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Guidelines on HOW TO

Successfully Find, Read, Summarize, and then Write Abstracts

Dr. David M. AgnewVOED 6503, History and Principles of

Vocational EducationArkansas State University

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Objectives of this Presentation 1. To help you understand the purposes of this

assignment. 2. To define abstract and know the attributes of a

good abstract. 3. To help you find appropriate articles for this

assignment. 4. To help you learn to read articles with a purpose in

mind. 5. To help you learn how to organize your thoughts

on the articles you read. 6. To help you write abstracts that are worthy of a

good grade.

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Objective 1: Purposes or Objectives of this Assignment Of the Abstract Assignment:

To survey the sources of professional literature associated with the discipline.

To gain an awareness of the nature of literature in the discipline.

Develop in depth knowledge associated with some aspect of the profession or discipline.

Of the Abstract Itself: To bring information into the class that would not normally be

included. To further develop ones ability to critically review the literature

and assess the key points of the literature. To share the information with others in the class.

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Objective 2: Define Abstract Types of assignments

Research paper or report Opinion paper, editorial Abstract

What is an article abstract? A summary of an article, an overview. It is boiling a long article down to just the bare

facts.• Taking a 10 or 30 page article down to ½

a page.

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Objective 2b: Key elements of a good abstract What are the key elements of a good abstract?

Follows guidelines provided in the assignment sheet.• About 200 words in length, single spaced (½ page long

but not more than 1 page).• Font should be 12 point, New Times Roman• Has multiple paragraphs that are organized logically.• Citation follows APA Style Manual, 5th edition.

– http://www.apastyle.org/– http://www.psywww.com/resource/apacrib.htm– http://www.lib.usm.edu/research/guides/apa.html

Is grammatically correct. Maintains the key themes or ideas of the articles Summary is in your own words Offers a short assessment at the conclusion of your prospective.

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Objective 3: Searching for Scholarly Publications 1. Best Places to Look for scholarship:

Books (Published) Not for abstracts Thesis or dissertations (unpublished) Not for abstracts Professional & scholarly journals (Published, FOR ABSTRACTS)

• Usually there is at least one that is directly associated with a profession and others with a less direct connection.

Proceeding of Professional and scholarly presentations (Sometimes, but not allows published, FOR ABSTRACTS)

• Scholarly means refereed and blind peer reviewed 2. Other sources that are sometimes acceptable:

Some websites (maybe if it is a journal) Not for abstracts• Consider stability and source (institutional or individual)• Many professional journals are now on the web

Some “professional sources” other than journals and proceedings, such as lower level periodicals (Ag Ed Magazine), Professional newsletters, official communications through memos or letters, official reports of official committees or a task force. (maybe)

Published, book reviews, editorials, or abstracts, Not for abstracts Legal documents, laws, legislation Not for abstracts

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How to use the internet to find Good Journal Articles

Databases such as ERIC, Academic Search Premier, Article1st, AGRICOLA, HistoryHistory (American), History (World)

Webpage or homepage for individual journals. Example 1: Journal of Agricultural Education

• Professional organization, American Association of Agricultural Educators (AAAE) http://pubs.aged.tamu.edu/jae/

Example 2: Journal of Education for Business• http://static.highbeam.com/j/

journalofeducationforbusiness/index.html

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Objective 4: Purposes for Reading Reading to assess: Enables you to determine

whether the content is valid and has merit and relevant for your applications.

Reading to learn: Enables you to learn information for background knowledge or decision making

Reading to learn to do: Enables you to learn how to complete tasks (learning but not to do)

Reading to do: Actual doing, not just knowing a process, enables you to complete tasks.

Reading to tell: To tell or share what you have learned with others.

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Objective 5: How to organize your thoughts on the articles you read. 1. Review the article quickly (if an abstract is provided review it first, if not look at the title,

subtitles, and any illustrations or graphical info provided. Also if a research article look for the research questions and then look to the results and conclusions for a quick understanding of the article)

2. Reflect upon your purpose for reading.3. READ it, don’t just scan it, Read it in sections and re-read. The goal is to do it

right not to get done quickly.4. Make notes as you read, listing the key points and high-light sections, if you are

working from a photocopy.5. Ask yourself these questions?

a. What are the key points? what is the author telling me?d. Would others in my class agree that the points you saw would actually be the main

points?c. What can I learn from this that I can tell others?

