An abstract is a helpful document for organizing your sources of information into one spot, prepares your APA references for your list at the end of your paper and can be a stage of a larger writing project that may be required in your classes.

It has two elements:

The reference of the source you are using in APA format. Underneath the reference you will summarize what the source is about in a few sentences and in your own words. While you can find abstracts by using the library databases it is most likely your instructor wants to hear your understanding about the source and how it will be contributing to your paper.

Here is an example of an abstract from a source I used for a research paper in the past:

Abstract

Cronin, C. (2017) Openness and Praxis: Exploring the Use of Higher Educational Practices in Higher Education. International review of research in open and distance learning.18(5). http://dx.doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v18i5.3096

This is a research paper that looks at how professors use open education practices in their work teaching at a university in Ireland. The research was conducted through interviewing professors about their teaching practices and through these interviews they found that the professors were minimally using open education practices. Some of the considerations that open educators had in their choices to either use or not use open practices were adherence to traditional teaching styles and models, a lack of digital literacy, balancing privacy and openness for faculty and students and to what degree social learning was valued by the professors.