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Abstract renders the summary superfluous.
M S Didolkar1, M V Flemming, W E Venanzi
1Department of Surgery, University of Maryland, Baltimore 21201.
Surgery, Gynecology & Obstetrics
|March 1, 1989
Summary
Abstracts and summaries are similar in content, making summaries often redundant. Including both can lead to omissions of key conclusions, suggesting one format is sufficient.
Area of Science:
- Medical Writing
- Scientific Communication
Background:
- Journals like Surgery, Gynecology & Obstetrics require both abstracts and summaries.
- The purpose of both is to provide a synopsis of the study or review.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare abstracts and summaries based on objective criteria.
- To determine the redundancy and effectiveness of including both abstracts and summaries in scientific articles.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 83 reports from Surgery, Gynecology & Obstetrics.
- Evaluation based on word count, sentence count, sentence repetition, clarity, conclusion expression, and new material introduction.
Main Results:
- Abstracts were longer than summaries, but contained significant sentence repetition.
- Important conclusions were omitted from either the abstract or summary in 20% of cases.
- Quantitative and structural attributes of abstracts and summaries were found to be highly similar.
Conclusions:
- The abstract is often sufficient, rendering the summary superfluous.
- Including both abstracts and summaries can lead to the omission of critical information.
- It is recommended to retain either the abstract or the summary, but not both, in conventional formats.