Writing an Abstract for Your Research Paper

Definition and Purpose of Abstracts

An abstract is a short summary of your (published or unpublished) research paper, usually about a paragraph (c. 6-7 sentences, 150-250 words) long. A well-written abstract serves multiple purposes:

  • an abstract lets readers get the gist or essence of your paper or article quickly, in order to decide whether to read the full paper;
  • an abstract prepares readers to follow the detailed information, analyses, and arguments in your full paper;
  • and, later, an abstract helps readers remember key points from your paper.

It’s also worth remembering that search engines and bibliographic databases use abstracts, as well as the title, to identify key terms for indexing your published paper. So what you include in your abstract and in your title are crucial for helping other researchers find your paper or article.

If you are writing an abstract for a course paper, your professor may give you specific guidelines for what to include and how to organize your abstract. Similarly, academic journals often have specific requirements for abstracts. So in addition to following the advice on this page, you should be sure to look for and follow any guidelines from the course or journal you’re writing for.

The Contents of an Abstract

Abstracts contain most of the following kinds of information in brief form. The body of your paper will, of course, develop and explain these ideas much more fully. As you will see in the samples below, the proportion of your abstract that you devote to each kind of information—and the sequence of that information—will vary, depending on the nature and genre of the paper that you are summarizing in your abstract. And in some cases, some of this information is implied, rather than stated explicitly. The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , which is widely used in the social sciences, gives specific guidelines for what to include in the abstract for different kinds of papers—for empirical studies, literature reviews or meta-analyses, theoretical papers, methodological papers, and case studies.

Here are the typical kinds of information found in most abstracts:

  • the context or background information for your research; the general topic under study; the specific topic of your research
  • the central questions or statement of the problem your research addresses
  • what’s already known about this question, what previous research has done or shown
  • the main reason(s) , the exigency, the rationale , the goals for your research—Why is it important to address these questions? Are you, for example, examining a new topic? Why is that topic worth examining? Are you filling a gap in previous research? Applying new methods to take a fresh look at existing ideas or data? Resolving a dispute within the literature in your field? . . .
  • your research and/or analytical methods
  • your main findings , results , or arguments
  • the significance or implications of your findings or arguments.

Your abstract should be intelligible on its own, without a reader’s having to read your entire paper. And in an abstract, you usually do not cite references—most of your abstract will describe what you have studied in your research and what you have found and what you argue in your paper. In the body of your paper, you will cite the specific literature that informs your research.

When to Write Your Abstract

Although you might be tempted to write your abstract first because it will appear as the very first part of your paper, it’s a good idea to wait to write your abstract until after you’ve drafted your full paper, so that you know what you’re summarizing.

What follows are some sample abstracts in published papers or articles, all written by faculty at UW-Madison who come from a variety of disciplines. We have annotated these samples to help you see the work that these authors are doing within their abstracts.

Choosing Verb Tenses within Your Abstract

The social science sample (Sample 1) below uses the present tense to describe general facts and interpretations that have been and are currently true, including the prevailing explanation for the social phenomenon under study. That abstract also uses the present tense to describe the methods, the findings, the arguments, and the implications of the findings from their new research study. The authors use the past tense to describe previous research.

The humanities sample (Sample 2) below uses the past tense to describe completed events in the past (the texts created in the pulp fiction industry in the 1970s and 80s) and uses the present tense to describe what is happening in those texts, to explain the significance or meaning of those texts, and to describe the arguments presented in the article.

The science samples (Samples 3 and 4) below use the past tense to describe what previous research studies have done and the research the authors have conducted, the methods they have followed, and what they have found. In their rationale or justification for their research (what remains to be done), they use the present tense. They also use the present tense to introduce their study (in Sample 3, “Here we report . . .”) and to explain the significance of their study (In Sample 3, This reprogramming . . . “provides a scalable cell source for. . .”).

Sample Abstract 1

From the social sciences.

Reporting new findings about the reasons for increasing economic homogamy among spouses

Gonalons-Pons, Pilar, and Christine R. Schwartz. “Trends in Economic Homogamy: Changes in Assortative Mating or the Division of Labor in Marriage?” Demography , vol. 54, no. 3, 2017, pp. 985-1005.

“The growing economic resemblance of spouses has contributed to rising inequality by increasing the number of couples in which there are two high- or two low-earning partners. [Annotation for the previous sentence: The first sentence introduces the topic under study (the “economic resemblance of spouses”). This sentence also implies the question underlying this research study: what are the various causes—and the interrelationships among them—for this trend?] The dominant explanation for this trend is increased assortative mating. Previous research has primarily relied on cross-sectional data and thus has been unable to disentangle changes in assortative mating from changes in the division of spouses’ paid labor—a potentially key mechanism given the dramatic rise in wives’ labor supply. [Annotation for the previous two sentences: These next two sentences explain what previous research has demonstrated. By pointing out the limitations in the methods that were used in previous studies, they also provide a rationale for new research.] We use data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) to decompose the increase in the correlation between spouses’ earnings and its contribution to inequality between 1970 and 2013 into parts due to (a) changes in assortative mating, and (b) changes in the division of paid labor. [Annotation for the previous sentence: The data, research and analytical methods used in this new study.] Contrary to what has often been assumed, the rise of economic homogamy and its contribution to inequality is largely attributable to changes in the division of paid labor rather than changes in sorting on earnings or earnings potential. Our findings indicate that the rise of economic homogamy cannot be explained by hypotheses centered on meeting and matching opportunities, and they show where in this process inequality is generated and where it is not.” (p. 985) [Annotation for the previous two sentences: The major findings from and implications and significance of this study.]

Sample Abstract 2

From the humanities.

Analyzing underground pulp fiction publications in Tanzania, this article makes an argument about the cultural significance of those publications

Emily Callaci. “Street Textuality: Socialism, Masculinity, and Urban Belonging in Tanzania’s Pulp Fiction Publishing Industry, 1975-1985.” Comparative Studies in Society and History , vol. 59, no. 1, 2017, pp. 183-210.

“From the mid-1970s through the mid-1980s, a network of young urban migrant men created an underground pulp fiction publishing industry in the city of Dar es Salaam. [Annotation for the previous sentence: The first sentence introduces the context for this research and announces the topic under study.] As texts that were produced in the underground economy of a city whose trajectory was increasingly charted outside of formalized planning and investment, these novellas reveal more than their narrative content alone. These texts were active components in the urban social worlds of the young men who produced them. They reveal a mode of urbanism otherwise obscured by narratives of decolonization, in which urban belonging was constituted less by national citizenship than by the construction of social networks, economic connections, and the crafting of reputations. This article argues that pulp fiction novellas of socialist era Dar es Salaam are artifacts of emergent forms of male sociability and mobility. In printing fictional stories about urban life on pilfered paper and ink, and distributing their texts through informal channels, these writers not only described urban communities, reputations, and networks, but also actually created them.” (p. 210) [Annotation for the previous sentences: The remaining sentences in this abstract interweave other essential information for an abstract for this article. The implied research questions: What do these texts mean? What is their historical and cultural significance, produced at this time, in this location, by these authors? The argument and the significance of this analysis in microcosm: these texts “reveal a mode or urbanism otherwise obscured . . .”; and “This article argues that pulp fiction novellas. . . .” This section also implies what previous historical research has obscured. And through the details in its argumentative claims, this section of the abstract implies the kinds of methods the author has used to interpret the novellas and the concepts under study (e.g., male sociability and mobility, urban communities, reputations, network. . . ).]

Sample Abstract/Summary 3

From the sciences.

Reporting a new method for reprogramming adult mouse fibroblasts into induced cardiac progenitor cells

Lalit, Pratik A., Max R. Salick, Daryl O. Nelson, Jayne M. Squirrell, Christina M. Shafer, Neel G. Patel, Imaan Saeed, Eric G. Schmuck, Yogananda S. Markandeya, Rachel Wong, Martin R. Lea, Kevin W. Eliceiri, Timothy A. Hacker, Wendy C. Crone, Michael Kyba, Daniel J. Garry, Ron Stewart, James A. Thomson, Karen M. Downs, Gary E. Lyons, and Timothy J. Kamp. “Lineage Reprogramming of Fibroblasts into Proliferative Induced Cardiac Progenitor Cells by Defined Factors.” Cell Stem Cell , vol. 18, 2016, pp. 354-367.

“Several studies have reported reprogramming of fibroblasts into induced cardiomyocytes; however, reprogramming into proliferative induced cardiac progenitor cells (iCPCs) remains to be accomplished. [Annotation for the previous sentence: The first sentence announces the topic under study, summarizes what’s already known or been accomplished in previous research, and signals the rationale and goals are for the new research and the problem that the new research solves: How can researchers reprogram fibroblasts into iCPCs?] Here we report that a combination of 11 or 5 cardiac factors along with canonical Wnt and JAK/STAT signaling reprogrammed adult mouse cardiac, lung, and tail tip fibroblasts into iCPCs. The iCPCs were cardiac mesoderm-restricted progenitors that could be expanded extensively while maintaining multipo-tency to differentiate into cardiomyocytes, smooth muscle cells, and endothelial cells in vitro. Moreover, iCPCs injected into the cardiac crescent of mouse embryos differentiated into cardiomyocytes. iCPCs transplanted into the post-myocardial infarction mouse heart improved survival and differentiated into cardiomyocytes, smooth muscle cells, and endothelial cells. [Annotation for the previous four sentences: The methods the researchers developed to achieve their goal and a description of the results.] Lineage reprogramming of adult somatic cells into iCPCs provides a scalable cell source for drug discovery, disease modeling, and cardiac regenerative therapy.” (p. 354) [Annotation for the previous sentence: The significance or implications—for drug discovery, disease modeling, and therapy—of this reprogramming of adult somatic cells into iCPCs.]

Sample Abstract 4, a Structured Abstract

Reporting results about the effectiveness of antibiotic therapy in managing acute bacterial sinusitis, from a rigorously controlled study

Note: This journal requires authors to organize their abstract into four specific sections, with strict word limits. Because the headings for this structured abstract are self-explanatory, we have chosen not to add annotations to this sample abstract.

Wald, Ellen R., David Nash, and Jens Eickhoff. “Effectiveness of Amoxicillin/Clavulanate Potassium in the Treatment of Acute Bacterial Sinusitis in Children.” Pediatrics , vol. 124, no. 1, 2009, pp. 9-15.

“OBJECTIVE: The role of antibiotic therapy in managing acute bacterial sinusitis (ABS) in children is controversial. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of high-dose amoxicillin/potassium clavulanate in the treatment of children diagnosed with ABS.

METHODS : This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Children 1 to 10 years of age with a clinical presentation compatible with ABS were eligible for participation. Patients were stratified according to age (<6 or ≥6 years) and clinical severity and randomly assigned to receive either amoxicillin (90 mg/kg) with potassium clavulanate (6.4 mg/kg) or placebo. A symptom survey was performed on days 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 20, and 30. Patients were examined on day 14. Children’s conditions were rated as cured, improved, or failed according to scoring rules.

RESULTS: Two thousand one hundred thirty-five children with respiratory complaints were screened for enrollment; 139 (6.5%) had ABS. Fifty-eight patients were enrolled, and 56 were randomly assigned. The mean age was 6630 months. Fifty (89%) patients presented with persistent symptoms, and 6 (11%) presented with nonpersistent symptoms. In 24 (43%) children, the illness was classified as mild, whereas in the remaining 32 (57%) children it was severe. Of the 28 children who received the antibiotic, 14 (50%) were cured, 4 (14%) were improved, 4(14%) experienced treatment failure, and 6 (21%) withdrew. Of the 28children who received placebo, 4 (14%) were cured, 5 (18%) improved, and 19 (68%) experienced treatment failure. Children receiving the antibiotic were more likely to be cured (50% vs 14%) and less likely to have treatment failure (14% vs 68%) than children receiving the placebo.

CONCLUSIONS : ABS is a common complication of viral upper respiratory infections. Amoxicillin/potassium clavulanate results in significantly more cures and fewer failures than placebo, according to parental report of time to resolution.” (9)

Some Excellent Advice about Writing Abstracts for Basic Science Research Papers, by Professor Adriano Aguzzi from the Institute of Neuropathology at the University of Zurich:

abstract for research article

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APA Abstract (2020) | Formatting, Length, and Keywords

Published on November 6, 2020 by Raimo Streefkerk . Revised on January 17, 2024.

An APA abstract is a comprehensive summary of your paper in which you briefly address the research problem , hypotheses , methods , results , and implications of your research. It’s placed on a separate page right after the title page and is usually no longer than 250 words.

Most professional papers that are submitted for publication require an abstract. Student papers typically don’t need an abstract, unless instructed otherwise.

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Table of contents

How to format the abstract, how to write an apa abstract, which keywords to use, frequently asked questions, apa abstract example.

APA abstract (7th edition)

Formatting instructions

Follow these five steps to format your abstract in APA Style:

  • Insert a running head (for a professional paper—not needed for a student paper) and page number.
  • Set page margins to 1 inch (2.54 cm).
  • Write “Abstract” (bold and centered) at the top of the page.
  • Do not indent the first line.
  • Double-space the text.
  • Use a legible font like Times New Roman (12 pt.).
  • Limit the length to 250 words.
  • Indent the first line 0.5 inches.
  • Write the label “Keywords:” (italicized).
  • Write keywords in lowercase letters.
  • Separate keywords with commas.
  • Do not use a period after the keywords.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

The abstract is a self-contained piece of text that informs the reader what your research is about. It’s best to write the abstract after you’re finished with the rest of your paper.

The questions below may help structure your abstract. Try answering them in one to three sentences each.

  • What is the problem? Outline the objective, research questions , and/or hypotheses .
  • What has been done? Explain your research methods .
  • What did you discover? Summarize the key findings and conclusions .
  • What do the findings mean? Summarize the discussion and recommendations .

Check out our guide on how to write an abstract for more guidance and an annotated example.

Guide: writing an abstract

At the end of the abstract, you may include a few keywords that will be used for indexing if your paper is published on a database. Listing your keywords will help other researchers find your work.

Choosing relevant keywords is essential. Try to identify keywords that address your topic, method, or population. APA recommends including three to five keywords.

An abstract is a concise summary of an academic text (such as a journal article or dissertation ). It serves two main purposes:

  • To help potential readers determine the relevance of your paper for their own research.
  • To communicate your key findings to those who don’t have time to read the whole paper.

Abstracts are often indexed along with keywords on academic databases, so they make your work more easily findable. Since the abstract is the first thing any reader sees, it’s important that it clearly and accurately summarizes the contents of your paper.

An APA abstract is around 150–250 words long. However, always check your target journal’s guidelines and don’t exceed the specified word count.

In an APA Style paper , the abstract is placed on a separate page after the title page (page 2).

Avoid citing sources in your abstract . There are two reasons for this:

  • The abstract should focus on your original research, not on the work of others.
  • The abstract should be self-contained and fully understandable without reference to other sources.

There are some circumstances where you might need to mention other sources in an abstract: for example, if your research responds directly to another study or focuses on the work of a single theorist. In general, though, don’t include citations unless absolutely necessary.

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Streefkerk, R. (2024, January 17). APA Abstract (2020) | Formatting, Length, and Keywords. Scribbr. Retrieved March 18, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/apa-style/apa-abstract/

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  • How to Write an Abstract

Abstract

Expedite peer review, increase search-ability, and set the tone for your study

The abstract is your chance to let your readers know what they can expect from your article. Learn how to write a clear, and concise abstract that will keep your audience reading.

How your abstract impacts editorial evaluation and future readership

After the title , the abstract is the second-most-read part of your article. A good abstract can help to expedite peer review and, if your article is accepted for publication, it’s an important tool for readers to find and evaluate your work. Editors use your abstract when they first assess your article. Prospective reviewers see it when they decide whether to accept an invitation to review. Once published, the abstract gets indexed in PubMed and Google Scholar , as well as library systems and other popular databases. Like the title, your abstract influences keyword search results. Readers will use it to decide whether to read the rest of your article. Other researchers will use it to evaluate your work for inclusion in systematic reviews and meta-analysis. It should be a concise standalone piece that accurately represents your research. 

abstract for research article

What to include in an abstract

The main challenge you’ll face when writing your abstract is keeping it concise AND fitting in all the information you need. Depending on your subject area the journal may require a structured abstract following specific headings. A structured abstract helps your readers understand your study more easily. If your journal doesn’t require a structured abstract it’s still a good idea to follow a similar format, just present the abstract as one paragraph without headings. 

Background or Introduction – What is currently known? Start with a brief, 2 or 3 sentence, introduction to the research area. 

Objectives or Aims – What is the study and why did you do it? Clearly state the research question you’re trying to answer.

Methods – What did you do? Explain what you did and how you did it. Include important information about your methods, but avoid the low-level specifics. Some disciplines have specific requirements for abstract methods. 

  • CONSORT for randomized trials.
  • STROBE for observational studies
  • PRISMA for systematic reviews and meta-analyses

Results – What did you find? Briefly give the key findings of your study. Include key numeric data (including confidence intervals or p values), where possible.

Conclusions – What did you conclude? Tell the reader why your findings matter, and what this could mean for the ‘bigger picture’ of this area of research. 

Writing tips

The main challenge you may find when writing your abstract is keeping it concise AND convering all the information you need to.

abstract for research article

  • Keep it concise and to the point. Most journals have a maximum word count, so check guidelines before you write the abstract to save time editing it later.
  • Write for your audience. Are they specialists in your specific field? Are they cross-disciplinary? Are they non-specialists? If you’re writing for a general audience, or your research could be of interest to the public keep your language as straightforward as possible. If you’re writing in English, do remember that not all of your readers will necessarily be native English speakers.
  • Focus on key results, conclusions and take home messages.
  • Write your paper first, then create the abstract as a summary.
  • Check the journal requirements before you write your abstract, eg. required subheadings.
  • Include keywords or phrases to help readers search for your work in indexing databases like PubMed or Google Scholar.
  • Double and triple check your abstract for spelling and grammar errors. These kind of errors can give potential reviewers the impression that your research isn’t sound, and can make it easier to find reviewers who accept the invitation to review your manuscript. Your abstract should be a taste of what is to come in the rest of your article.

abstract for research article

Don’t

  • Sensationalize your research.
  • Speculate about where this research might lead in the future.
  • Use abbreviations or acronyms (unless absolutely necessary or unless they’re widely known, eg. DNA).
  • Repeat yourself unnecessarily, eg. “Methods: We used X technique. Results: Using X technique, we found…”
  • Contradict anything in the rest of your manuscript.
  • Include content that isn’t also covered in the main manuscript.
  • Include citations or references.

