Reading. What is an abstract? . What should be in an abstract? . How to structure an abstract. Sample abstract. Through the past 500 years, American Indians have been subjected to inequalities through the United states legal system as a result of the fede

What is an Abstract?

An abstract is a short statement about your research article, thesis, review, conference proceeding or project designed to give the reader a complete, yet concise, understanding of your paper’s research and findings. It gives a thorough overview of your paper or project. In journal articles, research papers, and patents, an abstract is a short summary placed prior to the introduction, often set apart from the body of the text, sometimes with different line justification (as a block or pull quote) from the rest of the article.

Scientific literature takes widespread advantage of the abstract as the abbreviated style of choice in order to aptly communicate complex research. In science, an abstract may act as a stand-alone entity in lieu of the paper as well. As such, an abstract is used by many organizations as the basis for selecting research that is proposed for presentation in the form of a poster, podium/lecture, or workshop presentation at an academic conference. Most literature database search engines index abstracts only as opposed to providing the entire text of the paper. Full-texts of scientific papers must often be purchased because of copyright and/or publisher fees, and therefore the abstract is a significant selling point for the reprint or electronic version of the full-text.
Abstracts are not public domain or open-source unless stated by the publisher. Therefore, abstracts are afforded protections under copyright law in many states just as any other form of written speech is protected. However, publishers of scientific articles invariably make abstracts publicly available, even when the article itself is protected by a toll barrier.

What Should Be in an Abstract?

A well-prepared abstract allows a reader to quickly and accurately identify the basic content of your research or project. Readers should be able to read your abstract to see if the related research is of interest to them.

A model abstract should contain the following elements:

• a statement of the purpose of your study
• the research methods/methodology used to arrive at your results and/or conclusions
• the results observed
• the conclusions drawn from your study and their significance

Abstracts are not evaluative and must not include your personal opinions.

How to Structure an Abstract

Abstract length varies by discipline and publisher requirements. Typical length ranges from 100 to 500 words, but very rarely more than a page. An abstract may or may not have the section title of " abstract" explicitly listed as an antecedent to the content, however, it is typically sectioned logically as an overview of what appears in the paper. Usually an abstract is no more than 250 words.

1. PURPOSE: Explain the purpose of your study/paper. Ideally in 1-3 sentences, state the primary objectives and scope of the study or the reasons why the document was written. Also state the rationale for your research. Why did you do the research? Is the topic you are researching an ignored or newly discovered one? Why is it significant? Here you should include your hypothesis if appropriate.

2. METHODS: In terms of methodology (research methods), clearly state the techniques or approaches used in your study. For papers concerned with non-experimental work (such as those in the humanities, some social sciences, and the fine arts) describe your sources and your use/interpretation of the sources.

3. RESULTS: Describe your results (the findings of your experimentation), the data collected, and effects observed as informatively and concisely as possible. These results may be experimental or theoretical, just remember to make note of that in your abstract. Give special priority in your abstract to new and verified findings that contradict previous theories. Mention any limits to the accuracy or reliability of your findings if appropriate.

4. CONCLUSION: Your conclusions should in essence describe the implications of the results: Why are the results of your study important to your field and how do they relate to the purpose of your investigation?

SAMPLE ABSTRACT

Inequalities Embedded in the Unites States Legal System through the Lens of Tribal Governments

Jessica Arthur Kathleen

ABSTRACT

Through the past 500 years, American Indians have been subjected to inequalities through the United States legal system as a result of the federal government’s jurisdiction in Indian country, thus making tribal governments less powerful in Indian country and further expanding a jurisdictional void. Using scholarly literature accessed through the University of Massachusetts Amherst library database, law reviews, congressional legislation, and Supreme Court holdings this paper examines how the tribal government’s power continues to be chipped away by Congress, through jurisdictional decisions and legislation, which develop in favor of the federal government. The three sovereign entities that have jurisdiction in Indian country are the federal government, tribal governments, and state governments. However, this judicial framework is complex and depends on the following: location, the crime, who committed the crime (the perpetrator), and whom the crime was committed against (the victim). Therefore, due to criminal jurisdiction in Indian country being based on the political status of American Indians it exemplifies inequalities in the United States legal system. In order to preserve and protect the economic, social, and cultural attributes of American Indians, tribal justice systems need to maintain their power. By taking away power from tribal government and allowing federal and state governments to prosecute crimes, it sends a message that tribal governments lack authority and are inferior to handle certain crimes. More importantly, the basic right of allowing tribal governments to maintain law within their reservations is fundamental to their survival as a community.

What is an Annotation?  

An annotation is a brief description of a book, article, or other publication, including audio-visual materials. Its purpose is to characterize the publication in such a way that the reader can decide whether or not to read the complete work.