All Rights Reserved. I identify some African countries that achieved impressive gains. An abstract is like a movie trailer. These cookies do not store any personal information. Another purpose of an abstract is to prepare … There are many purposes that an abstract may serve. Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. or its licensors or contributors. But it has been argued by other scholars (Schmidt 2007; Jones 2005; Asante 1996) that the outlook at the beginning of the twenty-first century will be decidedly more somber. “Conflict and Chaos: Understanding War, Rethinking Violence”. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Usually, an abstract is about 6-7 sentences long (approx. You need to provide one 100-word version in at least one language. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. An increase in violence and war has had devastating consequences for people and their communities. 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; Edit your abstract carefully to make it cohesive and meet the word count requirements of the journal. This will greatly increase the chance it will viewed widely and shared. In search engine terms, the title of each article abstract is crucial. Please click on “Accept” to continue to use International Science Editing under the new privacy policy and cookies policy. ScienceDirect ® is a registered trademark of Elsevier B.V. ScienceDirect ® is a registered trademark of Elsevier B.V. How to write an honest but effective abstract for scientific papers. We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites.

Due to lack of training in scientific writing and sometimes unethical practices, abstracts are often poorly written, lack critical information, and sometimes contain spin. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. By continuing you agree to the use of cookies. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. The abstract can be described as the “elevator pitch” for a possible publication: imagine you’re stuck in the elevator at the ASA Annual Meeting with one of the editors of the ASR. I explore the processes of political liberalization and how they were fraught with contradictions, although they held out hope for more responsive, accountable government. Although search engines use proprietary algorithms, the number of times that certain words and phrases appear on a webpage has a significant impact in how they are ranked in searches. It should be able to stand alone. In some situations, international involvement may be essential to end a war, and doing this successfully may require enormous resources. After all, people use search engines (Google, Google Scholar, Bing) and scientific databases (SCOPUS, Web of Science) to search for research papers. But external assistance cannot follow a single template; it must be adapted to different local dynamics and coordinated with efforts of peace-builders within. It is the entire article epitomized, covering the major points, content and scope of your argument, the theoretical framework or scholarly point of departure, as well as the methodology, and type of evidentiary basis. Email your librarian or administrator to recommend adding this journal to your organisation's collection. You need to provide an overview that hits the high points in about one minute and convinces the editor that it’s worthy of further consideration. First and foremost, it gives readers a glimpse of your paper. An increase in violence and war has had overdetermining ramifications broadly. I will examine several approaches to confronting these conflicts and I will highlight three lessons that emerge. Second, reiterate key title phrases in the abstract. We’ve updated our Privacy Policy and Cookies Policy . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sciaf.2019.e00170. You should reiterate the key phrases in the article title within the abstract itself. This paper discusses the key components of a good abstract, offers recommendations on reducing spin in abstracts, and analyzes three abstracts written by the author with the goal of helping young researchers write honest and effective abstracts. Anonymous peer-reviewers of your scholarship will read the abstract first. © 2019 The Author(s). The author cites various data to argue that greater support is needed for efforts to alleviate the conditions that spawn wars and violence. It should very concisely summarize the topic, how it fits into the broader literature, the contribution, the research strategy, the key findings, and the broader implications. Pick out key statements from your introduction, methods, results, and discussion sections to frame your abstract with a logical flow. The abstract is one of the very most important components of your research paper: it summarizes all of the important information in the body of your paper, helping researchers decide whether to read your article further, and potentially determining whether a journal publishes your manuscript.

You are leaving Cambridge Core and will be taken to this journal's article submission site. This gives your readers an opportunity to make a decision whether or not your study is worth their full attention. Published on behalf of The African Studies Association, URL: /core/journals/african-studies-review, Draft the abstract AFTER you have finished the article, Construct a simple, descriptive and accurate title, containing all the important key terms and phrases that relate to the topic, theme, or argument, Repeat key phrases and incorporate them smoothly - remember that the primary audience is a potential reader and not a search engine, Provide a clear and concise summary of the content of the chapter, Review and revise the abstract before you submit your article for review, Revise the abstract every time you revise your article, Construct an ambiguous and elaborate title, Provide general facts - be sure to focus on the core discussions/findings, Employ undefined abbreviations or acronyms. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. Newbury examines several approaches to confronting these conflicts and highlights three lessons that emerge. Write the abstract after you have finished writing your whole paper. An abstract is a brief summary of a research paper. But external assistance cannot follow a single template; it must be adapted to different local dynamics and coordinated with efforts of peace-builders within.