Tip: How to edit your work

Editing is challenging, especially if you are acting as both a writer and an editor. Read our guidelines for advice on how to refine your work, including useful tips for setting your intentions, re-review, and consultation with colleagues.

  • How to Write a Great Title
  • How to Write Your Methods
  • How to Report Statistics
  • How to Write Discussions and Conclusions
  • How to Edit Your Work

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The contents of the Writing Center are also available as a live, interactive training session, complete with slides, talking points, and activities. …

There’s a lot to consider when deciding where to submit your work. Learn how to choose a journal that will help your study reach its audience, while reflecting your values as a researcher…

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How to Write an Abstract for a Research Paper | Examples

abstract for research article

What is a research paper abstract?

Research paper abstracts summarize your study quickly and succinctly to journal editors and researchers and prompt them to read further. But with the ubiquity of online publication databases, writing a compelling abstract is even more important today than it was in the days of bound paper manuscripts.

Abstracts exist to “sell”  your work, and they could thus be compared to the “executive summary” of a business resume: an official briefing on what is most important about your research. Or the “gist” of your research. With the majority of academic transactions being conducted online, this means that you have even less time to impress readers–and increased competition in terms of other abstracts out there to read.

The APCI (Academic Publishing and Conferences International) notes that there are  12 questions or “points” considered in the selection process  for journals and conferences and stresses the importance of having an abstract that ticks all of these boxes. Because it is often the ONLY chance you have to convince readers to keep reading, it is important that you spend time and energy crafting an abstract that faithfully represents the central parts of your study and captivates your audience.

With that in mind, follow these suggestions when structuring and writing your abstract, and learn how exactly to put these ideas into a solid abstract that will captivate your target readers.

Before Writing Your Abstract

How long should an abstract be.

All abstracts are written with the same essential objective: to give a summary of your study. But there are two basic styles of abstract: descriptive and informative . Here is a brief delineation of the two:

Of the two types of abstracts, informative abstracts are much more common, and they are widely used for submission to journals and conferences. Informative abstracts apply to lengthier and more technical research and are common in the sciences, engineering, and psychology, while descriptive abstracts are more likely used in humanities and social science papers. The best method of determining which abstract type you need to use is to follow the instructions for journal submissions and to read as many other published articles in those journals as possible.

Research Abstract Guidelines and Requirements

As any article about research writing will tell you, authors must always closely follow the specific guidelines and requirements indicated in the Guide for Authors section of their target journal’s website. The same kind of adherence to conventions should be applied to journal publications, for consideration at a conference, and even when completing a class assignment.

Each publisher has particular demands when it comes to formatting and structure. Here are some common questions addressed in the journal guidelines:

  • Is there a maximum or minimum word/character length?
  • What are the style and formatting requirements?
  • What is the appropriate abstract type?
  • Are there any specific content or organization rules that apply?

There are of course other rules to consider when composing a research paper abstract. But if you follow the stated rules the first time you submit your manuscript, you can avoid your work being thrown in the “circular file” right off the bat.

Identify Your Target Readership

The main purpose of your abstract is to lead researchers to the full text of your research paper. In scientific journals, abstracts let readers decide whether the research discussed is relevant to their own interests or study. Abstracts also help readers understand your main argument quickly. Consider these questions as you write your abstract:

  • Are other academics in your field the main target of your study?
  • Will your study perhaps be useful to members of the general public?
  • Do your study results include the wider implications presented in the abstract?

Outlining and Writing Your Abstract

What to include in an abstract.

Just as your  research paper title  should cover as much ground as possible in a few short words, your abstract must cover  all  parts of your study in order to fully explain your paper and research. Because it must accomplish this task in the space of only a few hundred words, it is important not to include ambiguous references or phrases that will confuse the reader or mislead them about the content and objectives of your research. Follow these  dos  and  don’ts  when it comes to what kind of writing to include:

  • Avoid acronyms or abbreviations since these will need to be explained in order to make sense to the reader, which takes up valuable abstract space. Instead, explain these terms in the Introduction section of the main text.
  • Only use references to people or other works if they are well-known. Otherwise, avoid referencing anything outside of your study in the abstract.
  • Never include tables, figures, sources, or long quotations in your abstract; you will have plenty of time to present and refer to these in the body of your paper.

Use keywords in your abstract to focus your topic

A vital search tool is the research paper keywords section, which lists the most relevant terms directly underneath the abstract. Think of these keywords as the “tubes” that readers will seek and enter—via queries on databases and search engines—to ultimately land at their destination, which is your paper. Your abstract keywords should thus be words that are commonly used in searches but should also be highly relevant to your work and found in the text of your abstract. Include 5 to 10 important words or short phrases central to your research in both the abstract and the keywords section.

For example, if you are writing a paper on the prevalence of obesity among lower classes that crosses international boundaries, you should include terms like “obesity,” “prevalence,” “international,” “lower classes,” and “cross-cultural.” These are terms that should net a wide array of people interested in your topic of study. Look at our nine rules for choosing keywords for your research paper if you need more input on this.

Research Paper Abstract Structure

As mentioned above, the abstract (especially the informative abstract) acts as a surrogate or synopsis of your research paper, doing almost as much work as the thousands of words that follow it in the body of the main text. In the hard sciences and most social sciences, the abstract includes the following sections and organizational schema.

Each section is quite compact—only a single sentence or two, although there is room for expansion if one element or statement is particularly interesting or compelling. As the abstract is almost always one long paragraph, the individual sections should naturally merge into one another to create a holistic effect. Use the following as a checklist to ensure that you have included all of the necessary content in your abstract.

how to structure an abstract list

1) Identify your purpose and motivation

So your research is about rabies in Brazilian squirrels. Why is this important? You should start your abstract by explaining why people should care about this study—why is it significant to your field and perhaps to the wider world? And what is the exact purpose of your study; what are you trying to achieve? Start by answering the following questions:

  • What made you decide to do this study or project?
  • Why is this study important to your field or to the lay reader?
  • Why should someone read your entire article?

In summary, the first section of your abstract should include the importance of the research and its impact on related research fields or on the wider scientific domain.

2) Explain the research problem you are addressing

Stating the research problem that your study addresses is the corollary to why your specific study is important and necessary. For instance, even if the issue of “rabies in Brazilian squirrels” is important, what is the problem—the “missing piece of the puzzle”—that your study helps resolve?

You can combine the problem with the motivation section, but from a perspective of organization and clarity, it is best to separate the two. Here are some precise questions to address:

  • What is your research trying to better understand or what problem is it trying to solve?
  • What is the scope of your study—does it try to explain something general or specific?
  • What is your central claim or argument?

3) Discuss your research approach

Your specific study approach is detailed in the Methods and Materials section .  You have already established the importance of the research, your motivation for studying this issue, and the specific problem your paper addresses. Now you need to discuss  how  you solved or made progress on this problem—how you conducted your research. If your study includes your own work or that of your team, describe that here. If in your paper you reviewed the work of others, explain this here. Did you use analytic models? A simulation? A double-blind study? A case study? You are basically showing the reader the internal engine of your research machine and how it functioned in the study. Be sure to:

  • Detail your research—include methods/type of the study, your variables, and the extent of the work
  • Briefly present evidence to support your claim
  • Highlight your most important sources

4) Briefly summarize your results

Here you will give an overview of the outcome of your study. Avoid using too many vague qualitative terms (e.g, “very,” “small,” or “tremendous”) and try to use at least some quantitative terms (i.e., percentages, figures, numbers). Save your qualitative language for the conclusion statement. Answer questions like these:

  • What did your study yield in concrete terms (e.g., trends, figures, correlation between phenomena)?
  • How did your results compare to your hypothesis? Was the study successful?
  • Where there any highly unexpected outcomes or were they all largely predicted?

5) State your conclusion

In the last section of your abstract, you will give a statement about the implications and  limitations of the study . Be sure to connect this statement closely to your results and not the area of study in general. Are the results of this study going to shake up the scientific world? Will they impact how people see “Brazilian squirrels”? Or are the implications minor? Try not to boast about your study or present its impact as  too  far-reaching, as researchers and journals will tend to be skeptical of bold claims in scientific papers. Answer one of these questions:

  • What are the exact effects of these results on my field? On the wider world?
  • What other kind of study would yield further solutions to problems?
  • What other information is needed to expand knowledge in this area?

After Completing the First Draft of Your Abstract

Revise your abstract.

The abstract, like any piece of academic writing, should be revised before being considered complete. Check it for  grammatical and spelling errors  and make sure it is formatted properly.

Get feedback from a peer

Getting a fresh set of eyes to review your abstract is a great way to find out whether you’ve summarized your research well. Find a reader who understands research papers but is not an expert in this field or is not affiliated with your study. Ask your reader to summarize what your study is about (including all key points of each section). This should tell you if you have communicated your key points clearly.

In addition to research peers, consider consulting with a professor or even a specialist or generalist writing center consultant about your abstract. Use any resource that helps you see your work from another perspective.

Consider getting professional editing and proofreading

While peer feedback is quite important to ensure the effectiveness of your abstract content, it may be a good idea to find an academic editor  to fix mistakes in grammar, spelling, mechanics, style, or formatting. The presence of basic errors in the abstract may not affect your content, but it might dissuade someone from reading your entire study. Wordvice provides English editing services that both correct objective errors and enhance the readability and impact of your work.

Additional Abstract Rules and Guidelines

Write your abstract after completing your paper.

Although the abstract goes at the beginning of your manuscript, it does not merely introduce your research topic (that is the job of the title), but rather summarizes your entire paper. Writing the abstract last will ensure that it is complete and consistent with the findings and statements in your paper.

Keep your content in the correct order

Both questions and answers should be organized in a standard and familiar way to make the content easier for readers to absorb. Ideally, it should mimic the overall format of your essay and the classic “introduction,” “body,” and “conclusion” form, even if the parts are not neatly divided as such.

Write the abstract from scratch

Because the abstract is a self-contained piece of writing viewed separately from the body of the paper, you should write it separately as well. Never copy and paste direct quotes from the paper and avoid paraphrasing sentences in the paper. Using new vocabulary and phrases will keep your abstract interesting and free of redundancies while conserving space.

Don’t include too many details in the abstract

Again, the density of your abstract makes it incompatible with including specific points other than possibly names or locations. You can make references to terms, but do not explain or define them in the abstract. Try to strike a balance between being specific to your study and presenting a relatively broad overview of your work.

Wordvice Resources

If you think your abstract is fine now but you need input on abstract writing or require English editing services (including paper editing ), then head over to the Wordvice academic resources page, where you will find many more articles, for example on writing the Results , Methods , and Discussion sections of your manuscript, on choosing a title for your paper , or on how to finalize your journal submission with a strong cover letter .    

The Writing Center • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

What this handout is about

This handout provides definitions and examples of the two main types of abstracts: descriptive and informative. It also provides guidelines for constructing an abstract and general tips for you to keep in mind when drafting. Finally, it includes a few examples of abstracts broken down into their component parts.

What is an abstract?

An abstract is a self-contained, short, and powerful statement that describes a larger work. Components vary according to discipline. An abstract of a social science or scientific work may contain the scope, purpose, results, and contents of the work. An abstract of a humanities work may contain the thesis, background, and conclusion of the larger work. An abstract is not a review, nor does it evaluate the work being abstracted. While it contains key words found in the larger work, the abstract is an original document rather than an excerpted passage.

Why write an abstract?

You may write an abstract for various reasons. The two most important are selection and indexing. Abstracts allow readers who may be interested in a longer work to quickly decide whether it is worth their time to read it. Also, many online databases use abstracts to index larger works. Therefore, abstracts should contain keywords and phrases that allow for easy searching.

Say you are beginning a research project on how Brazilian newspapers helped Brazil’s ultra-liberal president Luiz Ignácio da Silva wrest power from the traditional, conservative power base. A good first place to start your research is to search Dissertation Abstracts International for all dissertations that deal with the interaction between newspapers and politics. “Newspapers and politics” returned 569 hits. A more selective search of “newspapers and Brazil” returned 22 hits. That is still a fair number of dissertations. Titles can sometimes help winnow the field, but many titles are not very descriptive. For example, one dissertation is titled “Rhetoric and Riot in Rio de Janeiro.” It is unclear from the title what this dissertation has to do with newspapers in Brazil. One option would be to download or order the entire dissertation on the chance that it might speak specifically to the topic. A better option is to read the abstract. In this case, the abstract reveals the main focus of the dissertation:

This dissertation examines the role of newspaper editors in the political turmoil and strife that characterized late First Empire Rio de Janeiro (1827-1831). Newspaper editors and their journals helped change the political culture of late First Empire Rio de Janeiro by involving the people in the discussion of state. This change in political culture is apparent in Emperor Pedro I’s gradual loss of control over the mechanisms of power. As the newspapers became more numerous and powerful, the Emperor lost his legitimacy in the eyes of the people. To explore the role of the newspapers in the political events of the late First Empire, this dissertation analyzes all available newspapers published in Rio de Janeiro from 1827 to 1831. Newspapers and their editors were leading forces in the effort to remove power from the hands of the ruling elite and place it under the control of the people. In the process, newspapers helped change how politics operated in the constitutional monarchy of Brazil.

From this abstract you now know that although the dissertation has nothing to do with modern Brazilian politics, it does cover the role of newspapers in changing traditional mechanisms of power. After reading the abstract, you can make an informed judgment about whether the dissertation would be worthwhile to read.

Besides selection, the other main purpose of the abstract is for indexing. Most article databases in the online catalog of the library enable you to search abstracts. This allows for quick retrieval by users and limits the extraneous items recalled by a “full-text” search. However, for an abstract to be useful in an online retrieval system, it must incorporate the key terms that a potential researcher would use to search. For example, if you search Dissertation Abstracts International using the keywords “France” “revolution” and “politics,” the search engine would search through all the abstracts in the database that included those three words. Without an abstract, the search engine would be forced to search titles, which, as we have seen, may not be fruitful, or else search the full text. It’s likely that a lot more than 60 dissertations have been written with those three words somewhere in the body of the entire work. By incorporating keywords into the abstract, the author emphasizes the central topics of the work and gives prospective readers enough information to make an informed judgment about the applicability of the work.

When do people write abstracts?

  • when submitting articles to journals, especially online journals
  • when applying for research grants
  • when writing a book proposal
  • when completing the Ph.D. dissertation or M.A. thesis
  • when writing a proposal for a conference paper
  • when writing a proposal for a book chapter

Most often, the author of the entire work (or prospective work) writes the abstract. However, there are professional abstracting services that hire writers to draft abstracts of other people’s work. In a work with multiple authors, the first author usually writes the abstract. Undergraduates are sometimes asked to draft abstracts of books/articles for classmates who have not read the larger work.

Types of abstracts

There are two types of abstracts: descriptive and informative. They have different aims, so as a consequence they have different components and styles. There is also a third type called critical, but it is rarely used. If you want to find out more about writing a critique or a review of a work, see the UNC Writing Center handout on writing a literature review . If you are unsure which type of abstract you should write, ask your instructor (if the abstract is for a class) or read other abstracts in your field or in the journal where you are submitting your article.

Descriptive abstracts

A descriptive abstract indicates the type of information found in the work. It makes no judgments about the work, nor does it provide results or conclusions of the research. It does incorporate key words found in the text and may include the purpose, methods, and scope of the research. Essentially, the descriptive abstract describes the work being abstracted. Some people consider it an outline of the work, rather than a summary. Descriptive abstracts are usually very short—100 words or less.

Informative abstracts

The majority of abstracts are informative. While they still do not critique or evaluate a work, they do more than describe it. A good informative abstract acts as a surrogate for the work itself. That is, the writer presents and explains all the main arguments and the important results and evidence in the complete article/paper/book. An informative abstract includes the information that can be found in a descriptive abstract (purpose, methods, scope) but also includes the results and conclusions of the research and the recommendations of the author. The length varies according to discipline, but an informative abstract is rarely more than 10% of the length of the entire work. In the case of a longer work, it may be much less.

Here are examples of a descriptive and an informative abstract of this handout on abstracts . Descriptive abstract:

The two most common abstract types—descriptive and informative—are described and examples of each are provided.

Informative abstract:

Abstracts present the essential elements of a longer work in a short and powerful statement. The purpose of an abstract is to provide prospective readers the opportunity to judge the relevance of the longer work to their projects. Abstracts also include the key terms found in the longer work and the purpose and methods of the research. Authors abstract various longer works, including book proposals, dissertations, and online journal articles. There are two main types of abstracts: descriptive and informative. A descriptive abstract briefly describes the longer work, while an informative abstract presents all the main arguments and important results. This handout provides examples of various types of abstracts and instructions on how to construct one.

Which type should I use?

Your best bet in this case is to ask your instructor or refer to the instructions provided by the publisher. You can also make a guess based on the length allowed; i.e., 100-120 words = descriptive; 250+ words = informative.

How do I write an abstract?

The format of your abstract will depend on the work being abstracted. An abstract of a scientific research paper will contain elements not found in an abstract of a literature article, and vice versa. However, all abstracts share several mandatory components, and there are also some optional parts that you can decide to include or not. When preparing to draft your abstract, keep the following key process elements in mind:

  • Reason for writing: What is the importance of the research? Why would a reader be interested in the larger work?
  • Problem: What problem does this work attempt to solve? What is the scope of the project? What is the main argument/thesis/claim?
  • Methodology: An abstract of a scientific work may include specific models or approaches used in the larger study. Other abstracts may describe the types of evidence used in the research.
  • Results: Again, an abstract of a scientific work may include specific data that indicates the results of the project. Other abstracts may discuss the findings in a more general way.
  • Implications: What changes should be implemented as a result of the findings of the work? How does this work add to the body of knowledge on the topic?

(This list of elements is adapted with permission from Philip Koopman, “How to Write an Abstract.” )

All abstracts include:

  • A full citation of the source, preceding the abstract.
  • The most important information first.
  • The same type and style of language found in the original, including technical language.
  • Key words and phrases that quickly identify the content and focus of the work.
  • Clear, concise, and powerful language.

