May abstracts be different?

“On average, the term abstract is used to refer to the short texts that need another text to exist. It is also a descriptive text considering it describes a main text (a RA). As for the main purpose of writing an abstract, we can infer that abstracts are expository in view of the fact that abstracts tend to transmit information in a clear, concise, neat, and objective way” (Pintos & Crimi, 2010, 11)
Pintos & Crimi (2010) agree with researchers in that there are two main objectives in writing an abstract: to express the major ideas or parts of your argument, and to express clearly the ways these ideas are related to each other (p. 12). Additionally, Swales and Feak (1994) sustain that there are at least two different types of abstracts: The one you include at the beginning of a RP, and the one you write for conferences.
Abstracts can be informative or indicative abstracts. The former provides readers with the main findings, and the latter indicates what kind of research has been done (Pintos & Crimi, 2010). Finally, researchers may also write structured or unstructured abstracts. Structures abstracts consist of one long paragraph, usually 125 to 150 words, and they are similar to informative abstracts. Structured abstracts contain bolded or italicized headings, each of them identifying the main sections in the RP. (Pintos & Crimi, 2010)
Linguistic specifications to describe abstracts include: the use of full sentences, past tense, and impersonal passive; the absence of negatives and the avoidance of abbreviations and jargon (Swales, 1990; Swales and Feak, 1994). Considering tense usage, Swales (1990) and Swales and Feak (1994) sustain that generally conclusions tend to be written in present; opening sentences tend to be written in present or present perfect; and, sentences describing results tend to show tense variation.
In order to put these characteristics into analysis, four abstracts extracted from research articles will be taken into consideration. The first abstract to be considered has been taken from Almerich, et al (2005): It is an unstructured abstract following the IMRAD (Introduction-Methods-Results-And-Discussions) formula. It is also informative, since it is heavy on data, looks to the past, and describes researchers’ actions, for instance, “The sample is composed of 868 teachers and the question-naire is the instrument of collection of the information” (Almerich, et al, 2005, Abstract, p. 1). Its linguistics specifications include the use of present tense throughout all the text, the use of full sentences, the use of impersonal passive, for example: “it is ana-lyzed how gender, age and type of educational institu-tion influence…” (Almerich, et al, 2005, Abstract, p. 1); and, the avoidance of abbreviations.
The second abstract has been extracted from Wijeysundera, et al (2010). This abstract is structured, as it contains bolded headings which identify the main sections in the RA. It is informative , for instance:

“After propensity score methods were used to reduce important differences between patients who did or did not undergo preoperative stress testing and assemble a matched cohort (n=46 120), testing was associated with improved one year survival (hazard ratio (HR) 0.92, 95% CI 0.86 to 0.99; P=0.03) and reduced mean hospital stay (difference −0.24 days, 95% CI −0.07 to −0.43; P<0.001)” (Wijeysundera, et al, 2010, Abstract, p. 1)

It also follows the IMRAD formula and, considering linguistic aspects, it is not always written in full sentences, for example: “Postoperative one year survival and length of stay in hospital” (Wijeysundera, et al, 2010, Abstract, p. 1). There is an absence of abbreviations and negatives and the conclusion is written in present: “These benefits principally apply to patients with risk factors for perioperative cardiac complications” (Wijeysundera, et al, 2010, Abstract, p. 1).
As regards the third abstract, it is extracted from Martínez, Assimes, Mine, Dell’Aniello, & Suissa (2010). It is structured, for instance, “Objective To assess whether use of the antidepressant…” (Martínez, et al, 2010, Abstract, p.1), and it follows the IMRAD format. This abstract is informative since it presents data, looks at the past, and describes what the researchers did. As regards linguistics specifications, it is written in past tense, even the conclusion: “In this large, population based study, the use of venlafaxine was not associated with an excess risk…”(Martínez, et al, 2010, Abstract, p.1). It is written in incomplete sentences: “Population based observational study.” and also full sentences: “We did a nested case-control analysis within a new user cohort formed using the United Kingdom General Practice Research Database” (Martínez, et al, 2010, Abstract, p.1); and it does not have abbreviations or negatives.
The fourth abstract to be considered has been extracted from Jorgensen, Zahl & Gotzsche (2010). It is also structured and informative, there are bolded headings; it is heavy on data and looks to the past. For instance; “In women who could benefit from screening (ages 55-74 years), we found a mortality decline of 1% per year in the screening areas (relative risk (RR) 0.99, 95%
confidence interval (CI) 0.96 to 1.01) during the 10 year period…” (Martínez, et al, 2010, Abstract, p.1).This abstract also follows the IMRAD format, as it has an introduction and methods, results, and discussions sections. Linguistics specifications in this abstract include the use of past tense, the avoidance of abbreviations and negatives and the use of full and incomplete sentences; for instance: “Copenhagen, where mammography screening started in 1991, and Funen county, where screening was introduced in 1993. The rest of Denmark (about 80% of the population) served as an unscreened control group” (Martínez, et al, 2010, Abstract, p.1).
Having analyzed the four abstracts, it can be assumed that abstracts may be different regarding their type; they may be informative or inductive, structured or unstructured. Similarly, there are certain linguistic specifications, such as tense, type of sentences, the use of impersonal passive, which may differentiate abstracts from one another. Also, abstracts’ formats may be different: They may follow the IMRAD format or omit one of its elements and, therefore, leave the format incomplete.


Reference

Almerich, J., Suárez, J. M., Orellana, N., Belloch, C., Bo, R., & Gastaldo, I. (2005). Diferencias en los conocimientos de los recursos tecnológicos en profesores a partir del género, edad, y tipo de centro. RELIEVE, 11 (2), 127-142. Retrieved from http://caece.campusuniversidad.com.ar/mod/resource/view.php?id=5750

Jorgensen, K. J., Zahl, P.H., & Gotzsche, P.C. (2010). Breast cancer mortality in organised mammography screening in Denmark: Comparative study. BMJ, 340 (c1241), 1-6. doi: 10.1136/bmj.c1241

Martínez, C., Assimes, T.L., Mines, D., Dell’Aniello, S., & Suissa, S. (2010). Use of venlafaxine compared with other antidepressants and the risk of sudden cardiac death or near death: A nested case-control study. BMJ, 340 (c249), 1-9. doi: 10.1136/bmj.c249

Swales, J. M. (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. (Cambridge Applied Linguistics Series). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Swales, J. M., & Feak, C. B. (1994). Academic writing for graduate students: Essential tasks and skills. Ann Harbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press.

Wijeysundera, D.N., Beattie, W. S., Elliot, R.F., Austin, P. C., Hux, J.E., & Laupacis, A. (2010). Non-invasive cardiac stress testing before elective major non-cardiac surgery: Population based cohort study. BMJ, 340 (b5526), 1-9. doi: 10.1136/bmj.b5526