What is the abstract of a research paper?

The abstract of a research paper is a brief summary of the research work. It typically appears at the beginning of the paper and provides a concise overview of the study's purpose, methods, results, and conclusions. It allows readers to quickly determine the paper's relevance to their interests and decide whether to read the full text. A good abstract is self-contained, accurate, coherent, and readable, written in a clear and concise style, free of jargon and overly technical language. Its length is usually limited by journal or conference guidelines (often between 150-300 words).