Why abstracts?

UCOLL 300 - Unit II - Core Databases II - Article Abstracts

Why would I want to look at an article abstract if the article is just as easy to access? 

Because journal articles often deal with complex topics, reading the article abstract can give you quick insight as to whether or not you would really benefit from using the source as part of your research.

How much can you tell by this title?
"Anton Chekhov's 'The Princess' Diagnosis -- Narcissistic Personality Disorder."

Briefly scan through the article abstract below. It is the abstract to the article title above. You can see it is just about a paragraph long.