included in the abstractsfor some meetings. Note that these tables and figures must be small and only show themost representative results, as abstracts are compact forms of publication. Largetables and complex figures can be difficult to read and comprehend. Finally, there isno room in this section for discussing and comparing the results with those of otherstudies.
Conclusions
The conclusions should be concise and impactful. The author(s) should include theanswer(s) to the given objective(s) in one or two sentences.(1) The conclusion is the section thatwill be read most frequently, after the study title. Here, there is no room fordiscussing the results, which is a fairly frequent error. The most common error inthe conclusion is to extrapolate the data evaluated by the study, which may result inthe immediate rejection of the abstract, with no opportunity to resubmit.
The citation of references is recommended, although this may be difficult due to theinclusion of the number of words/characters in the references or the totalword/character count, which is already limited.
ABSTRACT SUBMISSION
The abstract submission process also has steps that must be completed. Nowadays, mostevents use an electronic submission system, which facilitates the management of hundredsof submitted abstracts. From the authors' standpoint, these systems are also beneficialbecause they are usually self-explanatory and reduce the chance of inappropriatesubmissions.
Some additional considerations should be addressed. Choose the subject area that is mostappropriate for your abstract; this will ensure that it is presented and discussedalongside studies of the same topic, which will benefit the author(s). Another point tobe considered is that abstracts are presented individually and may be grouped in asession relating to the secondary objectives of the initial study. Reviewing committeesmay reject abstracts that discuss topics that are not included in the main study. Manymeetings do not accept case reports and literature reviews, even in the form ofsystematic reviews and meta-analyses, because the original themes are given preferenceby the scientific committees. Other meetings accept these types of abstracts, but havedifferent rules for them.
FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
The presentation of results from scientific studies at meetings is a key step incommunicating science to those for whom the results are relevant. Furthermore, itgreatly contributes to improving the quality of publications in their final format.Within this context, the development of a good abstract, according to the rules of goodscientific writing, is essential. The tips outlined in table 1 may assist in this process.
Table 1
Tips for preparing abstracts for scientific meetings
| 1. | Ideas based on experimental research, day-to-day practices at the ICU or acombination of both (translational) |
| 2. | The structure of abstracts is quite rigid; ensure that you add a variety ofnew information in a small amount of text |
| 3. | Provide sufficient information to reviewers, enabling them to assesswhether it is appropriate to accept the abstract |
| 4. | Remember to write impactfully |
| 5. | Avoid abbreviations or symbols, except those with widespread use |
| 6. | The introduction (if any) should flow directly into the study context andbe limited to one or two sentences |
| 7. | Include the main objectives of the study and focus only on the main goalsof the research |
| 8. | Report the type of study in the methods section; avoid describing all dataanalyzed or giving a detailed statistical analysis |
| 9. | Briefly describe the traits of the study population and the results of theanalysis performed |
| 10. | There is no room for discussing the results |
| 11. | The conclusion should be limited to one or two sentences only and addressthe study goal(s) |
| 12. | Mind the character or word limit imposed for abstract and avoid excessarticles, adverbs and adjectives |
| 13. | Submit your abstract in the most appropriate category, enabling the studyto be discussed in the proper context |
Open in a separate window
ICU - intensive care unit.
Footnotes
Conflicts of interest: None.
REFERENCES
1. Foote M. Abstracts for professional meetings: small but mighty. Chest. 2008;134(5):1103–1105. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
2. Foote M. Some concrete ideas about manuscript abstracts. Chest. 2006;129(5):1375–1377. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
3. Goodman NW, Edwards MB. Medical writing: a prescription for clarity. 3rd ed. Cambrigde: Cambridge University Press; 2006. [Google Scholar]
4. Wagner PD. Writing up your research results for publication. Chest. 2009;136(2):639–642. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
Articles from Revista Brasileira de Terapia Intensiva are provided here courtesy of Associação de Medicina Intensiva Brasileira
