A survey of Compliance of Persian Abstracts of Research Articles in Medical Journals of Universities of Medical Sciences (Type 1) with the Vancouver Guideline and ISO 214 Standard

Background & Aims: An abstract is the best source of information within a content. The structured abstract is the best representation of the main source. Writing an appropriate abstract requires adherence to standards of abstracting. The aim of this study wasto investigate the compliance of Persian abstracts of research papers in medical journals of universities of medical sciences (type 1) with the Vancouver guideline and ISO 214 standard. Methods: In the present survey, the descriptive method was adapted. The study sample included Persian abstracts of research papers in medical journals of universities of medical sciences (type 1) of Iran. The last issue of the journals was available online on October 2012. The data collection tools consisted of two separate checklists reflecting the ISO 214 standards and the Vancouver guideline for abstract writing. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 16 and Microsoft Excel. Results: The criteria of »discussing the results« and »having keywords« had the most compliance with the Vancouver guidelines and ISO 214 standards. The «keywords based on Persian medical subject headings » and »discussing subsidiary and secondary results« had the least compliance with the Vancouver guideline and ISO 214 standards, respectively. The average total rate of compliance with the Vancouver guideline was 74.01%, and the ISO 214 standards was 75.70%. Conclusion: The compliance of abstracts with the Vancouver guideline and ISO 214 standards is higher than average, but «keywords based on Persian medical subject headings» and «discussing subsidiary results and secondary results» needs improvement.