Author: Rafael Repiso– Translation: Erika-Lucia Gonzalez-Carrion

It is no coincidence that this entry continues the SEO in Science entry. An abstract is a brief and understandable summary of the contents of the work, which allows potential readers to approach the work easily, with a greater depth than with the title, and it is also, along with the title and keywords, one of the main fields that are indexed for later retrieval in databases. Its size usually ranges between 100-250 words and is specified in the journal’s rules. That is, the length and in some cases structure of an abstract are imposed by the journals.

A good abstract should:

– Describe the research problem concisely.

– Announce the theoretical framework in which the problem is inscribed.

– Specify the characteristics of the sample.

– Outline the study method used.

– List the elements analyzed.

– Indicate the main results and conclusions.

One way to achieve a representative abstract is to structure it according to the article itself (IMR&C structure). For example, including one or two sentences that represent each of the sections of the paper.

Like the title, the abstract should be attractive to the reader. Since it is an indexed field in the databases, it is advisable to include all the terminology related to the work, so that it is more likely to be retrieved in subsequent searches, trying to avoid repetition of terms.