ISSME has introduced a new format for article abstracts intended to help researchers by consistently providing the most useful information. Each abstract is made up of a number of set elements. An example is provided at the foot of this page.
To produce a structured abstract for the journal and ISSME database, please complete the following fields about your paper. There are four fields which are obligatory (Purpose, Design/ methodology/ approach, Findings and Originality/ value); the other three (Research limitations/ implications, Practical implications, and Social implications) may be omitted if they are not applicable to your paper.
Abstracts should contain no more than 250 words. Write concisely and clearly. The abstract should reflect only what appears in the original paper.
Purpose
What are the reason(s) for writing the paper or the aims of the research?
Design/methodology/approach
How are the objectives achieved? Include the main method(s) used for the research. What is the approach to the topic and what is the theoretical or subject scope of the paper?
Findings
What was found in the course of the work? This will refer to analysis, discussion, or results.
Research limitations/implications (if applicable)
If research is reported on in the paper this section must be completed and should include suggestions for future research and any identified limitations in the research process.
Practical implications (if applicable)
What outcomes and implications for practice, applications and consequences are identified? How will the research impact upon the business or enterprise? What changes to practice should be made as a result of this research? What is the commercial or economic impact? Not all papers will have practical implications.
Social implications (if applicable)
What will be the impact on society of this research? How will it influence public attitudes? How will it influence (corporate) social responsibility or environmental issues? How could it inform public or industry policy? How might it affect quality of life? Not all papers will have social implications.
Originality/value
What is new in the paper? State the value of the paper and to whom.
Using keywords is a vital part of abstract writing, because of the practice of retrieving information electronically: keywords act as the search term. Use keywords that are specific, and that reflect what is essential about the paper. Put yourself in the position of someone researching in your field: what would you look for? Consider also whether you can use any of the current “buzzwords”.
Pick the category which most closely describes your paper. We understand that some papers can fit into more than one category but it is necessary to assign your paper to one of the categories – these are listed and will be searchable within the database:
- Research paper. This category covers papers which report on any type of research undertaken by the author(s). The research may involve the construction or testing of a model or framework, action research, testing of data, market research or surveys, empirical, scientific or clinical research.
- Viewpoint. Any paper, where content is dependent on the author’s opinion and interpretation, should be included in this category; this also includes journalistic pieces.
- Technical paper. Describes and evaluates technical products, processes or services.
- Conceptual paper. These papers will not be based on research but will develop hypotheses. The papers are likely to be discursive and will cover philosophical discussions and comparative studies of others’ work and thinking.
- Case study. Case studies describe actual interventions or experiences within organizations. They may well be subjective and will not generally report on research. A description of a legal case or a hypothetical case study used as a teaching exercise would also fit into this category.
- Literature review. It is expected that all types of paper cite any relevant literature so this category should only be used if the main purpose of the paper is to annotate and/or critique the literature in a particular subject area. It may be a selective bibliography providing advice on information sources or it may be comprehensive in that the paper’s aim is to cover the main contributors to the development of a topic and explore their different views.
- General review. This category covers those papers which provide an overview or historical examination of some concept, technique or phenomenon. The papers are likely to be more descriptive or instructional (“how to” papers) than discursive.
ISSME has introduced a new format for teaching case study abstracts intended to help researchers by consistently providing the most useful information. Each abstract is made up of a number of set elements. There is an example abstract in section 2 of this guide.
1. Write the abstract
To produce a structured abstract for Case Studies, please complete the following fields about your paper. There are five points that need to be covered in the case study structured abstract, and two further optional points, all listed below.
- Subject area of the case
- Student level and proposed courses the case can be used on
Has this case been used previously, and if so, with what student level and on what courses? If this case hasn’t been previously used, what audience do you see benefiting most from it? - Brief overview of the case
What are the main points of the case? What is the argument you are trying to make? - Expected learning outcomes
What should readers of this case get out of it? - List of supplementary materials
For example teaching notes (which should be included in every case study), class exercises, etc.
Optional:
- List of further reading materials
- Multimedia accompaniment to the case (e.g. audio, visual files)
Abstracts should contain no more than 250 words. Write concisely and clearly. The abstract should reflect only what appears in the original paper.
2. Using keywords
Using keywords is a vital part of abstract writing, because of the practice of retrieving information electronically: keywords act as the search term. Use keywords that are specific, and that reflect what is essential about the paper. Put yourself in the position of someone researching in your field: what would you look for? Consider also whether you can use any of the current “buzzwords”.
The difficulty here is that you will probably be writing the abstract as a preamble to the actual paper, rather than subsequent to it. Here are some points to remember:
- Clarify in your own mind what is the purpose of the paper: what it is that you are going to do.
- Look carefully at the themes of the conference: note those that apply and frame your paper accordingly.
- Very often, the submission procedure will dictate the format and the number of words of the abstract. For example:
- Title
- Name of presenter, contact details
- Category of presentation (e.g. workshop, research paper, short paper, poster etc.)
- Conference themes addressed.
- Keywords that will help people deciding whether or not to participate to understand its focus.
- Objectives/intended outcomes and activities for participants
- The abstract.
- Stick closely to the length given. You will often have no choice in this matter, because if you submit electronically you will find yourself cut off in mid-sentence as you reach the required limit.
- When writing the abstract, ask yourself the following questions:
- What is the purpose of my paper? This should, as with any abstract, be a general definition statement about the objectives of your paper.
- What approach am I using? I.e. am I reviewing the literature, describing a case study, supporting a research hypothesis, and if the latter, what is my research design and research methodology?
- What are my findings?
- What is the import of my findings?
- Choose your keywords carefully, making sure that they match the themes of the conference.