Goal One: Introduce Research

This Goal in an Abstract is to introduce the general topic of the research. It usually starts with telling the reader what the general topic is and sets the Background for the research. To do so in a concise way, it is important to consolidate the Strategies Introduce the General Research Area, Introduce the Problem and Introduce the Gap in Knowledge in a few sentences. You do have the choice of what to mention in your Abstract and what to leave out. However, the most important points must be included to fulfill this goal, while also avoiding too many details. If you remember, a version of this goal was a part of the research Introduction section, and now is condensed to the very main points of the Introduction, communicated via a few sentences.  Below, you can see an example of the opening sentences in an Abstract from the field of mechanical engineering and food service, where the researchers have fulfilled this first Goal:

• After reading the example above, what strategies do  you think the authors have utilized to introduce their research?
• What words did help you identify the strategies? 
• What are the verb tenses used to introduce the research?