A summary is ideal for readers who have little time. Policymakers, for example, often only read the abstract. Based on that text, they decide whether to continue reading. As such, a summary is primarily useful for longer texts.

A summary contains the outlines of the report. You select the most important information from each chapter and interweave those points to create a flowing story (not point by point). Do not refer to other parts of the report; the summary is a separate entity. Remember that a summary is especially useful for long reports (> ten pages). The language in which you write the summary depends on the target group. Sometimes it is useful to write an English summary for a Dutch report or vice versa.

You can send the summary to interested external parties such as respondents or companies. If you have promised to do so, you must keep that promise. Otherwise you run the risk that they will no longer want to participate in research next time (respondent fatigue). Additionally, as a student you also represent the university. We need to maintain our good reputation.

This part is under construction.