Writing an Abstract for a Research Manuscript: Providing an Honest, Succinct and Complete Summary.

is a vital part of a research paper. Besides the title, it is the most widely read section of an article. The first impressions created by the abstract on editors and reviewers can have a great influence on the fate of the article. After its publication, a reader might decide to give the article a miss, if he finds the information provided in the abstract uninteresting, irrelevant or uninspiring. An abstract should, therefore, be packed with all important relevant information about the study, so that reviewers and readers understand the rationale of the study, are assured of adequacy of the methodology employed, are informed about the important findings and appreciate the reasonable conclusions stated in the abstract. Brevity, self-sufficiency, providing complete and accurate information in an unbiased manner are some of the important characteristics of a good abstract. © Journal of the Association of Physicians of India 2011.