How to Write Abstract of a Research Report

The Abstract

The abstract is a brief, yet comprehensive executive summary of the research report. It enables the reader to survey the contents of the research report quickly. It helps the reader to grasp the main issues of the report without having to read the full report. A good abstract would normally contain:

1. The topic or title of the research in the introduction.
2. Description of the problem under investigation.
3. The purpose of the study.
4. Description of the participants or subjects in the research, specifying pertinent characteristics such as numbers, age, sex, etc, and the target population.
5. The methodology employed including data collection instruments and procedures.
6. Main hypotheses tested.
7. Findings including tests of significance (proof of hypotheses).