J Hartley1. 1. Department of Psychology, Keele University, Staffordshire, United Kingdom. j.hartley@psy.keele.ac.uk
Abstract
BACKGROUND: There is a small body of research on improving the clarity of abstracts in general that is relevant to improving the clarity of abstracts of systematic reviews. OBJECTIVES: To summarize this earlier research and indicate its implications for writing the abstracts of systematic reviews. METHOD: Literature review with commentary on three main features affecting the clarity of abstracts: their language, structure, and typographical presentation. CONCLUSIONS: The abstracts of systematic reviews should be easier to read than the abstracts of medical research articles, as they are targeted at a wider audience. The aims, methods, results, and conclusions of systematic reviews need to be presented in a consistent way to help search and retrieval. The typographic detailing of the abstracts (type-sizes, spacing, and weights) should be planned to help, rather than confuse, the reader.
BACKGROUND: There is a small body of research on improving the clarity of abstracts in general that is relevant to improving the clarity of abstracts of systematic reviews. OBJECTIVES: To summarize this earlier research and indicate its implications for writing the abstracts of systematic reviews. METHOD: Literature review with commentary on three main features affecting the clarity of abstracts: their language, structure, and typographical presentation. CONCLUSIONS: The abstracts of systematic reviews should be easier to read than the abstracts of medical research articles, as they are targeted at a wider audience. The aims, methods, results, and conclusions of systematic reviews need to be presented in a consistent way to help search and retrieval. The typographic detailing of the abstracts (type-sizes, spacing, and weights) should be planned to help, rather than confuse, the reader.
Authors: Alessandro Liberati; Douglas G Altman; Jennifer Tetzlaff; Cynthia Mulrow; Peter C Gøtzsche; John P A Ioannidis; Mike Clarke; P J Devereaux; Jos Kleijnen; David Moher Journal: BMJ Date: 2009-07-21
Authors: Alessandro Liberati; Douglas G Altman; Jennifer Tetzlaff; Cynthia Mulrow; Peter C Gøtzsche; John P A Ioannidis; Mike Clarke; P J Devereaux; Jos Kleijnen; David Moher Journal: PLoS Med Date: 2009-07-21 Impact factor: 11.069
Authors: Elaine M Beller; Paul P Glasziou; Douglas G Altman; Sally Hopewell; Hilda Bastian; Iain Chalmers; Peter C Gøtzsche; Toby Lasserson; David Tovey Journal: PLoS Med Date: 2013-04-09 Impact factor: 11.069