The Anatomy of an Empirical Research Manuscript Suitable for the Peer-Reviewed Health Administration Literature

s should be original material based on key sentences derived from the introduction or discussion. Do not just copy and paste from elsewhere in the article. The abstract should be written after the article is reasonably complete because different aspects of the article may change before submission to a journal. To begin writing an abstract, write one sentence for each major heading in the same order as presented in the article. Try to limit your initial attempt to 200 or so words and then adjust according to the requirements of the targeted journal. Helpful hints: The importance of abstracts cannot be understated. In some cases, this section may be the only thing a reader will see to determine if your work is worthy of further attention. For reviewers, this is the first opportunity to understand what you are about to present. Unclear or disjointed abstracts can quickly tax the cognitive load of a reviewer or editor, thus setting a negative tone for evaluators of your work. Carefully read the instructions to authors for the specific journal you are targeting. When your abstract does not fit the journal’s requested style, you are demonstrating that you (a) cannot follow directions, or (b) your article was previously rejected from a different journal and you did not make the necessary changes to improve your manuscript for publication in this newer journal.