6. Organization of the actual abstract:a. At the top, on the right side indicate that this is 1 of 4, 2 of 4 , etc.b. One the next line, place you name in the center of the page.c. The citation goes next at the top, two line down from your named. Double space and begin the abstract.

• Two or three paragraphs will be devoted to your summary of the article.

• The last paragraph is where you evaluate the article in your own words.

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Objective 6: Writing abstracts that are worthy of a good grade

Here are what mistakes people make and how it affects their grade. Trying to not go to the library, You most likely can not get it all off the internet Not reading directions or not following directions Trying to do the abstract without reading the article Using only one journal Not using acceptable source for the article that you abstract Selecting an article that is not related to the subject of this course Not properly citing source Not thinking that I will look up the original article Misspelling, poor grammar and sentence construction Taking credit for something someone else did

• Copying sections of the article word for word (i.e Article abstract or resume) This will result in failure for the course or at least F on the assignment.

• Taking someone else’s work and submitting it as your own is called PLAGIARISM. See the Academic Integrity Policy in the course syllabus for details

Not following the format (Example is given) Restatement of simple disjointed facts and not a summary of content. Abstract is too short (less than half a page will not work) Abstract is too long

• more than one page Not being ready to report on the article in class when it is your turn

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One of your assignments for this semester is to:

Write four abstracts, 3 on historical aspects of Career and Technical Education and 1 on current issues or trends in Career and Technical Education. Detailed guidelines are on the assignment sheet.

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Evaluation Criteria for Written Abstracts

1. Organization & Placement -- follows the stated guidelines, has all the parts, and they are in the proper places (each part is located in proper sequence and in proper place on the page).

2. Content – Easy to read, is well written, has a logical flow, is a good summary

3. Follows generally accepted rules of English -- good grammar, spelling, good sentence structure, etc.

3. Citations -- Follows APA Guidelines 4. Selection of article - Article is on topic & is informative

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Check List: Before You Turn It In

___ Does the topic of the article relate to the course as discussed in class?

___ Is each abstract numbered correctly?___ Does each citation conform to APA style? ___ Is each citation complete?___ Is your name on each abstract?___ Is there proper spacing between each section

(Name, Citation, and Body of the abstract) ___ Is each article summarized in 2-3 paragraphs?___ Is the last paragraph of each a commentary?___ Does it show fore though & adherence to the rules of grammar?___ If someone else read your abstract would they get the major

points?

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Evaluation Criteria for Oral Presentations

1. Voice – Clear, loud enough, confident & articulate 2. Grammar – Uses accepted grammar3. Knowledge of the subject – evident that you had read and

understand the article. Does not have to read the abstract (big loss of points for this).

4. Introduction -- Gives good introduction, states the descriptive information in the introduction (i.e Title, Author)

5. Commentary – Show good understanding of the article within the context of the discipline and shows evidence that you have contemplated the relevance of the article.

Note: You will select two articles of interest to you for presentation to the class.

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Do you know where to begin?

Let start with selecting an article based upon the title.

Number on thru 10 on your paper Place a “Y” by the corresponding number if it

is acceptable based upon the title. And place an “N” by the corresponding number if it is not acceptable.

Be prepared if it is not acceptable to explain why.

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You be the Judge-- 1

Based only on the title below, is this article appropriate for a course like this one? Vocational Further Education and Training for Briti

sh Merchant Navy Ratings: The National Sea Training Schools, 1942-1972. Author: Kennerley, Alston Source: History of Education v29 n4 p301-27 Jul 2000

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You be the Judge--2

Based only on the title below, is this article appropriate for a course like this one? A Tribute to the Visionaries, Prime Movers and Pio

neers of Vocational Education 1892 to 1917. Author: Smith, Neville B. Source: Journal of Vocational and Technical Education v16 n1 p67-76 Fall 1999

