Overview
ISO 214:1976 - Documentation: Abstracts for publications and documentation provides internationally recognised guidelines for the preparation and presentation of abstracts (referred to in the standard as “analyses”) for primary documents. It applies mainly to abstracts written by authors of articles, reports, theses, monographs and patents, but the basic rules are also suitable for abstracts prepared by third parties. ISO 214:1976 replaced ISO/R 214-1961 and emphasises clarity, reproducibility in secondary publications, and usefulness for readers and information services.
Key topics and requirements
- Definition and purpose: An “analysis” is a concise, factual representation of a document’s content without interpretation or author identification. It helps readers rapidly determine relevance.
- Content to include: Objectives, scope, essential methodology, main results, conclusions, and practical implications. Marginal but significant information (new materials, methods, constants) may be included but should not distract from the principal topic.
- Structure and placement:
- Abstracts should appear in the language of the document and be placed prominently - for journals, on the first page between title and text; for reports/theses, on the title page or following it.
- Bibliographic reference should be on the same page as the abstract when possible.
- Length guidance:
- Most journal articles: about 250 words.
- Short notes/communications: under 100 words.
- Editorials/letters: sometimes a single sentence.
- Long reports/theses: generally under 500 words, preferably fitting one page.
- Style and clarity:
- Start with a sentence stating the main idea or purpose.
- Prefer active voice and concise wording; use third person sparingly.
- Avoid unusual abbreviations and define terms on first use.
- Ensure the abstract is self-sufficient - readers should understand it without consulting the full text.
- Reproducibility and secondary use: Well-prepared author abstracts can be reproduced verbatim by secondary services if not restricted by copyright; they also support automated text-selection and bibliographic records.
Applications and users
- Who uses ISO 214:
- Authors preparing abstracts for journals, reports, theses, monographs and patent applications.
- Editors, publishers and information professionals creating or editing abstracts for secondary publications and bibliographic services.
- Librarians and indexers who require consistent, machine-readable summaries for retrieval systems.
- Practical uses:
- Improving discoverability in bibliographic databases and indexing services.
- Supporting automated and manual selection for literature reviews and research alerts.
- Ensuring consistent abstract quality across multi-author volumes, conference proceedings and patents.
Related standards
- ISO 5122 - Documentation: Abstracts (analytical summaries) in serial publications (referenced in ISO 214).
- ISO 690 - Documentation: Bibliographic references (recommended for citation practice and reference formatting).
Keywords: ISO 214:1976, abstracts for publications, documentation abstracts, abstract guidelines, abstract preparation, scientific abstracts, technical abstracts, bibliographic abstracts.