The+Abstract

 Best Practices for Developing a Dissertation Abstract Guidelines: Use a block text format. No indents. Quantitative research identifies the design. Qualitative research identifies the typology/strategy of inquiry. Mixed Method research identifies both design (for quantitative aspect) and typology/strategy (for qualitative aspect).   1. Write your abstract after developing the other components of your proposal. After writing your abstract, revise it to insure that all seven points mentioned in the blue text above are addressed. 2. Look for meaningful, clear, and cogent expressions and insights you created as you were developing your proposal or dissertation. They will be the building blocks that help you construct an abstract which will attract a larger readership and give you a more compelling voice among the community of scholars interested in your topic. 3. Invest significant time developing your abstract. Rudestam and Newton (2007) point out that the abstract is often reproduced in computerized databases and is usually the first and sometimes the only thing scholars will read about your work. The abstract therefore plays a major role in determining how extensive your reading audience will become. 4. Review the abstracts of [|dissertations] addressing a similar topic. Bear in mind scholars will most likely be comparing your abstract to dozens of others as they settle on which documents they will invest time and energy exploring. Your abstract should clearly express the unique contribution your work has made to the field of knowledge it addresses. 5. Each sentence should be as informative as possible, particularly the lead sentence. Not only must scholars make decisions about where to invest their reading time based on reviewing dozens of abstracts, they must make decisions about which abstracts they will read based on their first sentence. 6. Your abstract must accurately present the purpose and content of your dissertation. 7. Your abstract should accurately reflect the content of your dissertation and should not include information or commentary that is not part of the body of your dissertation. If you develop an abstract that attracts the interest of scholars, they should emerge from reading your dissertation completely satisfied that you delivered on what you promised. 8. Summarize the ramifications of the findings, the implications for practice and directions for future research. 9. Helpful resources for developing your abstract include: (a) pages 25 - 27 of //The Publication Manual of the APA// (2010) (b) pages 199 - 201 of //Surviving your Dissertation// by Rudestam an,d Newton (2007) (c) page 36 of //Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches// by Creswell (2009) (d) [|Tips for Writing an Effective Title and Abstract for your Dissertation] (e) [|Handouts and Links: Abstracts] (f) [|OWL: Abstracts].
 * 1) Maximum length is 350 words. A final dissertation includes all items and is written in past tense.
 * 2) Introduce the research area briefly. Do not include citations in the abstract.
 * 3) Clearly articulate the problem statement.
 * 4) State the general methodology (quantitative, qualitative, mixed method).
 * 1) Identify the participants.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Present key results (for quantitative studies include relevant test statistics and //p// values).
 * 3) <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Present conclusions and recommendations for future research.