Are all abstracts created equal??

Abstract 

The preparation of a strong, convincing abstract is a necessary professional skill and prized art form for nurse scientists and clinical scholars. The power and the role of an abstract are often overlooked. Abstracts are used in a variety of scholarly forums including articles submitted for publication, research proposals, and responses to “calls for abstracts” for presentations at scientific conferences. The purpose of this article is to emphasize the highlights of the “art” rather than the “cookbook” details associated with preparing an abstract. Each of the critical stages of abstract development is explored—planning, drafting, reviewing, peer reviewing, editing, and packaging. Likewise, a few, hopefully helpful, hints on developing the six key elements—background, purpose, sample, methods, results, and implications—of the scientific abstract are given. Polishing, the essential skill of preparing an abstract, takes time and persistence and will pay off in the long run. The well-crafted abstract is an initial step in the process of getting research and scholarly pursuits noticed and accepted.