Difference between Abstract, Introduction and Conclusion in a research paper

The abstract is a short description of the paper as a whole: e.g. with one or two sentences each:

• The specific area of interest your problem lies in

• The specific problem in that area your paper will address

• What your contribution is that will help this

• The results of your contribution.

All four of these together should take no more than about a quarter page, they are a brief description with enough detail so a researcher can decide if they should read the details.

The introduction is a more detailed introduction to both the problem and your method of solution. You need to demonstrate it IS a problem, preferably by citing statistics or something, and citations to show how others have addressed it, or solved it. Then a more detailed overview (more detailed than the abstract) of your approach and how this differs from previous approaches.

The Body (which may include multiple parts, the setup, the experiments, the results of the experiments, etc) is all the gritty details a reader would need to duplicate your approach for themselves, do the experiments, and see the results you have produced. Typically this is "streamlined" for compactness, we don't include or mention failed approaches, mistakes, dead-ends or dumb mistakes, just the exact path we found to success. This is not intended to entertain, it is not a chummy letter between friends, it is an official report of work accomplished.

The conclusion is a recap of just your results, what you believe you have proven ("We have demonstrated that protocols X, Y and Z applied in this order can improve crop yield by 15% to 25%"), and often a statement of future work that you intend to do or others might do to extend your research.

posted about 5 years ago

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Amadeus‭

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