Abstracts may include:

  • The thesis of the work, usually in the first sentence.
  • Background information that places the work in the larger body of literature.
  • The same chronological structure as the original work.

How not to write an abstract:

  • Do not refer extensively to other works.
  • Do not add information not contained in the original work.
  • Do not define terms.

If you are abstracting your own writing

When abstracting your own work, it may be difficult to condense a piece of writing that you have agonized over for weeks (or months, or even years) into a 250-word statement. There are some tricks that you could use to make it easier, however.

Reverse outlining:

This technique is commonly used when you are having trouble organizing your own writing. The process involves writing down the main idea of each paragraph on a separate piece of paper– see our short video . For the purposes of writing an abstract, try grouping the main ideas of each section of the paper into a single sentence. Practice grouping ideas using webbing or color coding .

For a scientific paper, you may have sections titled Purpose, Methods, Results, and Discussion. Each one of these sections will be longer than one paragraph, but each is grouped around a central idea. Use reverse outlining to discover the central idea in each section and then distill these ideas into one statement.

Cut and paste:

To create a first draft of an abstract of your own work, you can read through the entire paper and cut and paste sentences that capture key passages. This technique is useful for social science research with findings that cannot be encapsulated by neat numbers or concrete results. A well-written humanities draft will have a clear and direct thesis statement and informative topic sentences for paragraphs or sections. Isolate these sentences in a separate document and work on revising them into a unified paragraph.

If you are abstracting someone else’s writing

When abstracting something you have not written, you cannot summarize key ideas just by cutting and pasting. Instead, you must determine what a prospective reader would want to know about the work. There are a few techniques that will help you in this process:

Identify key terms:

Search through the entire document for key terms that identify the purpose, scope, and methods of the work. Pay close attention to the Introduction (or Purpose) and the Conclusion (or Discussion). These sections should contain all the main ideas and key terms in the paper. When writing the abstract, be sure to incorporate the key terms.

Highlight key phrases and sentences:

Instead of cutting and pasting the actual words, try highlighting sentences or phrases that appear to be central to the work. Then, in a separate document, rewrite the sentences and phrases in your own words.

Don’t look back:

After reading the entire work, put it aside and write a paragraph about the work without referring to it. In the first draft, you may not remember all the key terms or the results, but you will remember what the main point of the work was. Remember not to include any information you did not get from the work being abstracted.

Revise, revise, revise

No matter what type of abstract you are writing, or whether you are abstracting your own work or someone else’s, the most important step in writing an abstract is to revise early and often. When revising, delete all extraneous words and incorporate meaningful and powerful words. The idea is to be as clear and complete as possible in the shortest possible amount of space. The Word Count feature of Microsoft Word can help you keep track of how long your abstract is and help you hit your target length.

Example 1: Humanities abstract

Kenneth Tait Andrews, “‘Freedom is a constant struggle’: The dynamics and consequences of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement, 1960-1984” Ph.D. State University of New York at Stony Brook, 1997 DAI-A 59/02, p. 620, Aug 1998

This dissertation examines the impacts of social movements through a multi-layered study of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement from its peak in the early 1960s through the early 1980s. By examining this historically important case, I clarify the process by which movements transform social structures and the constraints movements face when they try to do so. The time period studied includes the expansion of voting rights and gains in black political power, the desegregation of public schools and the emergence of white-flight academies, and the rise and fall of federal anti-poverty programs. I use two major research strategies: (1) a quantitative analysis of county-level data and (2) three case studies. Data have been collected from archives, interviews, newspapers, and published reports. This dissertation challenges the argument that movements are inconsequential. Some view federal agencies, courts, political parties, or economic elites as the agents driving institutional change, but typically these groups acted in response to the leverage brought to bear by the civil rights movement. The Mississippi movement attempted to forge independent structures for sustaining challenges to local inequities and injustices. By propelling change in an array of local institutions, movement infrastructures had an enduring legacy in Mississippi.

Now let’s break down this abstract into its component parts to see how the author has distilled his entire dissertation into a ~200 word abstract.

What the dissertation does This dissertation examines the impacts of social movements through a multi-layered study of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement from its peak in the early 1960s through the early 1980s. By examining this historically important case, I clarify the process by which movements transform social structures and the constraints movements face when they try to do so.

How the dissertation does it The time period studied in this dissertation includes the expansion of voting rights and gains in black political power, the desegregation of public schools and the emergence of white-flight academies, and the rise and fall of federal anti-poverty programs. I use two major research strategies: (1) a quantitative analysis of county-level data and (2) three case studies.

What materials are used Data have been collected from archives, interviews, newspapers, and published reports.

Conclusion This dissertation challenges the argument that movements are inconsequential. Some view federal agencies, courts, political parties, or economic elites as the agents driving institutional change, but typically these groups acted in response to movement demands and the leverage brought to bear by the civil rights movement. The Mississippi movement attempted to forge independent structures for sustaining challenges to local inequities and injustices. By propelling change in an array of local institutions, movement infrastructures had an enduring legacy in Mississippi.

Keywords social movements Civil Rights Movement Mississippi voting rights desegregation

Example 2: Science Abstract

Luis Lehner, “Gravitational radiation from black hole spacetimes” Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh, 1998 DAI-B 59/06, p. 2797, Dec 1998

The problem of detecting gravitational radiation is receiving considerable attention with the construction of new detectors in the United States, Europe, and Japan. The theoretical modeling of the wave forms that would be produced in particular systems will expedite the search for and analysis of detected signals. The characteristic formulation of GR is implemented to obtain an algorithm capable of evolving black holes in 3D asymptotically flat spacetimes. Using compactification techniques, future null infinity is included in the evolved region, which enables the unambiguous calculation of the radiation produced by some compact source. A module to calculate the waveforms is constructed and included in the evolution algorithm. This code is shown to be second-order convergent and to handle highly non-linear spacetimes. In particular, we have shown that the code can handle spacetimes whose radiation is equivalent to a galaxy converting its whole mass into gravitational radiation in one second. We further use the characteristic formulation to treat the region close to the singularity in black hole spacetimes. The code carefully excises a region surrounding the singularity and accurately evolves generic black hole spacetimes with apparently unlimited stability.

This science abstract covers much of the same ground as the humanities one, but it asks slightly different questions.

Why do this study The problem of detecting gravitational radiation is receiving considerable attention with the construction of new detectors in the United States, Europe, and Japan. The theoretical modeling of the wave forms that would be produced in particular systems will expedite the search and analysis of the detected signals.

What the study does The characteristic formulation of GR is implemented to obtain an algorithm capable of evolving black holes in 3D asymptotically flat spacetimes. Using compactification techniques, future null infinity is included in the evolved region, which enables the unambiguous calculation of the radiation produced by some compact source. A module to calculate the waveforms is constructed and included in the evolution algorithm.

Results This code is shown to be second-order convergent and to handle highly non-linear spacetimes. In particular, we have shown that the code can handle spacetimes whose radiation is equivalent to a galaxy converting its whole mass into gravitational radiation in one second. We further use the characteristic formulation to treat the region close to the singularity in black hole spacetimes. The code carefully excises a region surrounding the singularity and accurately evolves generic black hole spacetimes with apparently unlimited stability.

Keywords gravitational radiation (GR) spacetimes black holes

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Belcher, Wendy Laura. 2009. Writing Your Journal Article in Twelve Weeks: A Guide to Academic Publishing Success. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Press.

Koopman, Philip. 1997. “How to Write an Abstract.” Carnegie Mellon University. October 1997. http://users.ece.cmu.edu/~koopman/essays/abstract.html .

Lancaster, F.W. 2003. Indexing And Abstracting in Theory and Practice , 3rd ed. London: Facet Publishing.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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An abstract summarizes, usually in one paragraph of 300 words or less, the major aspects of the entire paper in a prescribed sequence that includes: 1) the overall purpose of the study and the research problem(s) you investigated; 2) the basic design of the study; 3) major findings or trends found as a result of your analysis; and, 4) a brief summary of your interpretations and conclusions.

Writing an Abstract. The Writing Center. Clarion University, 2009; Writing an Abstract for Your Research Paper. The Writing Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Koltay, Tibor. Abstracts and Abstracting: A Genre and Set of Skills for the Twenty-first Century . Oxford, UK: Chandos Publishing, 2010;

Importance of a Good Abstract

Sometimes your professor will ask you to include an abstract, or general summary of your work, with your research paper. The abstract allows you to elaborate upon each major aspect of the paper and helps readers decide whether they want to read the rest of the paper. Therefore, enough key information [e.g., summary results, observations, trends, etc.] must be included to make the abstract useful to someone who may want to examine your work.

How do you know when you have enough information in your abstract? A simple rule-of-thumb is to imagine that you are another researcher doing a similar study. Then ask yourself: if your abstract was the only part of the paper you could access, would you be happy with the amount of information presented there? Does it tell the whole story about your study? If the answer is "no" then the abstract likely needs to be revised.

Farkas, David K. “A Scheme for Understanding and Writing Summaries.” Technical Communication 67 (August 2020): 45-60;  How to Write a Research Abstract. Office of Undergraduate Research. University of Kentucky; Staiger, David L. “What Today’s Students Need to Know about Writing Abstracts.” International Journal of Business Communication January 3 (1966): 29-33; Swales, John M. and Christine B. Feak. Abstracts and the Writing of Abstracts . Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2009.

Structure and Writing Style

I.  Types of Abstracts

To begin, you need to determine which type of abstract you should include with your paper. There are four general types.

Critical Abstract A critical abstract provides, in addition to describing main findings and information, a judgment or comment about the study’s validity, reliability, or completeness. The researcher evaluates the paper and often compares it with other works on the same subject. Critical abstracts are generally 400-500 words in length due to the additional interpretive commentary. These types of abstracts are used infrequently.

Descriptive Abstract A descriptive abstract indicates the type of information found in the work. It makes no judgments about the work, nor does it provide results or conclusions of the research. It does incorporate key words found in the text and may include the purpose, methods, and scope of the research. Essentially, the descriptive abstract only describes the work being summarized. Some researchers consider it an outline of the work, rather than a summary. Descriptive abstracts are usually very short, 100 words or less. Informative Abstract The majority of abstracts are informative. While they still do not critique or evaluate a work, they do more than describe it. A good informative abstract acts as a surrogate for the work itself. That is, the researcher presents and explains all the main arguments and the important results and evidence in the paper. An informative abstract includes the information that can be found in a descriptive abstract [purpose, methods, scope] but it also includes the results and conclusions of the research and the recommendations of the author. The length varies according to discipline, but an informative abstract is usually no more than 300 words in length.

Highlight Abstract A highlight abstract is specifically written to attract the reader’s attention to the study. No pretense is made of there being either a balanced or complete picture of the paper and, in fact, incomplete and leading remarks may be used to spark the reader’s interest. In that a highlight abstract cannot stand independent of its associated article, it is not a true abstract and, therefore, rarely used in academic writing.

II.  Writing Style

Use the active voice when possible , but note that much of your abstract may require passive sentence constructions. Regardless, write your abstract using concise, but complete, sentences. Get to the point quickly and always use the past tense because you are reporting on a study that has been completed.

Abstracts should be formatted as a single paragraph in a block format and with no paragraph indentations. In most cases, the abstract page immediately follows the title page. Do not number the page. Rules set forth in writing manual vary but, in general, you should center the word "Abstract" at the top of the page with double spacing between the heading and the abstract. The final sentences of an abstract concisely summarize your study’s conclusions, implications, or applications to practice and, if appropriate, can be followed by a statement about the need for additional research revealed from the findings.

Composing Your Abstract

Although it is the first section of your paper, the abstract should be written last since it will summarize the contents of your entire paper. A good strategy to begin composing your abstract is to take whole sentences or key phrases from each section of the paper and put them in a sequence that summarizes the contents. Then revise or add connecting phrases or words to make the narrative flow clearly and smoothly. Note that statistical findings should be reported parenthetically [i.e., written in parentheses].

Before handing in your final paper, check to make sure that the information in the abstract completely agrees with what you have written in the paper. Think of the abstract as a sequential set of complete sentences describing the most crucial information using the fewest necessary words. The abstract SHOULD NOT contain:

  • A catchy introductory phrase, provocative quote, or other device to grab the reader's attention,
  • Lengthy background or contextual information,
  • Redundant phrases, unnecessary adverbs and adjectives, and repetitive information;
  • Acronyms or abbreviations,
  • References to other literature [say something like, "current research shows that..." or "studies have indicated..."],
  • Using ellipticals [i.e., ending with "..."] or incomplete sentences,
  • Jargon or terms that may be confusing to the reader,
  • Citations to other works, and
  • Any sort of image, illustration, figure, or table, or references to them.

Abstract. Writing Center. University of Kansas; Abstract. The Structure, Format, Content, and Style of a Journal-Style Scientific Paper. Department of Biology. Bates College; Abstracts. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Borko, Harold and Seymour Chatman. "Criteria for Acceptable Abstracts: A Survey of Abstracters' Instructions." American Documentation 14 (April 1963): 149-160; Abstracts. The Writer’s Handbook. Writing Center. University of Wisconsin, Madison; Hartley, James and Lucy Betts. "Common Weaknesses in Traditional Abstracts in the Social Sciences." Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 60 (October 2009): 2010-2018; Koltay, Tibor. Abstracts and Abstracting: A Genre and Set of Skills for the Twenty-first Century. Oxford, UK: Chandos Publishing, 2010; Procter, Margaret. The Abstract. University College Writing Centre. University of Toronto; Riordan, Laura. “Mastering the Art of Abstracts.” The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association 115 (January 2015 ): 41-47; Writing Report Abstracts. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Writing Abstracts. Writing Tutorial Services, Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning. Indiana University; Koltay, Tibor. Abstracts and Abstracting: A Genre and Set of Skills for the Twenty-First Century . Oxford, UK: 2010; Writing an Abstract for Your Research Paper. The Writing Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Writing Tip

Never Cite Just the Abstract!

Citing to just a journal article's abstract does not confirm for the reader that you have conducted a thorough or reliable review of the literature. If the full-text is not available, go to the USC Libraries main page and enter the title of the article [NOT the title of the journal]. If the Libraries have a subscription to the journal, the article should appear with a link to the full-text or to the journal publisher page where you can get the article. If the article does not appear, try searching Google Scholar using the link on the USC Libraries main page. If you still can't find the article after doing this, contact a librarian or you can request it from our free i nterlibrary loan and document delivery service .

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Abstract Writing: A Step-by-Step Guide With Tips & Examples

Sumalatha G

Table of Contents

step-by-step-guide-to-abstract-writing

Introduction

Abstracts of research papers have always played an essential role in describing your research concisely and clearly to researchers and editors of journals, enticing them to continue reading. However, with the widespread availability of scientific databases, the need to write a convincing abstract is more crucial now than during the time of paper-bound manuscripts.

Abstracts serve to "sell" your research and can be compared with your "executive outline" of a resume or, rather, a formal summary of the critical aspects of your work. Also, it can be the "gist" of your study. Since most educational research is done online, it's a sign that you have a shorter time for impressing your readers, and have more competition from other abstracts that are available to be read.

The APCI (Academic Publishing and Conferences International) articulates 12 issues or points considered during the final approval process for conferences & journals and emphasises the importance of writing an abstract that checks all these boxes (12 points). Since it's the only opportunity you have to captivate your readers, you must invest time and effort in creating an abstract that accurately reflects the critical points of your research.

With that in mind, let’s head over to understand and discover the core concept and guidelines to create a substantial abstract. Also, learn how to organise the ideas or plots into an effective abstract that will be awe-inspiring to the readers you want to reach.

What is Abstract? Definition and Overview

The word "Abstract' is derived from Latin abstractus meaning "drawn off." This etymological meaning also applies to art movements as well as music, like abstract expressionism. In this context, it refers to the revealing of the artist's intention.

Based on this, you can determine the meaning of an abstract: A condensed research summary. It must be self-contained and independent of the body of the research. However, it should outline the subject, the strategies used to study the problem, and the methods implemented to attain the outcomes. The specific elements of the study differ based on the area of study; however, together, it must be a succinct summary of the entire research paper.

Abstracts are typically written at the end of the paper, even though it serves as a prologue. In general, the abstract must be in a position to:

  • Describe the paper.
  • Identify the problem or the issue at hand.
  • Explain to the reader the research process, the results you came up with, and what conclusion you've reached using these results.
  • Include keywords to guide your strategy and the content.

Furthermore, the abstract you submit should not reflect upon any of  the following elements:

  • Examine, analyse or defend the paper or your opinion.
  • What you want to study, achieve or discover.
  • Be redundant or irrelevant.

After reading an abstract, your audience should understand the reason - what the research was about in the first place, what the study has revealed and how it can be utilised or can be used to benefit others. You can understand the importance of abstract by knowing the fact that the abstract is the most frequently read portion of any research paper. In simpler terms, it should contain all the main points of the research paper.

purpose-of-abstract-writing

What is the Purpose of an Abstract?

Abstracts are typically an essential requirement for research papers; however, it's not an obligation to preserve traditional reasons without any purpose. Abstracts allow readers to scan the text to determine whether it is relevant to their research or studies. The abstract allows other researchers to decide if your research paper can provide them with some additional information. A good abstract paves the interest of the audience to pore through your entire paper to find the content or context they're searching for.

Abstract writing is essential for indexing, as well. The Digital Repository of academic papers makes use of abstracts to index the entire content of academic research papers. Like meta descriptions in the regular Google outcomes, abstracts must include keywords that help researchers locate what they seek.

Types of Abstract

Informative and Descriptive are two kinds of abstracts often used in scientific writing.

A descriptive abstract gives readers an outline of the author's main points in their study. The reader can determine if they want to stick to the research work, based on their interest in the topic. An abstract that is descriptive is similar to the contents table of books, however, the format of an abstract depicts complete sentences encapsulated in one paragraph. It is unfortunate that the abstract can't be used as a substitute for reading a piece of writing because it's just an overview, which omits readers from getting an entire view. Also, it cannot be a way to fill in the gaps the reader may have after reading this kind of abstract since it does not contain crucial information needed to evaluate the article.

To conclude, a descriptive abstract is:

  • A simple summary of the task, just summarises the work, but some researchers think it is much more of an outline
  • Typically, the length is approximately 100 words. It is too short when compared to an informative abstract.
  • A brief explanation but doesn't provide the reader with the complete information they need;
  • An overview that omits conclusions and results

An informative abstract is a comprehensive outline of the research. There are times when people rely on the abstract as an information source. And the reason is why it is crucial to provide entire data of particular research. A well-written, informative abstract could be a good substitute for the remainder of the paper on its own.

