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Creating effective titles for your scientific publications

2018; Elsevier BV; Volume: 3; Issue: 9 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.vgie.2018.07.009

2468-4481

Deborah Bowman, Stephanie Kinnan,

Science and Science Education

You work for months, maybe years, to plan and conduct your study. You write it up carefully, reporting every piece of data accurately. You get the approval of your co-authors and double-check everyone's conflicts of interest for the disclosure form. You are ready to submit it when you remember that your work needs a title. "No problem," you say. "I'll just throw something together." Hold on—that's not a good idea. The title of a scholarly article really does matter, for several reasons (Video 1, available online at www.VideoGIE.org). It is the first thing a reader will see, so it helps him or her decide whether to read the rest of the article (Fig. 1).1London School of Economics and Political Science. (2016) Your essential "how-to" guide to choosing article titles. Available at http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2011/06/21/your-essential-%e2%80%98how-to%e2%80%99-guide-to-choosing-article-titles/. Accessed January 5, 2018.Google Scholar If you are publishing in a subscription model, it helps the reader decide whether to buy the whole article. Later, when the reader is writing his own article and wants to cite yours, he can find it more easily if you have given it an effective title. If the article is cited more, it will help your H-Index and G-Index, building your reputation and credibility. Furthermore, if your article is highly cited, it helps the publishing journal's Impact Factor. Journal editors know which authors' articles are highly cited and will react with interest when they see another article submitted by that author in the future. Several elements make up an effective title (Table 1). Studies have shown that shorter titles receive more citations; most recommend 10 to 15 words or between 31 and 40 characters.2Paiva C.E. da Silveira Noqueira Lima J.P. Ribeiro Paiva B.S. Articles with short titles describing the results are cited more often.Clinics (Sao Paulo). 2012; 67: 509-513Crossref PubMed Scopus (102) Google Scholar, 3University of Southern California Research Guides. (2016) Organizing your social sciences research paper: choosing a title. Available at http://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/title. Accessed March 16, 2018.Google Scholar, 4Kulkarni S. 3 basic tips on writing a good research paper title. October 17, 2013. Available at: https://www.editage.com/insights/3-basic-tips-on-writing-a-good-research-paper-title. Accessed March 16, 2018.Google Scholar, 5Huggett S. Scopus Research Trends, September 2011. Heading for success: or how not to title your paper. Available at: https://www.researchtrends.com/issue24september-2011/heading-for-success-or-how-not-to-title-your-paper/. Accessed March 16, 2018.Google Scholar, 6Deng B. August 26, 2015. Papers with shorter titles get more citations. Nature / News. Available at http://www.nature.com/news/papers-with-shorter-titles-get-morecitations-1.18246. Accessed March 16, 2018.Google Scholar Punctuation is important: commas and colons have been shown to increase citations, but articles with question marks or exclamation points are cited less frequently.7Whissell C. Titles in highly ranked multidisciplinary psychology journals 1966-2011: more words and punctuation marks allow for the communication of more information.Psychol Rep. 2013; 113: 969-986Crossref PubMed Scopus (9) Google Scholar Keywords that help researchers find your article when they use search algorithms are critical, so make sure that your title accurately reflects the key concepts of your article.4Kulkarni S. 3 basic tips on writing a good research paper title. October 17, 2013. Available at: https://www.editage.com/insights/3-basic-tips-on-writing-a-good-research-paper-title. Accessed March 16, 2018.Google Scholar, 8Dunleavy P. How to carefully choose useless titles for academic writing. March 4, 2014. Available at: http://www.socialsciencespace.com/2014/03/how-to-carefully-choose-useless-titles-for-academic-writing/. Accessed March 16, 2018.Google Scholar, 