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You be the Judge--3

Based only on the title below, is this article appropriate for a course like this one? Current Trends in Technology Education and Voca

tional Training in the Former Republics of the Soviet Union. Access ERIC:  FullText Author: Bannatyne, Mark W. McK. Publication: U.S. Nevada No. of Pages: 34

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You be the Judge--4

Based only on the title below, is this article appropriate for a course like this one? Social Welfare and Vocational Education--in Progr

essive Era Cincinnati. Author: Lakes, Richard D. Source: Journal of Vocational and Technical Education v11 n2 p12-21 Spr 1995

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You be the Judge--5

Based only on the title below, is this article appropriate for a course like this one? The Project Method: Its Vocational Education Origi

n and International Development. Author: Knoll, Michael Source: Journal of Industrial Teacher Education v34 n3 p59-80 Spr 1997

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You be the Judge--6

Based only on the title below, is this article appropriate for a course like this one? A Partial and Informal History of Vocational Educat

ion in Hawaii: 1809-1995. Access ERIC:  Author: Broadbent, William A. Publication: U.S. Hawaii No. of Pages: 128

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You be the Judge--7

Based only on the title below, is this article appropriate for a course like this one? The History of the American Vocational Education

Research Association. The First 25 Years. Access ERIC:  FullText Author: McCracken, J. David; And Others Publication: U.S. Ohio No. of Pages: 131

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You be the Judge--8

Based only on the title below, is this article appropriate for a course like this one? Eliminating Sex Bias in Vocational Youth Organiza

tions. Summary of Project MOVE's Camp Oswegatchie Program, July 8-14, 1978. Author: Farris, Charlotte J. Publication: U.S. New York No. of Pages: 31

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You be the Judge--9

Based only on the title below, is this article appropriate for a course like this one? Youth Organizations Aid in Teaching 

Author: Johnson, W. T. Source: Agr Educ Mag 42, 4, 102, 69 Oct

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You be the Judge--10

Based only on the title below, is this article appropriate for a course like this one? Perspectives on Future Directions in Vocational Ps

ychology Author: Betz, Nancy Source: Journal of Vocational Behavior 59, no. 2 (2001): 275-283 (9 pages)

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Do you feel ok about looking at titles?

Titles are the starting point but they are not always correct. Sometimes the title seems ok but the article is not.

The next step is to quickly review the text to see if it looks ok….

If it looks interesting and is something that you want then dig in and read it and take notes, develop an outline, or if working from a copy you might highlight sections.

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You be the Judge– Abstract 1How well is it written?

Given the following abstract (Abstract 1) how would you rate this using the guidelines provided and based upon our class discussions?

You may use the check sheet and the grade criteria for the written abstract.

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You be the Judge– Abstract 2How well is it written?

Given the following abstract (Abstract 1) how would you rate this using the guidelines provided and based upon our class discussions?

You may use the check sheet and the grade criteria for the written abstract.

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You be the Judge– Abstract 3How well is it written?

Given the following abstract (Abstract 1) how would you rate this using the guidelines provided and based upon our class discussions?

You may use the check sheet and the grade criteria for the written abstract.

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Check List

1.___ Does the topic of the article relate to the course as discussed in class?2. ___ Is each abstract numbered correctly?3.___ Does each citation conform to APA style? 4.___ Is each citation complete?5.___ Is your name on each abstract?6.___ Is there proper spacing between each section (Name, Citation, and Body of the abstract)7.___ Is each article summarized in 2-3 paragraphs?8.___ Is the last paragraph of each a commentary?9.___ Does it show fore though & adherence to the rules of grammar?10. ___ If someone else read your abstract would they get the major points?==================================================================Evaluation Criteria for the Written Plan:1. Organization & Placement -- follows the stated guidelines, has all the parts, and they are in the proper places (each part is located in proper sequence and in proper place on the page).2. Content – Easy to read, is well written, has a logical flow, is a good summary3.Follows generally accepted rules of English -- good grammar, spelling, good sentence structure, etc. 3. Citations -- Follows APA Guidelines 4. Selection of article - Article is on topic & is informative

Criteia Possible points Your Evaluation

Organization & Placement 10

Content 20

Accepted rules of English 20

Citations 10

Selection of article 40

Total 100

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The End