A well-written abstract typically follows a particular style. The author begins by providing the identifying information, backed by citations and other identifiers of the papers. Then, the major elements are summarised to make the reader aware of the study. It is followed by the methodology and all-important findings from the study. The conclusion then presents study results and ends the abstract with a comprehensive summary.

In a nutshell, an informative abstract:

  • Has a length that can vary, based on the subject, but is not longer than 300 words.
  • Contains all the content-like methods and intentions
  • Offers evidence and possible recommendations.

Informative Abstracts are more frequent than descriptive abstracts because of their extensive content and linkage to the topic specifically. You should select different types of abstracts to papers based on their length: informative abstracts for extended and more complex abstracts and descriptive ones for simpler and shorter research papers.

What are the Characteristics of a Good Abstract?

  • A good abstract clearly defines the goals and purposes of the study.
  • It should clearly describe the research methodology with a primary focus on data gathering, processing, and subsequent analysis.
  • A good abstract should provide specific research findings.
  • It presents the principal conclusions of the systematic study.
  • It should be concise, clear, and relevant to the field of study.
  • A well-designed abstract should be unifying and coherent.
  • It is easy to grasp and free of technical jargon.
  • It is written impartially and objectively.

the-various-sections-of-abstract-writing

What are the various sections of an ideal Abstract?

By now, you must have gained some concrete idea of the essential elements that your abstract needs to convey . Accordingly, the information is broken down into six key sections of the abstract, which include:

An Introduction or Background

Research methodology, objectives and goals, limitations.

Let's go over them in detail.

The introduction, also known as background, is the most concise part of your abstract. Ideally, it comprises a couple of sentences. Some researchers only write one sentence to introduce their abstract. The idea behind this is to guide readers through the key factors that led to your study.

It's understandable that this information might seem difficult to explain in a couple of sentences. For example, think about the following two questions like the background of your study:

  • What is currently available about the subject with respect to the paper being discussed?
  • What isn't understood about this issue? (This is the subject of your research)

While writing the abstract’s introduction, make sure that it is not lengthy. Because if it crosses the word limit, it may eat up the words meant to be used for providing other key information.

Research methodology is where you describe the theories and techniques you used in your research. It is recommended that you describe what you have done and the method you used to get your thorough investigation results. Certainly, it is the second-longest paragraph in the abstract.

In the research methodology section, it is essential to mention the kind of research you conducted; for instance, qualitative research or quantitative research (this will guide your research methodology too) . If you've conducted quantitative research, your abstract should contain information like the sample size, data collection method, sampling techniques, and duration of the study. Likewise, your abstract should reflect observational data, opinions, questionnaires (especially the non-numerical data) if you work on qualitative research.

The research objectives and goals speak about what you intend to accomplish with your research. The majority of research projects focus on the long-term effects of a project, and the goals focus on the immediate, short-term outcomes of the research. It is possible to summarise both in just multiple sentences.

In stating your objectives and goals, you give readers a picture of the scope of the study, its depth and the direction your research ultimately follows. Your readers can evaluate the results of your research against the goals and stated objectives to determine if you have achieved the goal of your research.

In the end, your readers are more attracted by the results you've obtained through your study. Therefore, you must take the time to explain each relevant result and explain how they impact your research. The results section exists as the longest in your abstract, and nothing should diminish its reach or quality.

One of the most important things you should adhere to is to spell out details and figures on the results of your research.

Instead of making a vague assertion such as, "We noticed that response rates varied greatly between respondents with high incomes and those with low incomes", Try these: "The response rate was higher for high-income respondents than those with lower incomes (59 30 percent vs. 30 percent in both cases; P<0.01)."

You're likely to encounter certain obstacles during your research. It could have been during data collection or even during conducting the sample . Whatever the issue, it's essential to inform your readers about them and their effects on the research.

Research limitations offer an opportunity to suggest further and deep research. If, for instance, you were forced to change for convenient sampling and snowball samples because of difficulties in reaching well-suited research participants, then you should mention this reason when you write your research abstract. In addition, a lack of prior studies on the subject could hinder your research.

Your conclusion should include the same number of sentences to wrap the abstract as the introduction. The majority of researchers offer an idea of the consequences of their research in this case.

Your conclusion should include three essential components:

  • A significant take-home message.
  • Corresponding important findings.
  • The Interpretation.

Even though the conclusion of your abstract needs to be brief, it can have an enormous influence on the way that readers view your research. Therefore, make use of this section to reinforce the central message from your research. Be sure that your statements reflect the actual results and the methods you used to conduct your research.

examples-of-good-abstract-writing

Good Abstract Examples

Abstract example #1.

Children’s consumption behavior in response to food product placements in movies.

The abstract:

"Almost all research into the effects of brand placements on children has focused on the brand's attitudes or behavior intentions. Based on the significant differences between attitudes and behavioral intentions on one hand and actual behavior on the other hand, this study examines the impact of placements by brands on children's eating habits. Children aged 6-14 years old were shown an excerpt from the popular film Alvin and the Chipmunks and were shown places for the item Cheese Balls. Three different versions were developed with no placements, one with moderately frequent placements and the third with the highest frequency of placement. The results revealed that exposure to high-frequency places had a profound effect on snack consumption, however, there was no impact on consumer attitudes towards brands or products. The effects were not dependent on the age of the children. These findings are of major importance to researchers studying consumer behavior as well as nutrition experts as well as policy regulators."

Abstract Example #2

Social comparisons on social media: The impact of Facebook on young women’s body image concerns and mood. The abstract:

"The research conducted in this study investigated the effects of Facebook use on women's moods and body image if the effects are different from an internet-based fashion journal and if the appearance comparison tendencies moderate one or more of these effects. Participants who were female ( N = 112) were randomly allocated to spend 10 minutes exploring their Facebook account or a magazine's website or an appearance neutral control website prior to completing state assessments of body dissatisfaction, mood, and differences in appearance (weight-related and facial hair, face, and skin). Participants also completed a test of the tendency to compare appearances. The participants who used Facebook were reported to be more depressed than those who stayed on the control site. In addition, women who have the tendency to compare appearances reported more facial, hair and skin-related issues following Facebook exposure than when they were exposed to the control site. Due to its popularity it is imperative to conduct more research to understand the effect that Facebook affects the way people view themselves."

Abstract Example #3

The Relationship Between Cell Phone Use and Academic Performance in a Sample of U.S. College Students

"The cellphone is always present on campuses of colleges and is often utilised in situations in which learning takes place. The study examined the connection between the use of cell phones and the actual grades point average (GPA) after adjusting for predictors that are known to be a factor. In the end 536 students in the undergraduate program from 82 self-reported majors of an enormous, public institution were studied. Hierarchical analysis ( R 2 = .449) showed that use of mobile phones is significantly ( p < .001) and negative (b equal to -.164) connected to the actual college GPA, after taking into account factors such as demographics, self-efficacy in self-regulated learning, self-efficacy to improve academic performance, and the actual high school GPA that were all important predictors ( p < .05). Therefore, after adjusting for other known predictors increasing cell phone usage was associated with lower academic performance. While more research is required to determine the mechanisms behind these results, they suggest the need to educate teachers and students to the possible academic risks that are associated with high-frequency mobile phone usage."

quick-tips-on-writing-a-good-abstract

Quick tips on writing a good abstract

There exists a common dilemma among early age researchers whether to write the abstract at first or last? However, it's recommended to compose your abstract when you've completed the research since you'll have all the information to give to your readers. You can, however, write a draft at the beginning of your research and add in any gaps later.

If you find abstract writing a herculean task, here are the few tips to help you with it:

1. Always develop a framework to support your abstract

Before writing, ensure you create a clear outline for your abstract. Divide it into sections and draw the primary and supporting elements in each one. You can include keywords and a few sentences that convey the essence of your message.

2. Review Other Abstracts

Abstracts are among the most frequently used research documents, and thousands of them were written in the past. Therefore, prior to writing yours, take a look at some examples from other abstracts. There are plenty of examples of abstracts for dissertations in the dissertation and thesis databases.

3. Avoid Jargon To the Maximum

When you write your abstract, focus on simplicity over formality. You should  write in simple language, and avoid excessive filler words or ambiguous sentences. Keep in mind that your abstract must be readable to those who aren't acquainted with your subject.

4. Focus on Your Research

It's a given fact that the abstract you write should be about your research and the findings you've made. It is not the right time to mention secondary and primary data sources unless it's absolutely required.

Conclusion: How to Structure an Interesting Abstract?

Abstracts are a short outline of your essay. However, it's among the most important, if not the most important. The process of writing an abstract is not straightforward. A few early-age researchers tend to begin by writing it, thinking they are doing it to "tease" the next step (the document itself). However, it is better to treat it as a spoiler.

The simple, concise style of the abstract lends itself to a well-written and well-investigated study. If your research paper doesn't provide definitive results, or the goal of your research is questioned, so will the abstract. Thus, only write your abstract after witnessing your findings and put your findings in the context of a larger scenario.

The process of writing an abstract can be daunting, but with these guidelines, you will succeed. The most efficient method of writing an excellent abstract is to centre the primary points of your abstract, including the research question and goals methods, as well as key results.

Interested in learning more about dedicated research solutions? Go to the SciSpace product page to find out how our suite of products can help you simplify your research workflows so you can focus on advancing science.

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How to Write an Abstract APA Format

Saul Mcleod, PhD

Editor-in-Chief for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester

Saul Mcleod, Ph.D., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years experience of working in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

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Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc

Associate Editor for Simply Psychology

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Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.

An APA abstract is a brief, comprehensive summary of the contents of an article, research paper, dissertation, or report.

It is written in accordance with the guidelines of the American Psychological Association (APA), which is a widely used format in social and behavioral sciences. 

An APA abstract summarizes, usually in one paragraph of between 150–250 words, the major aspects of a research paper or dissertation in a prescribed sequence that includes:
  • The rationale: the overall purpose of the study, providing a clear context for the research undertaken.
  • Information regarding the method and participants: including materials/instruments, design, procedure, and data analysis.
  • Main findings or trends: effectively highlighting the key outcomes of the hypotheses.
  • Interpretations and conclusion(s): solidify the implications of the research.
  • Keywords related to the study: assist the paper’s discoverability in academic databases.

The abstract should stand alone, be “self-contained,” and make sense to the reader in isolation from the main article.

The purpose of the abstract is to give the reader a quick overview of the essential information before reading the entire article. The abstract is placed on its own page, directly after the title page and before the main body of the paper.

Although the abstract will appear as the very first part of your paper, it’s good practice to write your abstract after you’ve drafted your full paper, so that you know what you’re summarizing.

Note : This page reflects the latest version of the APA Publication Manual (i.e., APA 7), released in October 2019.

Structure of the Abstract

[NOTE: DO NOT separate the components of the abstract – it should be written as a single paragraph. This section is separated to illustrate the abstract’s structure.]

1) The Rationale

One or two sentences describing the overall purpose of the study and the research problem(s) you investigated. You are basically justifying why this study was conducted.

  • What is the importance of the research?
  • Why would a reader be interested in the larger work?
  • For example, are you filling a gap in previous research or applying new methods to take a fresh look at existing ideas or data?
  • Women who are diagnosed with breast cancer can experience an array of psychosocial difficulties; however, social support, particularly from a spouse, has been shown to have a protective function during this time. This study examined the ways in which a woman’s daily mood, pain, and fatigue, and her spouse’s marital satisfaction predict the woman’s report of partner support in the context of breast cancer.
  • The current nursing shortage, high hospital nurse job dissatisfaction, and reports of uneven quality of hospital care are not uniquely American phenomena.
  • Students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are more likely to exhibit behavioral difficulties than their typically developing peers. The aim of this study was to identify specific risk factors that influence variability in behavior difficulties among individuals with SEND.

2) The Method

Information regarding the participants (number, and population). One or two sentences outlining the method, explaining what was done and how. The method is described in the present tense.

  • Pretest data from a larger intervention study and multilevel modeling were used to examine the effects of women’s daily mood, pain, and fatigue and average levels of mood, pain, and fatigue on women’s report of social support received from her partner, as well as how the effects of mood interacted with partners’ marital satisfaction.
  • This paper presents reports from 43,000 nurses from more than 700 hospitals in the United States, Canada, England, Scotland, and Germany in 1998–1999.
  • The study sample comprised 4,228 students with SEND, aged 5–15, drawn from 305 primary and secondary schools across England. Explanatory variables were measured at the individual and school levels at baseline, along with a teacher-reported measure of behavior difficulties (assessed at baseline and the 18-month follow-up).

3) The Results

One or two sentences indicating the main findings or trends found as a result of your analysis. The results are described in the present or past tense.

  • Results show that on days in which women reported higher levels of negative or positive mood, as well as on days they reported more pain and fatigue, they reported receiving more support. Women who, on average, reported higher levels of positive mood tended to report receiving more support than those who, on average, reported lower positive mood. However, average levels of negative mood were not associated with support. Higher average levels of fatigue but not pain were associated with higher support. Finally, women whose husbands reported higher levels of marital satisfaction reported receiving more partner support, but husbands’ marital satisfaction did not moderate the effect of women’s mood on support.
  • Nurses in countries with distinctly different healthcare systems report similar shortcomings in their work environments and the quality of hospital care. While the competence of and relation between nurses and physicians appear satisfactory, core problems in work design and workforce management threaten the provision of care.
  • Hierarchical linear modeling of data revealed that differences between schools accounted for between 13% (secondary) and 15.4% (primary) of the total variance in the development of students’ behavior difficulties, with the remainder attributable to individual differences. Statistically significant risk markers for these problems across both phases of education were being male, eligibility for free school meals, being identified as a bully, and lower academic achievement. Additional risk markers specific to each phase of education at the individual and school levels are also acknowledged.

4) The Conclusion / Implications

A brief summary of your conclusions and implications of the results, described in the present tense. Explain the results and why the study is important to the reader.

  • For example, what changes should be implemented as a result of the findings of the work?
  • How does this work add to the body of knowledge on the topic?

Implications of these findings are discussed relative to assisting couples during this difficult time in their lives.

  • Resolving these issues, which are amenable to managerial intervention, is essential to preserving patient safety and care of consistently high quality.
  • Behavior difficulties are affected by risks across multiple ecological levels. Addressing any one of these potential influences is therefore likely to contribute to the reduction in the problems displayed.

The above examples of abstracts are from the following papers:

Aiken, L. H., Clarke, S. P., Sloane, D. M., Sochalski, J. A., Busse, R., Clarke, H., … & Shamian, J. (2001). Nurses’ reports on hospital care in five countries . Health affairs, 20(3) , 43-53.

Boeding, S. E., Pukay-Martin, N. D., Baucom, D. H., Porter, L. S., Kirby, J. S., Gremore, T. M., & Keefe, F. J. (2014). Couples and breast cancer: Women’s mood and partners’ marital satisfaction predicting support perception . Journal of Family Psychology, 28(5) , 675.

Oldfield, J., Humphrey, N., & Hebron, J. (2017). Risk factors in the development of behavior difficulties among students with special educational needs and disabilities: A multilevel analysis . British journal of educational psychology, 87(2) , 146-169.

5) Keywords

APA style suggests including a list of keywords at the end of the abstract. This is particularly common in academic articles and helps other researchers find your work in databases.

Keywords in an abstract should be selected to help other researchers find your work when searching an online database. These keywords should effectively represent the main topics of your study. Here are some tips for choosing keywords:

Core Concepts: Identify the most important ideas or concepts in your paper. These often include your main research topic, the methods you’ve used, or the theories you’re discussing.

Specificity: Your keywords should be specific to your research. For example, suppose your paper is about the effects of climate change on bird migration patterns in a specific region. In that case, your keywords might include “climate change,” “bird migration,” and the region’s name.

Consistency with Paper: Make sure your keywords are consistent with the terms you’ve used in your paper. For example, if you use the term “adolescent” rather than “teen” in your paper, choose “adolescent” as your keyword, not “teen.”

Jargon and Acronyms: Avoid using too much-specialized jargon or acronyms in your keywords, as these might not be understood or used by all researchers in your field.

Synonyms: Consider including synonyms of your keywords to capture as many relevant searches as possible. For example, if your paper discusses “post-traumatic stress disorder,” you might include “PTSD” as a keyword.

Remember, keywords are a tool for others to find your work, so think about what terms other researchers might use when searching for papers on your topic.

The Abstract SHOULD NOT contain:

Lengthy background or contextual information: The abstract should focus on your research and findings, not general topic background.

Undefined jargon, abbreviations,  or acronyms: The abstract should be accessible to a wide audience, so avoid highly specialized terms without defining them.

Citations: Abstracts typically do not include citations, as they summarize original research.

Incomplete sentences or bulleted lists: The abstract should be a single, coherent paragraph written in complete sentences.

New information not covered in the paper: The abstract should only summarize the paper’s content.

Subjective comments or value judgments: Stick to objective descriptions of your research.

Excessive details on methods or procedures: Keep descriptions of methods brief and focused on main steps.

Speculative or inconclusive statements: The abstract should state the research’s clear findings, not hypotheses or possible interpretations.

  • Any illustration, figure, table, or references to them . All visual aids, data, or extensive details should be included in the main body of your paper, not in the abstract. 
  • Elliptical or incomplete sentences should be avoided in an abstract . The use of ellipses (…), which could indicate incomplete thoughts or omitted text, is not appropriate in an abstract.

APA Style for Abstracts

An APA abstract must be formatted as follows:

Include the running head aligned to the left at the top of the page (professional papers only) and page number. Note, student papers do not require a running head. On the first line, center the heading “Abstract” and bold (do not underlined or italicize). Do not indent the single abstract paragraph (which begins one line below the section title). Double-space the text. Use Times New Roman font in 12 pt. Set one-inch (or 2.54 cm) margins. If you include a “keywords” section at the end of the abstract, indent the first line and italicize the word “Keywords” while leaving the keywords themselves without any formatting.

Example APA Abstract Page

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APA Style Abstract Example

Further Information

  • APA 7th Edition Abstract and Keywords Guide
  • Example APA Abstract
  • How to Write a Good Abstract for a Scientific Paper or Conference Presentation
  • How to Write a Lab Report
  • Writing an APA paper

How long should an APA abstract be?