9Bowman D.E. Helping authors create effective titles for your journal's articles.Editorial Office News. 2018;April:7; Crossref Google ScholarTable 1Elements of a good title for a scholarly publicationElementGood titlePoor titleLength10 to 15 words or 31 to 40 charactersLonger than 15 wordsPunctuationCommas, colons, or semicolonsQuestion marks and exclamation pointsKeyword useYesNoAbbreviationsNoYesJargonNoYesHumorNoYesGeographic locationNoYesCorrect grammar and spellingYesNoFollows journal guidelinesYesNoClearly states the point of the articleYesNo Open table in a new tab Avoid abbreviations or jargon in your title.3University of Southern California Research Guides. (2016) Organizing your social sciences research paper: choosing a title. Available at http://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/title. Accessed March 16, 2018.Google Scholar, 4Kulkarni S. 3 basic tips on writing a good research paper title. October 17, 2013. Available at: https://www.editage.com/insights/3-basic-tips-on-writing-a-good-research-paper-title. Accessed March 16, 2018.Google Scholar, 9Bowman D.E. Helping authors create effective titles for your journal's articles.Editorial Office News. 2018;April:7; Crossref Google Scholar People from other fields whose research intersects with yours might cite you if they can find your article, but if you use abbreviations or jargon specific to your field, their searches won't uncover your article. Some authors think attracting attention with humor or puns is a good idea, but that practice is actually counterproductive.3University of Southern California Research Guides. (2016) Organizing your social sciences research paper: choosing a title. Available at http://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/title. Accessed March 16, 2018.Google Scholar, 4Kulkarni S. 3 basic tips on writing a good research paper title. October 17, 2013. Available at: https://www.editage.com/insights/3-basic-tips-on-writing-a-good-research-paper-title. Accessed March 16, 2018.Google Scholar, 5Huggett S. Scopus Research Trends, September 2011. Heading for success: or how not to title your paper. Available at: https://www.researchtrends.com/issue24september-2011/heading-for-success-or-how-not-to-title-your-paper/. Accessed March 16, 2018.Google Scholar, 9Bowman D.E. Helping authors create effective titles for your journal's articles.Editorial Office News. 2018;April:7; Crossref Google Scholar Your title should reflect the tone of the article and of the journal, and because we are dealing with scholarly publications, that means the title should be formal as well. If you are writing an editorial or opinion piece, you might get away with a less-formal title, but for the most part, making your readers laugh should not be a priority. Poor grammar and incorrect spelling are jarring and irritating to many readers as well as to editors and reviewers, so check and double check that the title is grammatical and everything is spelled and punctuated correctly. If you are using an editing or translation service to assist you with the composition of your article, be sure to include the title in the content submitted for review to catch errors you may have overlooked. Above all, remember that your title is a reader's first impression of your article, so make sure that impression is effective. Do all you can to create a title that is professional and does justice to the article you have worked so hard to create. All authors disclosed no financial relationships relevant to this publication. eyJraWQiOiI4ZjUxYWNhY2IzYjhiNjNlNzFlYmIzYWFmYTU5NmZmYyIsImFsZyI6IlJTMjU2In0.eyJzdWIiOiJhNWRiMGMxMjk4NDc4NjE3ZjMxNDcwZmJkMDVhZWQ3MCIsImtpZCI6IjhmNTFhY2FjYjNiOGI2M2U3MWViYjNhYWZhNTk2ZmZjIiwiZXhwIjoxNjc3ODcwMjY1fQ.Gkl5AUKjjQVMKxVV4evrEJjehTZ1zqI2i5uaHvNb0hkVR7kvxelujFJsN8KR2CcmE3Iu2W33aeOSxVuTOfKOwJiyFU2TQGgNtqCg_ypW1hcQ6DSGobS1dHqslcarvjV3USQtbbMl2bqtlVSOCBezh1Kx7C7poiAY7Gnr57-DaNdRo8mZjGWz9e-vIxRCmmheA84zwELP5jLzQQq7tNJnhJBP7VGGPbLPb7BMbE5VWnSvT4WDX8KSoS2ZuDYupbcqwq2D-Cog9Dt4sjWbSAkqoUJthvN44IRFn-Csu_9yGabt9nR1P0ijme9IAPUxqdW8fI1NK4HWZ05qx8YlACjk0g Download .mp4 (112.88 MB) Help with .mp4 files Video 1Creating effective titles for scientific articles takes planning and knowledge. In this video, we discuss the elements of a good title.