Abstract from an honours project: Is Cardiovascular Health Affected by Exercise Type and Impact?

Abstract

The principal aim of this study was to determine whether cardiovascular health, assessed by resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure and resting heart rate, was affected by exercise type (golf vs. tennis) and associated impact (low vs. high). Male and female golfers (n = 40) and tennis players (n = 40) aged between 40 and 71 years completed a short questionnaire relating to their main sport and typical exercise habits. Resting blood pressure and heart rate readings were then taken using an electronic wrist sphygmomanometer. The analysis of variance (General Linear Model) showed that overall there were no significant differences in either the resting systolic or diastolic blood pressure, or resting heart rate, of golfers and tennis players. However, a significant increase in systolic blood pressure with age (F = 10.48, p = 0.002) was observed in golfers, compared with no significant age-related increases in blood pressure in tennis players. In conclusion, exercise type and impact appear to have no effect on cardiovascular health in the 40 to 71 year olds age group, but high impact exercise may have a protective effect against age-related increases in blood pressure which requires further investigation.

Key words: Exercise; impact; golf; tennis; blood pressure; heart rate.

General

In any journal article, the abstract allows a reader to make a quick decision - is this a study that I need to read? Sometimes, the only bit of an article that gets read (perhaps due to licensing agreements and/or availability) is the abstract, so it has to be as informative as possible. This is an excellent example of a concise, informative and helpful abstract. It contains all the information that a reader requires and is written in an objective style using a logical manner. Correct use of scientific terms and statistical notation is also evident, conveying authority and subject understanding.

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Quality: Structure

At the start of this abstract, the student identifies the key purpose (aim) of their research study. This puts the following work into context and tells the reader whether or not it is likely to be of interest. The student uses an objective style, a passive voice ("the aim of the study was", not "in this study I aimed to") and past tense. All these are appropriate in a scientific abstract.

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Key words help readers to identify the main themes of a piece of work and they are also useful for searching or browsing research papers using an Internet search engine or database.

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Function: Describe

After highlighting the key aim of a study, a good abstract should move on to describe the methodology. The student states the sample size of their research population close to the start of their abstract, allowing the reader to assess whether this is a meaningful piece of work. Small sample sizes are vulnerable to chance influences in a far greater way than large sample sizes, so it is important to make the sample size clear.

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The student continues to describe the methodology used (questionnaire followed by resting blood pressure and heart-rate readings), succinctly communicating what was involved in the study. There are several ways by which these measurements could be taken, so it is useful to have the exact method highlighted in the abstract to avoid confusion and allow comparison with other similar studies.

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Function: Analyse

Once method and sample size have been mentioned, a good abstract should move on to present key results and data analysis. The student identifies the method of statistical analysis that has been used in this study and the most significant findings. This demonstrates a clear understanding of what the study has found, and the significance of the findings.

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The student correctly presents the "F" and "p" values for their analysis of variance data, showing that the work is significant in statistical terms and that the results are meaningful. A result that is non-significant does not need to be accompanied with its "F" and "p" values in the abstract.

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Function: Evaluate

The abstract ends with a conclusion. This tells the reader that all the relevant results have been communicated and that these are their implications. Sometimes this may be the only part of an abstract that people read. The rest of the abstract demonstrates that a competent study was carried out to yield the results on offer, but the conclusion addresses the "so what?" question. Here the conclusion is in two parts, and both parts are carefully worded to indicate the degree of certainty ("appear to have", "may have").

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The student finishes the abstract with a recommendation for future work in the study area. This is done in a succinct way. Future studies can be elaborated on in the report itself but should always be mentioned in the abstract if the results indicate that further work is necessary for clarification.

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