An APA abstract should typically be between 150 to 250 words long. However, the exact length may vary depending on specific publication or assignment guidelines. It is crucial that it succinctly summarizes the essential elements of the work, including purpose, methods, findings, and conclusions.

Where does the abstract go in an APA paper?

In an APA formatted paper, the abstract is placed on its own page, directly after the title page and before the main body of the paper. It’s typically the second page of the document. It starts with the word “Abstract” (centered and not in bold) at the top of the page, followed by the text of the abstract itself.

What are the 4 C’s of abstract writing?

The 4 C’s of abstract writing are an approach to help you create a well-structured and informative abstract. They are:

Conciseness: An abstract should briefly summarize the key points of your study. Stick to the word limit (typically between 150-250 words for an APA abstract) and avoid unnecessary details.

Clarity: Your abstract should be easy to understand. Avoid jargon and complex sentences. Clearly explain the purpose, methods, results, and conclusions of your study.

Completeness: Even though it’s brief, the abstract should provide a complete overview of your study, including the purpose, methods, key findings, and your interpretation of the results.

Cohesion: The abstract should flow logically from one point to the next, maintaining a coherent narrative about your study. It’s not just a list of disjointed elements; it’s a brief story of your research from start to finish.

What is the abstract of a psychology paper?

An abstract in a psychology paper serves as a snapshot of the paper, allowing readers to quickly understand the purpose, methodology, results, and implications of the research without reading the entire paper. It is generally between 150-250 words long.

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Writing an abstract

Although it is usually brief (typically 150-300 words), an abstract is an important part of journal article writing (as well as for your thesis and for conferences). Done well, the abstract should create enough reader interest that readers will want to read more!

Whereas the purpose of an introduction is to broadly introduce your topic and your key message, the purpose of an abstract is to give an overview of your entire project, in particular its findings and contribution to the field. An abstract should be a standalone summary of your paper, which readers can use to decide whether it's relevant to them before they dive in to read the paper.

Usually an abstract includes the following.

  • A brief introduction to the topic that you're investigating.
  • Explanation of why the topic is important in your field/s.
  • Statement about what the gap is in the research.
  • Your research question/s / aim/s.
  • An indication of your research methods and approach.
  • Your key message.
  • A summary of your key findings.
  • An explanation of why your findings and key message contribute to the field/s.

In other words, an abstract includes points covering these questions.

  • What is your paper about?
  • Why is it important?
  • How did you do it?
  • What did you find?
  • Why are your findings important?

To see the specific conventions in your field/s, have a look at the structure of a variety of abstracts from relevant journal articles. Do they include the same kinds of information as listed above? What structure do they follow? You can model your own abstract on these conventions.

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How to Practice Academic Medicine and Publish from Developing Countries? pp 179–184 Cite as

How to Write an Abstract?

  • Samiran Nundy 4 ,
  • Atul Kakar 5 &
  • Zulfiqar A. Bhutta 6  
  • Open Access
  • First Online: 24 October 2021

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An abstract is a crisp, short, powerful, and self-contained summary of a research manuscript used to help the reader swiftly determine the paper’s purpose. Although the abstract is the first paragraph of the manuscript it should be written last when all the other sections have been addressed.

Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose. — Zora Neale Hurston, American Author, Anthropologist and Filmmaker (1891–1960)

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1 What is an Abstract?

An abstract is usually a standalone document that informs the reader about the details of the manuscript to follow. It is like a trailer to a movie, if the trailer is good, it stimulates the audience to watch the movie. The abstract should be written from scratch and not ‘cut –and-pasted’ [ 1 ].

2 What is the History of the Abstract?

An abstract, in the form of a single paragraph, was first published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal in 1960 with the idea that the readers may not have enough time to go through the whole paper, and the first abstract with a defined structure was published in 1991 [ 2 ]. The idea sold and now most original articles and reviews are required to have a structured abstract. The abstract attracts the reader to read the full manuscript [ 3 ].

3 What are the Qualities of a Good Abstract?

The quality of information in an abstract can be summarized by four ‘C’s. It should be:

C: Condensed

C: Critical

4 What are the Types of Abstract?

Before writing the abstract, you need to check with the journal website about which type of abstract it requires, with its length and style in the ‘Instructions to Authors’ section.

The abstract types can be divided into:

Descriptive: Usually written for psychology, social science, and humanities papers. It is about 50–100 words long. No conclusions can be drawn from this abstract as it describes the major points in the paper.

Informative: The majority of abstracts for science-related manuscripts are informative and are surrogates for the research done. They are single paragraphs that provide the reader an overview of the research paper and are about 100–150 words in length. Conclusions can be drawn from the abstracts and in the recommendations written in the last line.

Critical: This type of abstract is lengthy and about 400–500 words. In this, the authors’ own research is discussed for reliability, judgement, and validation. A comparison is also made with similar studies done earlier.

Highlighting: This is rarely used in scientific writing. The style of the abstract is to attract more readers. It is not a balanced or complete overview of the article with which it is published.

Structured: A structured abstract contains information under subheadings like background, aims, material and methods, results, conclusion, and recommendations (Fig. 15.1 ). Most leading journals now carry these.

figure 1

Example of a structured abstract (with permission editor CMRP)

5 What is the Purpose of an Abstract?

An abstract is written to educate the reader about the study that follows and provide an overview of the science behind it. If written well it also attracts more readers to the article. It also helps the article getting indexed. The fate of a paper both before and after publication often depends upon its abstract. Most readers decide if a paper is worth reading on the basis of the abstract. Additionally, the selection of papers in systematic reviews is often dependent upon the abstract.

6 What are the Steps of Writing an Abstract?

An abstract should be written last after all the other sections of an article have been addressed. A poor abstract may turn off the reader and they may cause indexing errors as well. The abstract should state the purpose of the study, the methodology used, and summarize the results and important conclusions. It is usually written in the IMRAD format and is called a structured abstract [ 4 , 5 ].

I: The introduction in the opening line should state the problem you are addressing.

M: Methodology—what method was chosen to finish the experiment?

R: Results—state the important findings of your study.

D: Discussion—discuss why your study is important.

Mention the following information:

Important results with the statistical information ( p values, confidence intervals, standard/mean deviation).

Arrange all information in a chronological order.

Do not repeat any information.

The last line should state the recommendations from your study.

The abstract should be written in the past tense.

7 What are the Things to Be Avoided While Writing an Abstract?

Cut and paste information from the main text

Hold back important information

Use abbreviations

Tables or Figures

Generalized statements

Arguments about the study

figure a

8 What are Key Words?

These are important words that are repeated throughout the manuscript and which help in the indexing of a paper. Depending upon the journal 3–10 key words may be required which are indexed with the help of MESH (Medical Subject Heading).

9 How is an Abstract Written for a Conference Different from a Journal Paper?

The basic concept for writing abstracts is the same. However, in a conference abstract occasionally a table or figure is allowed. A word limit is important in both of them. Many of the abstracts which are presented in conferences are never published in fact one study found that only 27% of the abstracts presented in conferences were published in the next five years [ 6 ].

Table 15.1 gives a template for writing an abstract.

10 What are the Important Recommendations of the International Committees of Medical Journal of Editors?

The recommendations are [ 7 ]:

An abstract is required for original articles, metanalysis, and systematic reviews.

A structured abstract is preferred.

The abstract should mention the purpose of the scientific study, how the procedure was carried out, the analysis used, and principal conclusion.

Clinical trials should be reported according to the CONSORT guidelines.

The trials should also mention the funding and the trial number.

The abstract should be accurate as many readers have access only to the abstract.

11 Conclusions

An Abstract should be written last after all the other sections of the manuscript have been completed and with due care and attention to the details.

It should be structured and written in the IMRAD format.

For many readers, the abstract attracts them to go through the complete content of the article.

The abstract is usually followed by key words that help to index the paper.

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How to Write a Scientific Abstract

Suhasini nagda.

Nair Hospital Dental College, Mumbai, India

Scientific publications are an important source of information and knowledge in Academics, Research and development. When articles are submitted for publication, the 1st part that comes across and causes an impact on the minds of the readers is the abstract. It is a concise summary of the paper and must convey the right message. It is a quick overview of the entire paper and giving a gist of the paper and also gives us and insight into whether the paper fulfills the expectations of the reader.

Abstracts are significant parts of academic assignments and research papers. The abstract is written at the end and by this time, the author has a clear picture regarding the findings and conclusions and hence the right message can be put forward.

Types of Scientific Abstracts [ 1 ]

  • Descriptive
  • Informative
  • Semi-structured
  • Non structured

Descriptive Abstracts

This type of abstract is usually very short (50–100 words). Most descriptive abstracts have certain key parts in common. They are:

□ Background

□ Purpose

□ Particular interest/focus of paper

□ Overview of contents (not always included)

These abstracts are inconvenient in that, by not including a detailed presentation of the results, it is necessary to have access to the complete article ; they may present the results via a phrase synthesizing them, without contributing numerical or statistical data. Ultimately, these guide readers on the nature of the contents of the article, but it is necessary to read the whole manuscript to know further details [ 1 ].

Informative Abstracts

From these abstracts, you must get the essence of what your report is about, usually in about 200 words. Most informative abstracts also have key parts in common. Each of these parts might consist of 1–2 sentences. The parts include:

□ Aim or purpose of research

□ Method used

□ Findings/results

□ Conclusion

The abstracts provide accurate data on the contents of the work, especially on the results section. Informative abstracts are short scientific productions, since they follow the IMRaD structure [ 2 ] and can in fact replace the whole text, because readers extract from these the most valuable information and in many instances it is not necessary to read the complete text.

Recommendations by the CONSORT [ 3 ] declaration, in its adaptation for abstracts, offer a guide for the elaboration of an abstract of a clinical trial in structured and informative manner, using up to 400 words and briefly including the Title, Methods (participants, interventions, objective, outcomes, randomization, blind tests), Results (number of randomizations, recruitment, number of analyses, outcome, important adverse effects), and Conclusions, registry of the clinical trial and conflict of interests.

Structured Abstracts

A structured abstract has a paragraph for each section: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, and Conclusion (it may even include paragraphs for the objectives or other sections). This type of presentation is often required for informative abstracts. The CONSORT [ 3 ] declaration suggests the presentation of clinical trials with structured abstracts . Structuring an abstract permits its informative development

Semi-structured Abstract

A semi-structured abstract is written in only one paragraph, where each sentence corresponds to a section . All the sections of the article are present as in the structured abstract [ 1 ].

Non-structured Abstract

When the abstract does not present divisions between each section , and it may not even present any of them, it is a non-structured abstract. The sentences are included in a sole paragraph. This type of presentation is ideal for descriptive abstracts [ 1 ].

Key Steps to Plan Writing an Abstract [ 4 ]

  • Introduction—what is the topic?
  • Statement of purpose?
  • Summarize why have other studies not tackled similar research questions?
  • How has the research question been tackled?
  • How was the research done?
  • What is the key impact of the research?

Errors in the Creation of an Abstract [ 1 ]

  • The abstract of an article should contribute to readers the most relevant aspects of each part of the whole manuscript, maintaining a balance between excessive detail and a vague contribution of information.
  • The abstract should be written by adequately selecting the words and sentences to accomplish coherent, clear, and concise contents.
  • A common defect is including adequate information like abbreviations, excessive acronyms, bibliographic references, or figures.
  • The length of an abstract will be determined by the instructions to authors by each journal; an excessively lengthy abstract is the most frequent error.
  • Sections should maintain coherence and order and that the conclusions must be substantiated by the results revealed and respond to the objectives proposed.
  • Frequently, abstracts have poorly defined objectives, excessive numerical data and statistical results, and conclusions not based on results presented.

In short, a good abstract is one that:

  • Is coherent and concise
  • Covers all the essential academic elements of the full-length paper
  • Contains no information not included in the paper;
  • Is written in plain English and is understandable to a wider audience and discipline-specific audience;
  • Uses passive structures in order to report on findings
  • Uses the language of the original paper, in a more simplified form
  • Usually does not include any referencing; and
  • In publications such as journals, it is found at the beginning of the text, but in academic assignments, it is placed on a separate preliminary page.

A good abstract usually ensures a good article, but a bad abstract often points towards an undesirable article. Scientific abstracts are a challenge to write and for the success of our publications, careful and planned writing of the abstract is absolutely essential.

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  • Published: 06 March 2024

Artificial intelligence and illusions of understanding in scientific research

  • Lisa Messeri   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0964-123X 1   na1 &
  • M. J. Crockett   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8800-410X 2 , 3   na1  

Nature volume  627 ,  pages 49–58 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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  • Human behaviour
  • Interdisciplinary studies
  • Research management
  • Social anthropology

Scientists are enthusiastically imagining ways in which artificial intelligence (AI) tools might improve research. Why are AI tools so attractive and what are the risks of implementing them across the research pipeline? Here we develop a taxonomy of scientists’ visions for AI, observing that their appeal comes from promises to improve productivity and objectivity by overcoming human shortcomings. But proposed AI solutions can also exploit our cognitive limitations, making us vulnerable to illusions of understanding in which we believe we understand more about the world than we actually do. Such illusions obscure the scientific community’s ability to see the formation of scientific monocultures, in which some types of methods, questions and viewpoints come to dominate alternative approaches, making science less innovative and more vulnerable to errors. The proliferation of AI tools in science risks introducing a phase of scientific enquiry in which we produce more but understand less. By analysing the appeal of these tools, we provide a framework for advancing discussions of responsible knowledge production in the age of AI.

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Acknowledgements

We thank D. S. Bassett, W. J. Brady, S. Helmreich, S. Kapoor, T. Lombrozo, A. Narayanan, M. Salganik and A. J. te Velthuis for comments. We also thank C. Buckner and P. Winter for their feedback and suggestions.

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Messeri, L., Crockett, M.J. Artificial intelligence and illusions of understanding in scientific research. Nature 627 , 49–58 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07146-0

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Learning to Live with an Unruly Consuming Body

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Kushagra Bhatnagar, Jack S Tillotson, Sammy Toyoki, Benjamin Laker, Learning to Live with an Unruly Consuming Body, Journal of Consumer Research , Volume 50, Issue 6, April 2024, Pages 1265–1286, https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucad041

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Past research shows that successful consumer learning takes place in environments that support cooperative communities of practice, that enable access to refined didactic resources, and that provide a safe, sympathetic backstage for a controllable and able learning body to durably transition from one repertoire to another. This study complements existing research by investigating a group of lactose-intolerant consumers who must learn to transition to a new consumption repertoire because of socially embarrassing symptoms. Consumers must engage in high-risk, unguided, experiential learning pathways in a less than sympathetic frontstage, without the support of a cooperative community or a well-developed vocabulary, and while grappling with an impaired and unruly body in a dynamic marketplace. The findings demonstrate that consumers adapt to this hostile learning environment by surfing between different consumption repertoires in a fluid, impermanent manner.

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Mitochondria-targeted bodipy dyes for small molecule recognition, bio-imaging and photodynamic therapy.

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a College of Material, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Organosilicon Chemistry and Material Technology of Ministry of Education, and Key Laboratory of Organosilicon Material Technology of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China E-mail: [email protected]

b State Key Laboratory of Coordination Chemistry, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China E-mail: [email protected]

c State Key Laboratory of Powder Metallurgy, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, China

Mitochondria are essential for a diverse array of biological functions. There is increasing research focus on developing efficient tools for mitochondria-targeted detection and treatment. BODIPY dyes, known for their structural versatility and excellent spectroscopic properties, are being actively explored in this context. Numerous studies have focused on developing innovative BODIPYs that utilize optical signals for imaging mitochondria. This review presents a comprehensive overview of the progress made in this field, aiming to investigate mitochondria-related biological events. It covers key factors such as design strategies, spectroscopic properties, and cytotoxicity, as well as mechanism to facilitate their future application in organelle imaging and targeted therapy. This work is anticipated to provide valuable insights for guiding future development and facilitating further investigation into mitochondria-related biological sensing and phototherapy.

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S. Wang, L. Gai, Y. Chen, X. Ji, H. Lu and Z. Guo, Chem. Soc. Rev. , 2024, Advance Article , DOI: 10.1039/D3CS00456B

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  • http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0214-242X Rony Abou-Khalil 1 ,
  • Jeanne Andary 2 and
  • Elissar El-Hayek 1
  • 1 Department of Biology , Holy Spirit University of Kaslik , Jounieh , Lebanon
  • 2 Nutrition and Food Science Department , American University of Science and Technology , Beirut , Lebanon
  • Correspondence to Dr Rony Abou-Khalil, Department of Biology, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, Jounieh, Lebanon; ronyaboukhalil{at}usek.edu.lb

Background and aims Obesity and overweight have become significant health concerns worldwide, leading to an increased interest in finding natural remedies for weight reduction. One such remedy that has gained popularity is apple cider vinegar (ACV).

Objective To investigate the effects of ACV consumption on weight, blood glucose, triglyceride and cholesterol levels in a sample of the Lebanese population.

Materials and methods 120 overweight and obese individuals were recruited. Participants were randomly assigned to either an intervention group receiving 5, 10 or 15 mL of ACV or a control group receiving a placebo (group 4) over a 12-week period. Measurements of anthropometric parameters, fasting blood glucose, triglyceride and cholesterol levels were taken at weeks 0, 4, 8 and 12.

Results Our findings showed that daily consumption of the three doses of ACV for a duration of between 4 and 12 weeks is associated with significant reductions in anthropometric variables (weight, body mass index, waist/hip circumferences and body fat ratio), blood glucose, triglyceride and cholesterol levels. No significant risk factors were observed during the 12 weeks of ACV intake.

Conclusion Consumption of ACV in people with overweight and obesity led to an improvement in the anthropometric and metabolic parameters. ACV could be a promising antiobesity supplement that does not produce any side effects.

  • Weight management
  • Lipid lowering

Data availability statement

All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplementary information.

This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See:  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ .

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjnph-2023-000823

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WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ON THIS TOPIC

Recently, there has been increasing interest in alternative remedies to support weight management, and one such remedy that has gained popularity is apple cider vinegar (ACV).

A few small-scale studies conducted on humans have shown promising results, with ACV consumption leading to weight loss, reduced body fat and decreased waist circumference.

WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS

No study has been conducted to investigate the potential antiobesity effect of ACV in the Lebanese population. By conducting research in this demographic, the study provides region-specific data and offers a more comprehensive understanding of the impact of ACV on weight loss and metabolic health.

HOW THIS STUDY MIGHT AFFECT RESEARCH, PRACTICE OR POLICY

The results might contribute to evidence-based recommendations for the use of ACV as a dietary intervention in the management of obesity.

The study could stimulate further research in the field, prompting scientists to explore the underlying mechanisms and conduct similar studies in other populations.

Introduction

Obesity is a growing global health concern characterised by excessive body fat accumulation, often resulting from a combination of genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors. 1 It is associated with an increased risk of numerous chronic illnesses such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, several common cancers and osteoarthritis. 1–3

According to the WHO, more than 1.9 billion adults were overweight worldwide in 2016, of whom more than 650 million were obese. 4 Worldwide obesity has nearly tripled since 1975. 4 The World Obesity Federation’s 2023 Atlas predicts that by 2035 more than half of the world’s population will be overweight or obese. 5

According to the 2022 Global Nutrition Report, Lebanon has made limited progress towards meeting its diet-related non-communicable diseases target. A total of 39.9% of adult (aged ≥18 years) women and 30.5% of adult men are living with obesity. Lebanon’s obesity prevalence is higher than the regional average of 10.3% for women and 7.5% for men. 6 In Lebanon, obesity was considered as the most important health problem by 27.6% and ranked fifth after cancer, cardiovascular, smoking and HIV/AIDS. 7

In recent years, there has been increasing interest in alternative remedies to support weight management, and one such remedy that has gained popularity is apple cider vinegar (ACV), which is a type of vinegar made by fermenting apple juice. ACV contains vitamins, minerals, amino acids and polyphenols such as flavonoids, which are believed to contribute to its potential health benefits. 8 9

It has been used for centuries as a traditional remedy for various ailments and has recently gained attention for its potential role in weight management.

In hypercaloric-fed rats, the daily consumption of ACV showed a lower rise in blood sugar and lipid profile. 10 In addition, ACV seems to decrease oxidative stress and reduces the risk of obesity in male rats with high-fat consumption. 11

A few small-scale studies conducted on humans have shown promising results, with ACV consumption leading to weight loss, reduced body fat and decreased waist circumference. 12 13 In fact, It has been suggested that ACV by slowing down gastric emptying, might promote satiety and reduce appetite. 14–16 Furthermore, ACV intake seems to ameliorate the glycaemic and lipid profile in healthy adults 17 and might have a positive impact on insulin sensitivity, potentially reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes. 8 10 18

Unfortunately, the sample sizes and durations of these studies were limited, necessitating larger and longer-term studies for more robust conclusions.

This work aims to study the efficacy and safety of ACV in reducing weight and ameliorating the lipid and glycaemic profiles in a sample of overweight and obese adolescents and young adults of the Lebanese population. To the best of our knowledge, no study has been conducted to investigate the potential antiobesity effect of ACV in the Lebanese population.

Materials and methods

Participants.

A total of 120 overweight and obese adolescents and young adults (46 men and 74 women) were enrolled in the study and assigned to either placebo group or experimental groups (receiving increasing doses of ACV).

The subjects were evaluated for eligibility according to the following inclusion criteria: age between 12 and 25 years, BMIs between 27 and 34 kg/m 2 , no chronic diseases, no intake of medications, no intake of ACV over the past 8 weeks prior to the beginning of the study. The subjects who met the inclusion criteria were selected by convenient sampling technique. Those who experienced heartburn due to vinegar were excluded.

Demographic, clinical data and eating habits were collected from all participants by self-administered questionnaire.

Study design

This study was a double-blind, randomised clinical trial conducted for 12 weeks.

Subjects were divided randomly into four groups: three treatment groups and a placebo group. A simple randomisation method was employed using the randomisation allocation software. Groups 1, 2 and 3 consumed 5, 10 and 15 mL, respectively, of ACV (containing 5% of acetic acid) diluted in 250 mL of water daily, in the morning on an empty stomach, for 12 weeks. The control group received a placebo consisting of water with similar taste and appearance. In order to mimic the taste of vinegar, the placebo group’s beverage (250 mL of water) contained lactic acid (250 mg/100 mL). Identical-looking ACV and placebo bottles were used and participants were instructed to consume their assigned solution without knowing its identity. The subject’s group assignment was withheld from the researchers performing the experiment.

Subjects consumed their normal diets throughout the study. The contents of daily meals and snacks were recorded in a diet diary. The physical activity of the subjects was also recorded. Daily individual phone messages were sent to all participants to remind them to take the ACV or the placebo. A mailing group was also created. Confidentiality was maintained throughout the procedure.

At weeks 0, 4, 8 and 12, anthropometric measurements were taken for all participants, and the level of glucose, triglycerides and total cholesterol was assessed by collecting 5 mL of fasting blood from each subject.

Anthropometric measurements

Body weight was measured in kg, to the nearest 0.01 kg, by standardised and calibrated digital scale. Height was measured in cm, to the nearest 0.1 cm, by a stadiometer. Anthropometric measurements were taken for all participants, by a team of trained field researchers, after 10–12 hours fast and while wearing only undergarments.

Body mass indices (BMIs) were calculated using the following equation:

The waist circumference measurement was taken between the lowest rib margin and the iliac crest while the subject was in a standing position (to the nearest 0.1 cm). Hip circumference was measured at the widest point of the hip (to the nearest 0.1 cm).

The body fat ratio (BFR) was measured by the bioelectrical impedance analysis method (OMRON Fat Loss Monitor, Model No HBF-306C; Japan). Anthropometric variables are shown in table 1 .

  • View inline

Baseline demographic, anthropometric and biochemical variables of the three apple cider vinegar groups (group 1, 2 and 3) and the placebo group (group 4)

Blood biochemical analysis

Serum glucose was measured by the glucose oxidase method. 19 Triglyceride levels were determined using a serum triglyceride determination kit (TR0100, Sigma-Aldrich). Cholesterol levels were determined using a cholesterol quantitation kit (MAK043, Sigma-Aldrich). Biochemical variables are shown in table 1 .

Statistical methods and data analysis

Data are presented as mean±SD. Statistical analyses were performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software (version 23.0). Significant differences between groups were determined by using an independent t-test. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05.

Ethical approval

The study protocol was reviewed and approved by the research ethics committee (REC) of the Higher Centre for Research (HCR) at The Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), Lebanon. The number/ID of the approval is HCR/EC 2023–005. The participants were informed of the study objectives and signed a written informed consent before enrolment. The study was conducted in accordance to the International Conference and Harmonisation E6 Guideline for Good Clinical Practice and the Ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.

Sociodemographic, nutritional and other baseline characteristics of the participants

A total of 120 individuals (46 men and 74 women) with BMIs between 27 and 34 kg/m 2 , were enrolled in the study. The mean age of the subjects was 17.8±5.7 years and 17.6±5.4 years in the placebo and experimental groups respectively.

The majority of participants, approximately 98.3%, were non-vegetarian and 89% of them reported having a high eating frequency, with more than four meals per day. Eighty-seven per cent had no family history of obesity and 98% had no history of childhood obesity. The majority reported not having a regular exercise routine and experiencing negative emotions or anxiety. All participants were non-smokers and non-drinkers. A small percentage (6.7%) were following a therapeutic diet.

Effects of ACV intake on anthropometric variables

The addition of 5 mL, 10 mL or 15 mL of ACV to the diet resulted in significant decreases in body weight and BMI at weeks 4, 8 and 12 of ACV intake, when compared with baseline (week 0) (p<0.05). The decrease in body weight and BMI seemed to be dose-dependent, with the group receiving 15 mL of ACV showing the most important reduction ( table 2 ).

Anthropometric variables of the participants at weeks 0, 4, 8 and 12

The impact of ACV on body weight and BMI seems to be time-dependent as well. Reductions were more pronounced as the study progressed, with the most significant changes occurring at week 12.

The circumferences of the waist and hip, along with the Body Fat Ratio (BFR), decreased significantly in the three treatment groups at weeks 8 and 12 compared with week 0 (p<0.05). No significant effect was observed at week 4, compared with baseline (p>0.05). The effect of ACV on these parameters seems to be time-dependent with the most prominent effect observed at week 12 compared with week 4 and 8. However it does not seem to be dose dependent, as the three doses of ACV showed a similar level of efficacy in reducing the circumferences of the waist/hip circumferences and the BFR at week 8 and 12, compared with baseline ( table 2 ).

The placebo group did not experience any significant changes in the anthropometric variables throughout the study (p>0.05). This highlights that the observed improvements in body weight, BMI, waist and hip circumferences and Body Fat Ratio were likely attributed to the consumption of ACV.

Effects of ACV on blood biochemical parameters

The consumption of ACV also led to a time and dose dependent decrease in serum glucose, serum triglyceride and serum cholesterol levels. ( table 3 ).

Biochemical variables of the participants at weeks 0, 4, 8 and 12

Serum glucose levels decreased significantly by three doses of ACV at week 4, 8 and 12 compared with week 0 (p<0.05) ( table 3 ). Triglycerides and total cholesterol levels decreased significantly at weeks 8 and 12, compared with week 0 (p<0.05). A dose of 15 mL of ACV for a duration of 12 weeks seems to be the most effective dose in reducing these three blood biochemical parameters.

There were no changes in glucose, triglyceride and cholesterol levels in the placebo groups at weeks 4, 8 and 12 compared with week 0 ( table 3 ).

These data suggest that continued intake of 15 mL of ACV for more than 8 weeks is effective in reducing blood fasting sugar, triglyceride and total cholesterol levels in overweight/obese people.

Adverse reactions of ACV

No apparent adverse or harmful effects were reported by the participants during the 12 weeks of ACV intake.

During the past two decades of the last century, childhood and adolescent obesity have dramatically increased healthcare costs. 20 21 Diet and exercise are the basic elements of weight loss. Many complementary therapies have been promoted to treat obesity, but few are truly beneficial.

The present study is the first to investigate the antiobesity effectiveness of ACV, the fermented juice from crushed apples, in the Lebanese population.

A total of 120 overweight and obese adolescents and young adults (46 men and 74 women) with BMIs between 27 and 34 kg/m 2 , were enrolled. Participants were randomised to receive either a daily dose of ACV (5, 10 or 15 mL) or a placebo for a duration of 12 weeks.

Some previous studies have suggested that taking ACV before or with meals might help to reduce postprandial blood sugar levels, 22 23 but in our study, participants took ACV in the morning on an empty stomach. The choice of ACV intake timing was motivated by the aim to study the impact of apple cider vinegar without the confounding variables introduced by simultaneous food intake. In addition, taking ACV before meals could better reduce appetite and increase satiety.

Our findings reveal that the consumption of ACV in people with overweight and obesity led to an improvement in the anthropometric and metabolic parameters.

It is important to note that the diet diary and physical activity did not differ among the three treatment groups and the placebo throughout the whole study, suggesting that the decrease in anthropometric and biochemical parameters was caused by ACV intake.

Studies conducted on animal models often attribute these effects to various mechanisms, including increased energy expenditure, improved insulin sensitivity, appetite and satiety regulation.

While vinegar is composed of various ingredients, its primary component is acetic acid (AcOH). It has been shown that after 15 min of oral ingestion of 100 mL vinegar containing 0.75 g acetic acid, the serum acetate levels increases from 120 µmol/L at baseline to 350 µmol/L 24 ; this fast increase in circulatory acetate is due to its fast absorption in the upper digestive tract. 24 25

Biological action of acetate may be mediated by binding to the G-protein coupled receptors (GPRs), including GPR43 and GPR41. 25 These receptors are expressed in various insulin-sensitive tissues, such as adipose tissue, 26 skeletal muscle, liver, 27 and pancreatic beta cells, 28 but also in the small intestine and colon. 29 30

Yamashita and colleagues have revealed that oral administration of AcOH to type 2 diabetic Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty rats, improves glucose tolerance and reduces lipid accumulation in the adipose tissue and liver. This improvement in obesity-linked type 2 diabetes is due to the capacity of AcOH to inhibit the activity of carbohydrate-responsive, element-binding protein, a transcription factor involved in regulating the expression of lipogenic genes such as fatty acid synthase and acetyl-CoA carboxylase. 26 31 Sakakibara and colleagues, have reported that AcOH, besides inhibiting lipogenesis, reduces the expression of genes involved in gluconeogenesis, such as glucose-6-phosphatase. 32 The effect of AcOH on lipogenesis and gluconeogenesis is in part mediated by the activation of 5'-AMP-activated protein kinase in the liver. 32 This enzyme seems to be an important pharmacological target for the treatment of metabolic disorders such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and hyperlipidaemia. 32 33

5'-AMP-activated protein kinase is also known to stimulate fatty acid oxidation, thereby increasing energy expenditure. 32 33 These data suggest that the effect of ACV on weight and fat loss may be partly due to the ability of AcOH to inhibit lipogenesis and gluconeogenesis and activate fat oxidation.

Animal studies suggest that besides reducing energy expenditure, acetate may also reduce energy intake, by regulating appetite and satiety. In mice, an intraperitoneal injection of acetate significantly reduced food intake by activating vagal afferent neurons. 32–34 It is important to note that animal studies done on the effect of acetate on vagal activation are contradictory. This might be due to the site of administration of acetate and the use of different animal models.

In addition, in vitro and in vivo animal model studies suggest that acetate increases the secretion of gut-derived satiety hormones by enter endocrine cells (located in the gut) such as GLP-1 and PYY hormones. 25 32–35

Human studies related to the effect of vinegar on body weight are limited.

In accordance with our study, a randomised clinical trial conducted by Khezri and his colleagues has shown that daily consumption of 30 mL of ACV for 12 weeks significantly reduced body weight, BMI, hip circumference, Visceral Adiposity Index and appetite score in obese subjects subjected to a restricted calorie diet, compared with the control group (restricted calorie diet without ACV). Furthermore, Khezri and his colleagues showed that plasma triglyceride and total cholesterol levels significantly decreased, and high density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration significantly increased, in the ACV group in comparison with the control group. 13 32–34

Similarly, Kondo and his colleagues showed that daily consumption of 15 or 30 mL of ACV for 12 weeks reduced body weight, BMI and serum triglyceride in a sample of the Japanese population. 12 13 32–34

In contrast, Park et al reported that daily consumption of 200 mL of pomegranate vinegar for 8 weeks significantly reduced total fat mass in overweight or obese subjects compared with the control group without significantly affecting body weight and BMI. 36 This contradictory result could be explained by the difference in the percentage of acetate and other potentially bioactive compounds (such as flavonoids and other phenolic compounds) in different vinegar types.

In Lebanon, the percentage of the population with a BMI of 30 kg/m 2 or more is approximately 32%. The results of the present study showed that in obese Lebanese subjects who had BMIs ranging from 27 and 34 kg/m 2 , daily oral intake of ACV for 12 weeks reduced the body weight by 6–8 kg and BMIs by 2.7–3.0 points.

It would be interesting to investigate in future studies the effect of neutralised acetic acid on anthropometric and metabolic parameters, knowing that acidic substances, including acetic acid, could contribute to enamel erosion over time. In addition to promoting oral health, neutralising the acidity of ACV could improve its taste, making it more palatable. Furthermore, studying the effects of ACV on weight loss in young Lebanese individuals provides valuable insights, but further research is needed for a comprehensive understanding of how the effect of ACV might vary across different age groups, particularly in older populations and menopausal women.

The findings of this study indicate that ACV consumption for 12 weeks led to significant reduction in anthropometric variables and improvements in blood glucose, triglyceride and cholesterol levels in overweight/obese adolescents/adults. These results suggest that ACV might have potential benefits in improving metabolic parameters related to obesity and metabolic disorders in obese individuals. The results may contribute to evidence-based recommendations for the use of ACV as a dietary intervention in the management of obesity. The study duration of 12 weeks limits the ability to observe long-term effects. Additionally, a larger sample size would enhance the generalisability of the results.

Ethics statements

Patient consent for publication.

Consent obtained from parent(s)/guardian(s)

Ethics approval

This study involves human participants and was approved by the research ethics committee of the Higher Center for Research (HCR) at The Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), Lebanon. The number/ID of the approval is HCR/EC 2023-005. Participants gave informed consent to participate in the study before taking part.

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Supplementary materials

  • Press release

Contributors RA-K: conceptualisation, methodology, data curation, supervision, guarantor, project administration, visualisation, writing–original draft. EE-H: conceptualisation, methodology, data curation, visualisation, writing–review and editing. JA: investigation, validation, writing–review and editing.

Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

Competing interests No, there are no competing interests.

Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

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Perspective article, an urgent call for using real human urine in decentralized sanitation research and advancing protocols for preparing synthetic urine.

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  • 1 Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Energy and Technology, Uppsala, Sweden
  • 2 Chemical Engineering Department, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
  • 3 Future Water Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
  • 4 Civil Engineering Department, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

Recycling resources excreted in human urine can help achieve a sustainable future and circular economy in the sanitation space. However, many studies researching different technologies for safely recycling urine do not use real human urine for experimentation, relying instead on recipes for making synthetic or artificial solutions that attempt to mimic the composition of real human urine. This methodological choice is the focus of this article, which points out that the real urine matrix is extremely complex, with a metabolome (>2,500 metabolites) that differs greatly from that of synthetic urine (<15 metabolites). Therefore, experimental results obtained using synthetic urine can also differ from those obtained using real urine. To exemplify this, we review published literature in terms of four aspects: i) solubility of chemicals and buffering capacity of urine, ii) dissolved organics and membrane fouling, iii) thermodynamic modelling of chemical speciation in urine, and iv) removal of pollutants from urine. We recognise that there is a place for synthetic urine in sanitation research and provide examples of studies where its use is appropriate. Lastly, based on literature from the medical sciences, we provide preliminary guidelines on protocols for preparing synthetic urine that could improve experimentation involving human urine and accelerate the water sector’s transition to circularity.

1 Introduction

In decentralised sanitation systems, human urine can be collected separately from other domestic wastewater and treated to make several useful products, such as water, fertiliser, biostimulants, chemicals and electricity ( Larsen et al., 2013 ). Such recycling has the potential to reduce human transgression of several planetary boundaries, including those on biogeochemical flows of nitrogen and phosphorus ( Perez-Mercado et al., 2022 ; Rockstrom et al., 2023 ). Separate treatment of urine can also benefit existing centralised wastewater treatment plants, e.g. , by decreasing the nitrogen load and thus reducing the energy demand for nitrification ( Wilsenach and Loosdrecht, 2006 ).

