Q. What is an article abstract and why is it valuable?

An article abstract is a summary of the article (here's an example). It is valuable because it can help you quickly decide if the article contains what you are looking for. If it is an article of value to your research, you can see if the full text of the article is available either in a database or in a print journal.

If the library does not have the full-text of the article available but need this article, you can request it through interlibrary loan.