An abstract is a summary of the paper you or someone else is or has written. According to Patrick Regoniel, the elements of an abstract are "state clearly the objectives of the study; concisely describe the methodology or method employed in gathering the data, processing, and analysis; summarize the results, and state the principal conclusions of the research." (May 2014) The most important part of an abstract is insuring that your reader will have a clear understanding of what the paper is about. According to Dr. Budgell; two types of abstracts can be used: narrative and structured. A narrative is simple and shorter with no headings while a structured abstract will include subheadings and is longer.

Abstracts are brief, precise summaries of articles (APA Manual, 2010).  It can be the most important part of an article as it is often the first thing researchers see and allow researchers to compare articles and is usually what is used to determine if researchers will read articles (APA Manual, 2010). 

                There are several elements of an abstract: (1) accurate - it has to reflect the article content and purpose correctly and cannot contain information that does not appear in the article; (2) nonevaluative - this is only a report of what is in the body, not an evaluation; (3) coherent and readable - requires clear and concise language, verbs rather than noun equivalents, active rather than passive voice, present tense to describe conclusions and past tense to describe outcomes measured; and (4) concise - make each sentence maximally informative (APA Manual, 2012). 

                A case study abstract should include the subject and relevant characteristics of the individual, group, community, or organization, the nature of the problem, and the questions raised for additional research or theory (APA Manual, 2012).

References

Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. (2010). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.