Recycling of human urine is a growing research topic within the water sector ( Aliahmad et al., 2022 ). Several novel technologies for treating urine are currently being developed [for recent reviews on this topic, see Larsen et al. ( Larsen et al., 2021 )] and implemented in transdisciplinary initiatives like the Horizon Europe project “P2Green” ( https://p2green.eu/ ) and the Australian Research Council research hub “NiCE” ( https://www.nicehub.org/ ). A growing number of experts believe that decentralised treatment of wastewater could help the water sector accelerate its transition to circularity and that it is well poised to achieve such a paradigm shift ( Guest et al., 2009 ; Larsen et al., 2013 ).

These developments are promising for our own research groups, which are also working in this area. However, a particular trend in current research on decentralised sanitation that gives us cause for concern, and which we address in this article, is the use of synthetic human urine . An analysis of urine research literature, specifically focusing on nutrient recovery, published over the past 5 years, shows an increasing trend in the use of synthetic urine ( Supplementary Material , Supplementary Figure S1 ), with approximately 40% of these studies conducted exclusively with synthetic urine. Of particular concern is that among several publications that exclusively used synthetic urine, 21% referred to the type of urine used as “human urine” in the title of their publications ( Supplementary Material , Supplementary Figure S1 ). For multiple reasons, many studies do not use real human urine in experimental work, and instead rely on recipes for making synthetic solutions that attempt to mimic the composition of real human urine. A simple search of the Scopus database shows that there are hundreds of published articles that have either used synthetic urine for experimentation or have developed assumptions, hypotheses and conclusions based on published studies using synthetic urine. Using synthetic solutions to simulate real fluids is a legitimate scientific method, and one that is not uncommon in wastewater research. In the decentralised sanitation sector, many recipes that can successfully mimic specific physical and chemical properties of human faeces, faecal sludge and greywater have been developed ( Penn et al., 2018 ). In early experimental work, such as proof-of-concept research studies, use of simulants like synthetic urine can help advance science by shedding light on mechanistic aspects of a treatment technology. However, in some instances, using only synthetic urine for experimentation could be problematic from a methodological perspective, especially if protocols for preparing synthetic urine are not well-established and validated by comparison with real urine. To argue why this could be the case, in this article we highlight some of the differences in composition and properties of synthetic urine and real urine. We draw on selected published literature to show how differences between types of urine affect experimental results and their real-life implications. We recognise that there is a place for synthetic/artificial urine in sanitation research and provide examples of cases where its use is appropriate. Our intention is not to criticize studies or researchers that have used synthetic urine in the past. Both of our research groups have also conducted experimental work involving synthetic urine ( Table 1 ). In fact, the observations we made during those studies regarding the differences between real urine and synthetic urine motivated us, in part, to write this perspective article. Overall, we think there is a risk that findings of experiments conducted solely with synthetic urine, especially when prepared using unvalidated protocols, may not be generalisable and transferrable to real-life sanitation systems involving real urine. For instance, studies conducted exclusively using synthetic urine might inadvertently cast a positive light on a urine treatment technology, even if that technology may not prove equally effective when applied to real urine. Therefore, in this perspective article, these authors aim to share with the research community working on decentralised sanitation certain concerns and important considerations when working with synthetic urine. We hope that the article will stimulate a discussion within the research community on the benefits of using real human urine for experimentation work.

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TABLE 1 . Concentrations of different constituents in a selection of synthetic fresh human urine recipes described in the literature. Recipes are shown in increasing order of number of metabolites in urine.

2 Real human urine metabolome vs. synthetic human urine metabolome

Urination is the primary route by which the human body eliminates water-soluble wastes. Urine is generated when the kidneys remove water, water-soluble wastes and sugars from the bloodstream. The urine matrix is extremely complex. The major inorganic components of urine include ions such as sodium, potassium, chloride and ammonium, while the major organic metabolites include urea, creatinine, hippuric acid and citric acid ( Putnam, 1971 ; Bouatra et al., 2013 ). Urine also normally contains several other ions, such as calcium, magnesium, phosphate and sulphate, as well as hundreds of metabolic breakdown products from the consumption of food and beverages, the body’s endogenous waste and exogenous compounds such as pharmaceutical drugs or drug metabolites. The human urine metabolome database ( http://www.urinemetabolome.ca ) lists more than 3,000 metabolites or metabolite species that have been detected in human urine using existing analytical methods and technologies, the majority of which are endogenous compounds. As illustrated in Figure 1 , metabolites in real human urine span a wide range of concentrations (nearly 11 orders of magnitude), chemical structures and solubilities (0.0012 g/L for androsterone to 1000 g/L for ethanolamine, according to Bouatra et al. ( Bouatra et al., 2013 )). The concentration of an average metabolite in normal human urine varies by ± 50% ( Bouatra et al., 2013 ), because a wide range of factors, including diet, health, age, gender and activity level, determine the composition of urine ( Rose et al., 2015 ). However, irrespective of the gender or time of the day when it is collected, urine contains more than 90 metabolites with 100% occurrence ( Bouatra et al., 2013 ), but the concentrations always vary. According to Putnam ( Putnam, 1971 ), 68 metabolites contribute >99% of the solutes in human urine. In contrast, synthetic urine recipes in the sanitation field typically contain <15 metabolites ( Table 1 ).

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FIGURE 1 . Distribution (%) of organic metabolites measured in real human urine by Putnam ( Putnam, 1971 ) according to their (A) chemical structure and (B) solubility in water at 25°C. Standard solubility definitions were taken from WHO ( WHO, 2022 ).

In published literature on wastewater treatment, it is common to encounter the use of synthetic urine or artificial urine, which is essentially a solution of the major inorganic and organic components in real urine, dissolved in water at room temperature. Table 1 lists a small selection of recipes that have been used in different studies to prepare synthetic urine or are referred to in studies as human urine. While this list is certainly not exhaustive, it clearly shows that there is considerable variation in the choice of inorganic and organic ingredients used for making urine, with some recipes using just one metabolite ( Asiain-Mira et al., 2022 ) and some using up to 11 metabolites ( Wilsenach et al., 2007 ). Urine also has a natural bacterial biome ( Lewis et al., 2013 ) and virome ( Li et al., 2023 ) which is not accounted for by these recipes. Therefore, no synthetic urine recipe, however complex, can ever be truly representative of real human urine.

3 Definitions for different types of urine

It is important to distinguish what type of urine a recipe is attempting to mimic. Fresh urine refers to urine collected immediately after it is excreted, although there is no consensus within the research community on how long after excretion urine can be considered fresh. In the literature, some studies have used freshly excreted urine immediately in experiments ( Flanagan and Randall, 2018 ) or have stored it for a few hours ( Vasiljev et al., 2022 ) or days ( Simha et al., 2018 ; Ray et al., 2020 ) at different temperatures (3°C–30°C) before use. However, in general the term “fresh” is typically used to indicate that no urea hydrolysis has occurred in urine. If fresh urine is diluted with flushwater, it is referred to as diluted fresh urine ( e.g. , see synthetic recipe of Han et al. ( Han et al., 2022 ) in Table 1 ). If fresh urine is treated to inhibit urease-catalysed hydrolysis of urea to ammonia, for instance by acidification ( Simha et al., 2023 ), alkalisation ( Randall et al., 2016 ) or oxidation ( Lv et al., 2020 ), the literature defines it as stabilised fresh urine . If urea hydrolysis is not prevented and the majority of the nitrogen in urine is in the form of ammonia, then the urine is considered to be hydrolysed or ureolysed ( Udert et al., 2003a ). If all the urea excreted in fresh urine is not hydrolysed to ammonia, then the urine is considered to be partially hydrolysed ( Tuantet et al., 2013 ). If hydrolysed urine is treated biologically to stabilise ammonia nitrogen, for instance by nitrification ( Udert and Wachter, 2012 ), then literature defines it as biologically stabilised urine . However, studies using synthetic urine sometimes fail to report what type of urine their recipe represents. Each type of urine has a distinct composition and physical and chemical properties, and distinguishing between the types is important as it has implications for further urine treatment (see, e.g. , Simbeye et al. ( Simbeye et al., 2023 ) for an insight into the effect of type of human urine on recovery of phosphate as vivianite). This is one area where the research community would benefit by working together to develop consistent terminology and best practices for reporting experiments involving human urine.

4 Implications of the differences between synthetic urine and real urine

To highlight some key differences between synthetic urine and real urine and the implications of these differences, we conducted a non-systemic literature review, the results of which are summarised below.

4.1 Solubility of chemicals and buffering capacity of urine

Type of urine matrix affects the solubility of different chemicals and the capacity of urine to buffer changes in pH. For example, fresh urine can be dosed with sparingly soluble alkaline Earth chemicals such as Mg(OH) 2 and Ca(OH) 2 to inhibit urease activity and urea hydrolysis. However, Mg(OH) 2 is 40% less soluble in synthetic urine and, due to lower buffering capacity, also has higher pH (>10.8) after treatment than real urine after treatment (pH < 10.6) ( Simha et al., 2022 ). Studies by Ray et al. ( Ray et al., 2018 ) and Simha et al. (2023) have shown that the acid dose needed to shift the pH of fresh urine to below 3.0 is at least two-fold higher for real urine. These are important observations since the stability of most urine treatment processes relies on accurately dosing chemicals. The operating costs of decentralised sanitation systems can also be significantly affected by the chemical demand for treating urine.

The prevailing pH affects both the solubility and the degradation of different organic metabolites in urine. For instance, the rate of degradation of creatine increases as the pH decreases ( Jager et al., 2011 ). In studies on urine acidification and concentration by reverse osmosis, Courtney and Randall ( Courtney and Randall, 2021b ) have shown that crystals of uric acid dihydrate form in acidified real urine, but not in synthetic urine, resulting in scaling of the membrane surface. These observations are consistent with findings by Wang and Königsberger ( Wang and Königsberger, 1998 ) that the solubility of uric acid decreases as the pH declines and ionic strength of the solution increases. These results suggest that reverse osmosis is not well suited for concentrating acidified urine, while other treatments such as evaporation are not significantly affected by biofouling and scaling. However, apart from three studies on reverse osmosis in the literature (viz. Ek et al. ( Ek et al., 2006 ), Ray et al. ( Ray et al., 2020 ), Courtney and Randall ( Courtney and Randall, 2021b )), to our knowledge other studies have only used synthetic urine for experimentation.

Poorly soluble organic compounds tend to co-precipitate with inorganic compounds in real urine. In a study focusing on precipitation of phosphate from fresh urine as vivianite, Simbeye et al. ( Simbeye et al., 2023 ) showed that relatively pure (95%) vivianite could be produced from synthetic urine, but that the purity of vivianite decreases to 75% when made from real urine. This is because organic metabolites in real urine form complexes with divalent ions such as Fe 2+ and these complexes can grow around vivianite crystals ( Wei et al., 2019 ) and limit its yield and purity. These differences ultimately affect process economics, as further treatment will be required to improve product purity ( e.g ., washing vivianite with solvents to selectively remove organic compounds).

4.2 Dissolved organic compounds and membrane fouling

Many synthetic urine recipes ( Table 1 ) are made up of salts to replicate the major inorganic metabolites in urine. However, real urine also has a high organic component (about 10 g COD L -1 according to ( Udert et al., 2006 ) or approximately 25% of the total dissolved solids estimated by Putnam ( Putnam, 1971 )). A research area where the missing organics in synthetic urine leads to significantly differing experimental results is in membrane research (reverse osmosis, nanofiltration, membrane distillation, etc.), specifically with regards to membrane fouling. For example, during membrane distillation, a crystalline deposit forms on the membrane when synthetic urine is used, while with real urine the deposit that forms is more complex and composed of a rich organic fraction ( Kamranvand et al., 2018 ). Bacteria ( Crane et al., 2022 ) and a combination of urinary sugars and protein ( Guizani et al., 2016 ) have been shown to cause membrane fouling when urine is concentrated by forward osmosis. Zhang et al. ( Zhang et al., 2023 ) found that fouling of a hollow fibre membrane contactor for treating real hydrolysed urine increases as the pH of urine decreases.

The solubility ( Franks et al., 2024 ) and the charge ( Wen-Qiong et al., 2019 ) of organic compounds are both affected by pH. If the charge on the membrane is the same as the charge on an organic compound, electrostatic repulsion between the organic compound and the membrane pores will increase, thus reducing the potential for fouling ( Van Reis et al., 1997 ). Higher solubility means that a higher urine concentration factor can be achieved during treatment before organic compounds precipitate. The properties of the feed solution (pH, ionic strength) and the membrane (charge, hydrophobicity, roughness) affect thermodynamic interactions between dissolved organic compounds and the membrane surface, and influence the mechanisms that cause fouling ( Tang et al., 2011 ).

Experimental results obtained when treating real urine are not always inferior to those obtained when treating synthetic urine. Studies by Courtney and Randall ( Courtney and Randall, 2021b ) and Pronk et al. ( Pronk et al., 2006 ) observed increased rejection of urea during membrane treatment of real urine. Courtney and Randall ( Courtney and Randall, 2021b ) found that improved rejection of urea increased overall urea recovery from 79.2% to 85.5% when comparing synthetic urine and real urine. Pronk et al. ( Pronk et al., 2006 ) attributed the increase in rejection of uncharged molecules such as urea to complexation of compounds with the organic substances in real urine. There is also evidence that urea promotes protein unfolding by directly interacting with polar moieties of proteins via hydrogen bonding ( Bennion and Daggett, 2003 ). Unfortunately, synthetic urine cannot be improved by merely adding organics to the recipe used, as in many of these cases the exact organic compounds causing the fouling have not yet been identified (only that they are organic is known) ( Courtney and Randall, 2021b ; Crane et al., 2022 ). In these cases, using both real and synthetic urine for experiments becomes valuable for comparing fouling (or lack thereof).

4.3 Thermodynamic modelling of chemical speciation in urine

All models used to simulate a process in urine essentially model synthetic urine. As with making synthetic urine, it is challenging to include every metabolite excreted in real urine in a thermodynamic model. Many modelling databases do not include a comprehensive list of urinary metabolites. For example, the chemistry database of the thermodynamic modelling software OLI ( OLI Systems and Inc, 2020 ) does not include major organic metabolites excreted in urine, such as creatine, creatinine and uric acid. The importance of including or excluding a metabolite will depend on the parameter being measured/simulated. Udert et al. ( Udert et al., 2003b ) developed a model using Aquasim to estimate the potential for mineral precipitation in sanitation systems that separately collect human urine and found good agreement between simulated and experimental results when the degree of dilution of urine by flushwater was accurately accounted for. Courtney et al. ( Courtney et al., 2021 ) used the same thermodynamic model (in Aquasim) to simulate removal of calcium from human urine by air and CO 2 bubbling and found that initially the model did not accurately simulate the pH of urine as a function of bubbling duration. They attributed this to the salinity of urine influencing the pK a of HCO 3 − /CO 3 −2 ( Millero et al., 2006 ) and to inclusion of creatinine in the model affecting the buffering capacity of urine at pH 9.2. When adjusted for these two factors, the model accurately captured the change in pH of urine during bubbling ( Courtney et al., 2021 ). Inaccurate simulation of chemical speciation in urine and using synthetic human urine with only a few metabolites therefore have implications for the design of experiments and treatment processes ( e.g ., operating conditions such as pH and temperature), and for analysis of experimental results ( e.g ., when evaluating the form and fate of plant-essential nutrients excreted in urine after treatment).

4.4 Removal of pollutants from urine

Several previous studies have used synthetic urine to evaluate removal of pollutants that can potentially be excreted in urine, such as residues and metabolites of pharmaceutical drugs, pesticides, hormones, personal care products, chemicals used for cleaning toilets and heavy metals ( Landry et al., 2015 ; Sun et al., 2018 ; Almuntashiri et al., 2022 ; Goulart et al., 2022 ; Rodriguez et al., 2022 ; Yao et al., 2022 ). Many of these are presented as proof-of-concept studies, and there are often no follow-up studies to evaluate whether the treatments can be replicated with a real urine matrix. In some follow-up studies, clear and significant deviations have been observed between studies, primarily because of differences between the urine matrices. There is evidence that analytical detection of pollutants is significantly affected by the type of matrix studied. For instance, ionisation of the target analytes in LC-MS/MS can be affected by endogenous compounds present in urine ( Rossmann et al., 2015 ). The matrix can also affect the removal efficiency of pollutants because the physical and chemical properties of real urine are different from those of synthetic urine, and no synthetic recipe has been developed to account for the hundreds of endogenous organic metabolites excreted in urine ( Figure 1 ). For example, Solanki and Boyer ( Solanki and Boyer, 2017 ) found that >90% removal of pharmaceuticals from synthetic urine could be achieved by adsorption onto biochar. However, in follow-up studies involving real urine, they found that removal of pharmaceuticals declined to 40% because of competition for adsorption sites by dissolved organic compounds naturally excreted in urine, such as urobilin ( Solanki and Boyer, 2019 ). In a study evaluating degradation of 75 organic micropollutants (OMPs) by a UV-based advanced oxidation process, Demissie et al. ( Demissie et al., 2023a ) observed average ΣOMP degradation of 99% (±4%) in Milli-Q water, but only 55% (±36%) in real fresh urine. This is because endogenous organic compounds in urine can competitively absorb UV light (creatinine and amino acids have high UV absorbability according to Yokoyama et al. ( Yokoyama et al., 2005 )) and can scavenge free radicals. In another study, Demissie et al. ( Demissie et al., 2023b ) found that the UV dose needed to irreversibly denature jack bean ( Canavalia ensiformis ) urease (EC 3.5.1.5) in real fresh human urine was 25-fold higher than the dose needed to denature urease in synthetic fresh human urine. Unfortunately, there seems to be more literature available on treatment of synthetic human urine than on treatment of real human urine for removal of contaminants such as micropollutants.

5 Why and when to use synthetic urine for experimentation?

While synthetic urine is not exactly representative of real urine, it does have many uses and benefits. Below we list a few valid reasons why synthetic urine may be used in research:

1. The composition of real urine varies considerably, as it is influenced by diet, health, age, gender, activity level of people and other factors ( Rose et al., 2015 ). The composition of synthetic urine can be fixed, which can be desirable when conducting experiments to evaluate the influence of several operating conditions on treatment objectives ( Tarpeh et al., 2018 ). The experimental results obtained when synthetic urine is used are generally more consistent than results obtained using real urine with varying composition ( Kabdaşlı et al., 2022 ).

