Abstracts as orientation tools in a modular electronic environment

In an electronic publication environment, a scienti¼c article can be structured more e¬ectively and e~ciently if it is presented as a coherent collection of well-characterized and explicitly linked modules, rather than as a traditional linear essay. In a linear printed article, the abstract primarily ful¼lls a selection and substitution function. In a network of modular electronic articles, the abstract is primarily an orientation tool providing insight into the ½ow of the discourse. In order to ful¼ll this function, the abstract must provide a balanced representation that explicitly refers, in the informative mode, to the main stages in the problem-solving process. The orientation can be facilitated by hypertext links that connect phrases of the abstract to the related modules, enabling the reader to switch smoothly between the abstract and its source text. Each link has to carry a label that informs the reader about the speci¼c relationship between the phrase at hand and the module referred to.