The Psych Research Project
Writing an Abstract
Despite the fact that an abstract is quite brief, it must do almost as much work as a multi-page research paper. An abstract summarizes the major aspects of the entire paper in a prescribed sequence that includes:
1) the overall purpose of the study and the essential question you investigated;
2) the basic design of your research and resources used;
3) major findings or trends found as a result of your analysis; and,
4) a brief summary of your interpretations and conclusions.
The majority of abstracts are informative. A good informative abstract acts as a surrogate for the work itself. That is, the researcher presents and explains the main arguments and the important results and evidence of the collected research. An informative abstract includes the purpose, research methods, and scope, in addition to the results, conclusions, and interpretations of the research by the author.
➜ Here are some things that you need to include in your 350-500 word Research Project Abstract:
• Introduction and Motivation:
Why should we care about the topic and the results of your research?
Provide context and background, setting up your Essential Question.
• Addressing the Essential Question:
What is the essential question are you trying to answer?
• The Research Approach:
How did you go about solving or making progress in researching the essential question?
What are the various sources used in your research?
• The Content – Results and Data:
Answer your Essential Question. Provide a generalized summary of your data and
the results of your research in response to your Essential Question.
• Conclusions:
What are the implications of your research? What is significant about your research?
Does your research lead to additional questions?
Reminders!
Use an active voice when possible. Write your abstract using concise, but complete, sentences. Get to the point quickly and always use the past tense, as you are reporting on research that has been completed.
➜ The abstract SHOULD NOT contain:
• Lengthy background information.
• Abbreviations, jargon, or terms that may be confusing to the reader.
• Any sort of images, illustrations, figures, or tables (or references to them).
those are the directions for the abstract assignment
this is my essential research question…
“What role do early childhood experiences play in the development of personality traits, and how do these traits evolve over a person’s lifetime?”
basically the assignment is to research this essential question and write an abstract about it. following the directions above.
