The abstract, or project summary, is a concise, clear, and brief description of the project. It should outline the problem, the objectives, expected outcomes, including significance of the project to the field being studied. The abstract is usually written in less technical language than the proposal narrative. Alternate Compliance definition: A concise, clear, and brief non-scientific (readable to a high school senior) description of the project. It should include (1) why the study was proposed (background) (2) the reason for conducting the study (rationale and objectives), and (3)the expected outcomes (benefits) for conducting the study. See also: Proposal Abstract, and Technical Abstract.