2. The use of synthetic urine is appropriate in proof-of-concept research that proposes novel technologies and methods to treat urine, e.g. , Arve and Popat ( Arve and Popat, 2021 ). If experimentation using synthetic urine yields undesirable results, then further testing can be avoided, and time and resources can be saved. For instance, Ray et al. ( Ray et al., 2018 ) showed that zinc and silver ions are not effective inhibitors of urease in synthetic fresh urine as they precipitate with phosphate and chloride naturally present in urine, although the inhibition of urease in soil by these heavy metal ions is well established.

3. Using a synthetic recipe makes it easier to reverse-engineer processes and identify metabolites or properties of urine that significantly affect the outcome of a treatment ( Solanki and Boyer, 2019 ). In addition, different technologies can be more fairly compared against each other if the same synthetic urine recipe is used to evaluate their differences ( Chen et al., 2023 ).

4. Synthetic urine can be helpful for developing new analytical methods for targeted analysis of metabolites ( Scherr and Sarmah, 2011 ) and for educational purposes where the aim is to train students in analytical chemistry or wastewater engineering.

5. Computer-based thermodynamic models of chemical speciation must be validated in real experiments ( Courtney and Randall, 2023 ). Synthetic urine is particularly helpful in such cases since it is not always possible to conduct a full metabolomic analysis of real urine. Many metabolites also do not exist in the chemistry databases of software tools.

6 Guidelines on protocols for preparing synthetic fresh human urine

As shown in Table 1 , several recipes for preparing synthetic human urine are found in the water and sanitation literature. However, to the best of our knowledge, none of these recipes use well-established protocols for preparing synthetic urine, ( Lienert and Larsen, 2009 ; Jewitt, 2011 ; Furlong et al., 2019 ; Simha et al., 2021 ), nor have they been validated by comparison with real urine specimens. On the other hand, there is extensive literature in the medical sciences focusing on the development of protocols for synthetic urine preparation in various research domains, including urology ( Shafat et al., 2013 ), dermatology ( Mayrovitz and Sims, 2001 ) and nephrology ( Brooks and Keevil, 1997 ). These protocols have typically been designed to allow investigation of specific aspects, such as the formation of kidney stones ( e.g. , calcium oxalate dihydrate) in urine, study of renal physiology using in vitro cell culture ( Chutipongtanate and Thongboonkerd, 2010 ), urinary tract infections and growth of urinary pathogens ( Brooks and Keevil, 1997 ). More recent efforts have developed protocols for synthetic urine preparation that are not specific to an application, ( Chutipongtanate and Thongboonkerd, 2010 ; Sarigul et al., 2019 ), and can be more universally used across research disciplines ( Table 2 ). In fact, Sarigul et al. (2019) have shown that, by using attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), their synthetic urine comes closest to mimicking real urine. This recipe differs from many of those presented in Table 1 in two ways. First, it does not just include major inorganic metabolites and urea, but also major organic metabolites like creatinine, uric acid, citrate, and oxalate, which are normally excreted in real urine. Secondly, the recipe adds both NaH 2 PO 4 ·2H 2 O and Na 2 HPO 4 ·2H 2 O which more accurately reflects the speciation of phosphate in real fresh urine, which eliminates the need for adding HCl or NaOH to adjust the pH of urine. Their protocol is also practical as it does not contain an unreasonable number of metabolites (<15). Therefore, to urine researchers working in the sanitation space, we recommend using the protocol developed by Sarigul, et al. ( Sarigul et al., 2019 ) for preparing synthetic urine. However, considering that the concentration of different metabolites in urine varies (e.g., between 9.3 and 23.3 g L -1 for urea according to Putnam ( Putnam, 1971 )), we also suggest researchers to adjust the protocol (as shown by the “adjusted Putnam” recipe in Table 2 ) to prepare synthetic urine that accurately represents real urine produced in various geographical contexts. The key components of any synthetic urine recipe should include all major inorganic ions (Na + , K + , Mg 2+ , Ca 2+ , NH 4 + , Cl − , SO 4 2- , PO 4 -P), and all major organic metabolites (urea, creatinine, uric acid, citrate, and oxalic acid).

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TABLE 2 . Concentrations of different constituents in a selection of synthetic human urine recipes described in the medical sciences literature. To urine researchers working in the sanitation space, we recommend using the protocol developed by ( Sarigul et al., 2019 ) and adapt it to account for variation in concentration of different metabolites excreted in urine. “Putnam adapted” shows the minimum and maximum acceptable limits for concentration of major metabolites in urine.

There are several sub-topics in sanitation-focused urine research, including the recovery of plant-essential nutrients and energy, removal of micropollutants, and inactivation of pathogens. These would need to be considered when adapting and using such a protocol. It is always possible to add more metabolites to synthetic urine depending on the question at hand (e.g., Brooks and Keevil ( Brooks and Keevil, 1997 ) added bacteriological peptone to account for amino acids and short chain peptides and yeast extract to account for nucleic acids excreted in urine, respectively). This can be particularly relevant when experimentation involves developing methods to reduce malodour from urine-separating toilets or light irradiation to degrade pollutants in urine, as all protocols for making synthetic urine produce odourless and colourless urine.

7 Conclusion and the way forward

Research on innovative technologies to recycle the resources in human urine is highly relevant for achieving a sustainable future and circular economy in the sanitation space. As such research has real-life implications, it is critical to constantly evaluate methods and methodological choices used in experimentation on this topic. One such choice that researchers must make is whether to use synthetic urine or real human urine. In this article, we argue that it can be difficult to accurately replicate the complex metabolome and properties of real urine using a synthetic recipe. We provide select examples from literature to suggest that results obtained when synthetic urine is used can differ from those obtained when real urine is used. In some cases, results of experiments conducted with real urine are not as promising as those achieved with synthetic urine, but publication of negative results is still to the benefit of the entire research community. While there are several benefits and valid reasons for using synthetic urine in research, some of which we present in this article, we have also noted a lack of consistency in the protocols for preparing synthetic urine in sanitation research. To address this, we provide suggestions and preliminary guidelines on protocols for preparing and using artificial urine, inspired by literature from the medical sciences. We hope that this article initiates a discussion on methodological choices in urine research among the community engaged with decentralised sanitation systems. Overall, we have the following recommendations:

1. Whenever it is feasible, work with real urine. Urine can be collected in a depersonalised manner from several donors and pooled together. Increasing the number of donors or the collection period for urine can mitigate issues related to variability in urine composition.

2. When preparing synthetic urine, use protocols that have been evaluated and validated with real urine, such as the protocol outlined by ( Sarigul et al., 2019 ) (See Table 2 ). Modify the protocol as shown in “Putnam adapted” in Table 2 to make synthetic urine that is representative of real urine produced in various geographical contexts. Include or exclude specific metabolites from the protocol depending on the research question, as this can be important when assessing different topics in sanitation-focused urine research, such as the degradation of micropollutants.

3. Follow up an experiment involving synthetic urine that yielded positive results with an experiment using real human urine, ideally within the same study. In studies where results of only synthetic urine are reported, authors should try to hypothesize how their results could differ in case real urine is used, raise any potential aspects that could be of concern, and recommend follow-up studies to use real urine to validate these hypotheses and/or confirm that similar results with real urine can be achieved.

4. Always clearly state in the article title, abstract and conclusions whether real or synthetic/artificial urine was used in experiments. In addition, specify within the article the type of urine used/replicated in the study (see Section 3 for definitions).

5. Work together as a community to develop terminology, definitions, methodologies and best practices for experimental work involving human urine.

Data availability statement

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/ Supplementary Material , further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

Author contributions

PS: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal Analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Validation, Visualization, Writing–original draft, Writing–review and editing. CC: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal Analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Software, Validation, Visualization, Writing–original draft, Writing–review and editing. DR: Conceptualization, Investigation, Methodology, Software, Writing–original draft, Writing–review and editing.

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. PS was supported by grants from Stiftelsen Lantbruksforskning for the project “Micropollutants-free sustainable beer production” (Grant number O-22-23-744) and the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme for the project “P2Green: Closing the gap between fork and farm for circular nutrient flows” (Grant number 101081883). Dyllon Randall and CC were supported by internal funding from the University of Cape Town and the August T Larsson Guest Researcher Programme at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary material

The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2024.1367982/full#supplementary-material

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Keywords: simulation, synthetic urine, membrane, micropollutants, nutrient recycling, wastewater treatment

Citation: Simha P, Courtney C and Randall DG (2024) An urgent call for using real human urine in decentralized sanitation research and advancing protocols for preparing synthetic urine. Front. Environ. Sci. 12:1367982. doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2024.1367982

Received: 09 January 2024; Accepted: 04 March 2024; Published: 14 March 2024.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2024 Simha, Courtney and Randall. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Prithvi Simha, [email protected]

Disclaimer: Early release articles are not considered as final versions. Any changes will be reflected in the online version in the month the article is officially released.

Volume 30, Number 4—April 2024

Research Letter

Crimean-congo hemorrhagic fever virus seroprevalence in human and livestock populations, northern tanzania.

Suggested citation for this article

We conducted a cross-sectional study of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) in northern Tanzania. CCHFV seroprevalence in humans and ruminant livestock was high, as were spatial heterogeneity levels. CCHFV could represent an unrecognized human health risk in this region and should be included as a differential diagnosis for febrile illness.

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) is a tickborne orthonairovirus with potential to cause severe Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) disease in humans, which can lead to human-to-human transmission ( 1 ). CCHFV is a World Health Organization priority pathogen for research and development ( 2 ). Although a wide range of wild and domestic animals can be infected ( 3 ), CCHFV does not typically cause clinical disease in nonhuman species ( 1 ). In eastern Africa, intermittent outbreaks of CCHF disease in humans have occurred in Uganda since 2013 ( 4 ), but the epidemiology of CCHFV remains poorly understood. Northern Tanzania, neighboring Uganda, has been identified as an area likely to be at high risk for human disease caused by CCHFV, because competent tick vectors and suitable environmental conditions exist in the region ( 5 ), but no clinical CCHF cases have yet been reported in the country.

Sampling area for study of seroprevalence of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus in human and livestock populations, northern Tanzania. Circles indicates seroprevalence rates for humans (A), cattle (B), sheep (C), and goats (D). The pictured region is near the border of Uganda, where human Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever cases have been documented (4).

Figure . Sampling area for study of seroprevalence of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus in human and livestock populations, northern Tanzania. Circles indicates seroprevalence rates for humans (A), cattle (B), sheep (C), and...

To investigate CCHFV exposure in northern Tanzania, we performed serologic testing on human and ruminant livestock serum samples collected in 2016 during an investigation of several zoonotic pathogens ( 6 ) ( Appendix ). The study used a multilevel sampling frame of 351 humans and 7,456 randomly selected livestock in linked households in Arusha and Manyara Regions ( Figure ). We tested serum samples by using the ID Screen CCHF Double Antigen Multi-species ELISA (IDvet, https://www.innovative-diagnostics.com ) ( Appendix ). We estimated seroprevalence by using the Survey package in R (The R Foundation for Statistical Computing, https://www.r-project.org ) ( 7 ). We assessed species-level differences in seroprevalence by using a mixed-effects model with household and village as random effects. We investigated patterns of spatial autocorrelation in village-level seroprevalence by using the Moran I statistic and assessed correlation of village-level seroprevalence between species pairs by using the Pearson correlation coefficient (ρ) ( Appendix ).

Overall, seroprevalence was high in all livestock species: cattle 49.6% (95% CI 40.0%–59.2%), goats 33.8% (95% CI 21.7%–47.5%), sheep 27.8% (95% CI 17.0%–40.6%) ( Table ; Figure ). Sheep and goats had significantly lower odds of exposure than cattle: sheep OR was 0.32 (95% CI 0.27–0.37, p < 0.001) and goats OR 0.45 (95% CI 0.39–0.51; p < 0.001). Village-level seroprevalence ranged widely in all species but values were consistent with those reported elsewhere in East Africa ( 3 ) ( Table ). The finding of higher seroprevalence in cattle than in sheep and goats is also consistent with other settings in Africa ( 3 ) and might reflect differences in host feeding preferences of Hyalomma spp. ticks, considered chief vectors of CCHFV ( 1 ). However, further work is required to understand the relative contribution of different host species to viral maintenance, and their relationship to human infection risk.

Overall, human seroprevalence was 15.1% (95% CI 11.7%–19.2%), but village-level seroprevalence varied widely between study sites ( Table ). Seroprevalence was similar to that reported in health-care-seeking patients in Kenya in 2012 ( 8 ), but higher than the 1.2% seroprevalence reported in community participants elsewhere in Tanzania ( 9 ). However, interpretation of those regional comparisons is challenging in light of the substantial observed between-village variation in our study ( Table ).

Assessment of spatial autocorrelation via Moran I statistic showed no evidence of village-level spatial autocorrelation in livestock ( Table ), suggesting that although context-specific drivers, such as husbandry practices and local agroecology are likely involved, drivers of exposure were not observable at this scale. In contrast, we observed significant positive spatial autocorrelation in the village-level human seroprevalence (Moran I statistic 0.43; p < 0.001) and clustering of higher seroprevalence villages in the western part of Manyara ( Figure ). In addition, species-pair correlations showed that village-level human and livestock seroprevalence were not well correlated (cattle, ρ = 0.34, p = 0.142; sheep, ρ = 0.35, p = 0.13; goats, ρ = 0.42, p = 0.062), and we saw high human seroprevalence in some low livestock seroprevalence locations and vice versa ( Appendix ). That heterogeneity, combined with differences in spatial distribution, could suggest different drivers of exposure in livestock and human populations. However, discrepancies in sample size could exaggerate those differences, so further linked investigation into human and livestock exposure and patterns of tick infection are required. Further exploration of specific risk factors is ongoing and could provide clarity on drivers of exposure.

The high human exposure levels to CCHFV implies that clinical CCHF is a potentially serious, underdiagnosed health risk in this population and suggests that CCHF should be included as a differential diagnosis for undifferentiated febrile illness in northern Tanzania. However, evidence of human seropositivity in the absence of clinical cases is common, even where health professionals are familiar with CCHF diagnosis ( 8 , 10 ). The causes of disease emergence in such populations are poorly understood, and further research into regions like northern Tanzania, where the virus is endemic but human disease has not been reported, is critical to understanding human disease risk.

In conclusion, we found that CCHFV is circulating widely in livestock across northern Tanzania. CCHFV seroprevalence in the region shows high spatial heterogeneity and further investigations are needed to understand drivers of exposure. In addition, high human seroprevalence demonstrates widespread exposure of the population to CCHFV and suggests that CCHF should be included as a differential diagnosis for febrile illness in this region.

Dr. Hughes is a veterinarian and post-doctoral researcher who works for the Global Burden of Animal Diseases Programme at the University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK. Her research interests include emerging and endemic zoonoses, disease burden estimation, and One Health approaches to animal and human health.

Acknowledgment

This article was preprinted at https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.08.31.23294720v1 .

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  • Figure . Sampling area for study of seroprevalence of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus in human and livestock populations, northern Tanzania. Circles indicates seroprevalence rates for humans (A), cattle (B), sheep (C),...
  • Table . Seroprevalence of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus in human and livestock populations, northern Tanzania

Suggested citation for this article : Hughes EC, de Glanville W, Kibona T, Mmbaga BT, Rostal MK, Swai E, et al. Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus seroprevalence in human and livestock populations, northern Tanzania. Emerg Infect Dis. 2024 Apr [ date cited ]. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid3004.231204

DOI: 10.3201/eid3004.231204

Original Publication Date: March 18, 2024

Table of Contents – Volume 30, Number 4—April 2024

Please use the form below to submit correspondence to the authors or contact them at the following address:

Ellen C. Hughes, c/o Prof. Brian Willett, MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Garscube Campus, 464 Bearsden Rd, Glasgow, Scotland G61 1QH, UK

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    How to Write a Scientific Abstract. Scientific publications are an important source of information and knowledge in Academics, Research and development. When articles are submitted for publication, the 1st part that comes across and causes an impact on the minds of the readers is the abstract. It is a concise summary of the paper and must ...

  24. Artificial intelligence and illusions of understanding in scientific

    Abstract. Scientists are enthusiastically imagining ways in which artificial intelligence (AI) tools might improve research. ... This article reviews research demonstrating the benefits of ...

  25. A Cell-free DNA Blood-Based Test for Colorectal Cancer Screening

    44 References; 2 Citing Articles; Related Articles; Abstract Background. Colorectal cancer is the third most diagnosed cancer in adults in the United States. Early detection could prevent more ...

  26. Learning to Live with an Unruly Consuming Body

    Abstract. Past research shows that successful consumer learning takes place in environments that support cooperative communities of practice, that enable access to refined didactic resources, and that provide a safe, sympathetic backstage for a controllable and able learning body to durably transition from one repertoire to another.

  27. Mitochondria-targeted BODIPY dyes for small molecule recognition, bio

    Abstract. Mitochondria are essential for a diverse array of biological functions. There is increasing research focus on developing efficient tools for mitochondria-targeted detection and treatment. BODIPY dyes, known for their structural versatility and excellent spectroscopic properties, are being actively explored in this context. ...

  28. Apple cider vinegar for weight management in Lebanese adolescents and

    Background and aims Obesity and overweight have become significant health concerns worldwide, leading to an increased interest in finding natural remedies for weight reduction. One such remedy that has gained popularity is apple cider vinegar (ACV). Objective To investigate the effects of ACV consumption on weight, blood glucose, triglyceride and cholesterol levels in a sample of the Lebanese ...

  29. Frontiers

    4. Always clearly state in the article title, abstract and conclusions whether real or synthetic/artificial urine was used in experiments. In addition, specify within the article the type of urine used/replicated in the study (see Section 3 for definitions). 5.

  30. Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus Seroprevalence in Human and

    Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) is a tickborne orthonairovirus with potential to cause severe Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) disease in humans, which can lead to human-to-human transmission ().CCHFV is a World Health Organization priority pathogen for research and development ().Although a wide range of wild and domestic animals can be infected (), CCHFV does not ...