Scientific reports

This resource will help you:

• Understand the key parts of a title and abstract and why they matter.
• Learn how to write clear, concise, and relevant titles and abstracts.
• Break down unstructured abstracts to spot sections like introduction, methods, results, and conclusion.
• Review and improve scientific titles and abstracts to make them clearer and follow guidelines.

The title of a scientific report is not only what search engines are using to find relevant papers, but it is also one of the first things people will read to quickly assess the relevance of your report (Nair & Nair, 2014; Sauaia et al., 2014). It is therefore important for your title to be specific, accurate and unambigous (Tullu, 2019), so be sure to give the right impression! 

Types of titles 

The three main types of titles we see in the literature can be classified as descriptive, declarative, and interrogative (Tullu, 2019). An example of each type is highlighted in Table 1 below. 

When writing your title, consider the following tips (Nair & Nair, 2014; Sauaia et al., 2014).

Tips for writing a good descriptive title

• Start by condensing your work down to some keywords and use those to develop your title.
• Use specific terms rather than general phrases. 
• Write in sentence case (capitalising only the first letter of the first word and proper nouns).
• Be informative and concise.  

What to avoid when writing a title 

• Using jargon, abbreviations or trademarked terms.
• Being too short or too long.
• Including results or conclusions in the title.
• Using question marks or exclamation marks.
• Including puns or cryptic phrases.
• Using words like "Study of..." or "An investigation into...".                                           

Your abstract is a stand-alone mini summary of your whole scientific report and is generally drafted last, using the same structure as your report (purpose, method, results, conclusion). Abstracts are generally quite short, usually about 150-250 words, so aim to summarise each section of your report in 1-2 sentences (Nair & Nair, 2014; Sauaia et al., 2014; Teodosiu, 2019). 

Abstracts can be written in two formats: unstructured or structured (Kumar, 2023).

Unstructured abstract format

In the unstructured format, present information in the same order as in your report (introduction, aim/purpose, method, results, conclusion), but write it as a single paragraph without subheadings, as shown in the example (Chalmers & Bustin, 2007, p. 223) below: 

The methane sorption capacity of a succession of sandstone, siltstone, shale and coal from the Lower Cretaceous Fort St John Group of Northeastern British Columbia was investigated. Average organic matter (OM) content for all formations is 2.3 wt.% with a minimum of 0.6 wt.% and maximum of 10.1 wt.%. The methane sorption capacity ranges between 0.19 and 2.74 cm³/g at 6 MPa and at 30 °C. Total gas capacity (free and sorbed gas) ranges between 2.2 and 16.6 cm³/g at 6 MPa. Micropore volumes range between 0.43 and 1.69 cm³/100 g. A positive correlation exists between the OM content, micropore volume and the methane capacity of shales. Shales with high methane capacities have either high contents of inertodetrinite or vitrinite. Moisture content shows a positive relationship with OM content, micropore volume and methane capacity. The negative relationship between moisture and surface area derived from N₂ adsorption suggests the moisture is located within the microporosity of the OM, and also explains the positive relationship between methane capacity and moisture. The high inertodetrinite and vitrinite contents correlate with sea-level regressions that delivered terrestrial OM from coastal plains located south of the study area into the basin. 

Structured abstract format

In the structured format, present information in the same order, but use subheadings to signpost each section you summarise, as shown in the example (Kuballa et al., 2020, p. 1682) below: 

Background and Aims 

It is unclear whether microbial dysbiosis plays an etiologic role in Crohn’s disease (CD) or is the result of protracted inflammation. Here, we test the hypothesis that dysbiosis predates clinical CD in asymptomatic first-degree relatives (FDRs) of CD patients: normal (FDR1), with borderline inflammation (FDR2), and with frank, very early inflammation (FDR3). 

Methods 

The gut microbial diversity was tested in ileocecal biopsies through next generation sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene in 10 healthy controls (HCs), 22 patients with active, untreated CD, and 25 FDRs (9 FDR1; 12 FDR2; 4 FDR3). The metagenomic functions of 41 microbiome-related processes were inferred by Phylogenetic Investigation of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States (PICRUSt) analysis. 

Results 

Compared with HCs, alpha diversity in CD patients was decreased, with an observed decrease in Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and increase in Bacteroides fragilis. In FDRs, microbial diversity was unchanged compared with HCs. In Operational Taxonomic Units and PICRUSt Principal coordinates and component analyses, the ellipse centroid of FDRs was diagonally opposed to that of CD patients, but close to the HC centroid. In both analyses, statistically significant differences in terms of beta diversity were found between CD and HC but not between FDR and HC. 

Conclusions 

In FDRs (including FDR3—who bear preclinical/biologic onset disease), we found that the microbial profile is remarkably similar to HC. If confirmed in larger studies, this finding suggests that clinical CD-associated dysbiosis could result from the changed microenvironment due to disease evolution over time. 

When writing your abstract, consider the following tips (Nair & Nair, 2014; Sauaia et al., 2014; Teodosiu, 2019).

Tips for writing a good abstract 

• Be concise. 
• Write it with your target audience in mind and include key information from the main body of your report.  
• Write it in your own words, using keywords and terms that match those used in the title and introduction. 
• Ensure that the hypothesis, research question, or objective of the study is stated and answered. 
• Check your abstract for spelling and grammar errors.

What to avoid when writing an abstract 

• Abbreviations or acronyms. 
• Citations or references, unless otherwise requested by your course. 
• Additional information that is not covered in your report. 
• Reference to tables or figures presented in the main body of your report. 
• Contradicting statements or writing to what you have presented in the main body of your report.