Accuracy of Abstracts in Pharmacy Journals for Original Research Articles – Pubrica
                     Accuracy of 
Abstracts  in 
Pharmacy Journals  
for Original 
An Academic presentation
by  Dr. Nancy Agnes, Head, TRechenicsaleOpaerraticonhs,
ArticlPeubrsicaGroup:
www.pubrica.com  Email:
[email protected]
Today's 
OInu britefl  ine
Introduction  
Methods  
Summary  
About Pubrica
In 
bAlrthoiuegh foriginal r esearch publications are widely  
available, the accuracy of abstracts describing them  
is critical, as readers of biomedical literature may  not 
 have access to the full-text item.
Previous studies have shown differences between  
published original research abstracts and the full-text 
 paper.
An omission, defined as data in the abstract that was not found in w riting an  o
 riginal research article, was one of the outcome measures.
Furthermore, abstracts were deemed deficient if they contained an omission,  
inaccurate factual (i.e., quantitative and quali tat ive) information presented in  
the abstract that differed from the evidence contained in the text, an  
inconsistency in following the respective journal's "Instructions for Authors," or a  
 discrepancy between the placement of text in the manuscript and a  
structured  abstract.

This research shows that abstracts for original research papers published in  
pharmacy-speci f ic publications must  be improved.
Authors and peer reviewers should carefully exam ine the contents of
the  abstract to verify that  it correctly describes the full-text article.
Introductio
nHealthcare practitioners continuously search the litera ture to
provide  supporting evidence for decisions and justification for pat ient-care 
actions.
Multiple citations may  be located even after conducting literature 
searches  that incorporate appropriate search techniques.
At this point, the searcher m u st review the inform ation in a t im e-
efficient  manner  and select the most  relevant articles.
Many users will read the article abstract to obtain a  quick overview and  
determine whether the entire article should be read.
The abstract of an o riginal research manuscript writing article (e.g., 
clinical  tr ial) published in the biomedical literature is considered a  
synopsis of the  essential principles of the study.
The background, purpose, basic methodology, key results, and a  general  
conclusion should be presented within the abstract. Furthermore, specific  
data  on essential aspects of the study and statistical significance should  
be provided.
Another component of an informative abstract is the presentation of  
unbiased information. Abstracts are frequently read since these are  
provided by indexing/abstracting services and are placed at  the beginning 
 of the articles.
The abundance of published materials compet ing with the finite amount  of 
 t ime available to stay current with the literature may  force many   
practitioners to resort to reading only the article abstract.
Thus, the accuracy of an abstract of the original research paper is  
imperative since biomedical literature readers may  not evaluate the 
entire  article or have access to the full-text article (a l though decisions 
should not  be made  based upon only the abstract). Most abstracts are 
restricted to a   word limit, usually < 500 words.
One study reported that 68% of original research abstracts evaluated in  
one leading medical  journal contained discrepancies (i.e., inconsistencies  
and omissions) between the abstract  and the full-text article.
The other study reported that 52 of 400 (13%) original research abstracts  
evaluated in 8 psychology journals were deficient (i.e., contained an  
inconsistency or omission between the abstract and full text).
Method
sThe abstracts of original research articles published in 6 pharmacy  
specific  journals were evaluated. The following criteria were used to select 
the  journals for this project:
(1) The pr imary focus of pharmacy-related activities,
(2) Publish original research,
(3) Widely circulated, and
(4) Represent national pharmacy organizations and advocate clinical 
 pharmacy  practice.
Each abstract also was evaluated for consistency with "Instructions for  
Authors" specific for each journal and assessed for placement of the text  
within the body of structured abstracts consistent with the order in the   s 
cientific original research article.
After each abstract was evaluated, it was classified as deficient if any  
omission, quantitative and qualitative inaccuracy, inconsistency in  
following the "Instructions for Authors" for the respective journal, or  
discrepancy between the placement of information in the ful l-text article a  
 structured abstract occurred.
Summar
yThe results of this study document that omissions and discrepancies are  
present in abstracts for original research articles published in the selected  
pharmacy journals.
Readers of the biomedical and pharmacy literature should be aware of  
abstract inaccuracies while conducting literature searches and reading  
research article abstracts.
In addition, educators need to emphasize the importance of reading the  
full-text article in the learning process.
Furthermore, both authors and peer reviewers should scrutinize the  
abstract to ensure that data  in the abstract accurately represent the  
article's content.
Also, revision of the "Instructions for Authors," including more specific  
guidelines addressing these issues, may  present a  possible solution for  
discrepancies found in abstracts.
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