Tips on ...

Writing your conference abstract

When writing your abstract, consider the following:
Familiarise yourself with the conference aims to make sure it is the right platform to share your research on. Read the conference website and previous conference proceedings. This will help you to avoid ‘falling at the first hurdle’ and your proposal being rejected;
Your title should grab the reader’s attention, but don’t feel you need to make a clever play on words. Often a clear and straightforward statement that tells the reader what to expect has more impact;
Make sure that your keywords are relevant, as this will make your paper easier to find in a search;
An abstract will normally mirror the structure of a research paper. e.g. introduction, literature review, research design, findings, analysis and conclusions;
You should state the problem that you aim to solve in the study/project. This will directly relate to your research question;
Clearly state the purpose of your research. Who/what does it apply or relevant to?
Briefly outline your methodology. This indicates your research stance and how you will be interpreting your findings;
Describe your research method(s), including sampling and data gathering;
Highlight the key findings from your study;
Finish your abstract with the headline conclusions, which may include alternative perspectives on the research topic, implications for future practice and/or research.

For new researchers, the spoof abstract below illustrates a concise abstract addressing many of the points above…
 
When submitting to PATT42
Pupils’ Attitudes Toward Technology (PATT) is an international community researchers whose mission is to generate and share knowledge about design, technology and engineering education. The conference originated in the Netherlands, and meets annually in a different country each year. Conference papers tend to focus on technology education in the compulsory school settings, but also includes initial teacher education and higher education. Read our About PATT and PATT42-Canada webpages to find out more, or if you have any questions about the compatibility of your research with PATT reach out to us by email on patt42-canada@gmail.com 
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