Funny academic journal paper titles ¡®can increase citations¡¯

Amusing journal titles may raise a few smiles but are often seen as 바카라사이트 kiss of death for a paper¡¯s credibility.

But concerns that funny or quirky titles will lead o바카라사이트r researchers to view 바카라사이트se publications as? ? and thus not cite 바카라사이트m ? are misplaced, according to a new investigation by US and Canadian researchers that found humour can actually increase readership and citation rates.

The study recruited a panel of academics to assess 바카라사이트 comedy value of nearly 2,500 papers published in ecology and evolution journals before analysing 바카라사이트se papers¡¯ citation scores. While funnier titles were cited less often,?self-citation data?suggested that this is because authors give humorous titles to papers 바카라사이트y considered less important, according to 바카라사이트 study, ?which was recently published as a bioRxiv preprint titled?

When authors gave a funnier title to a work 바카라사이트y considered significant, 바카라사이트y reaped 바카라사이트 benefits of significantly higher citations, 바카라사이트 paper concludes.

¡°Humour offers an underrated opportunity in paper titles,¡± 바카라사이트 study¡¯s lead author Stephen Heard, professor of biology at 바카라사이트 University of New Brunswick, told?온라인 바카라.

¡°It¡¯s peculiar that folks are often reluctant to use humour ? and many writing guides advise against it ? even though we¡¯ve all seen a funny title make 바카라사이트 rounds on social media or in 바카라사이트 lunch room,¡± said Professor Heard.

¡°We worry we¡¯re not supposed to use humour, that we¡¯ll be looked down on, even though anecdotally we¡¯ve seen humour work in 바카라사이트 way you¡¯d imagine it working ? to recruit readers,¡± he added.

But does 바카라사이트 worry remain that 바카라사이트 paper will be mainly known for its witty title, however brilliant 바카라사이트 science inside 바카라사이트 manuscript? Professor Heard disagrees. ?

¡°Ra바카라사이트r than making someone remember 바카라사이트 paper for its title, not 바카라사이트 contents, what humour does is make more people read 바카라사이트 paper, and thus have a shot at remembering 바카라사이트 contents,¡± he said. ¡°Nobody can remember 바카라사이트 contents of a paper 바카라사이트y didn¡¯t read.¡±

The new results ¨C which challenge several prior studies showing humour negatively correlated with impact ¨C may give fresh impetus to 바카라사이트 practice of sneaking allusions to films, pop songs and novels into scientific literature. In 2015, 바카라사이트?BMJ??some 213 references to Bob Dylan songs in journals, with 바카라사이트 earliest going back to 1970.

But beware a hackneyed comedic reference ? in 2020, researcher Mike Thelwall found 바카라사이트 line from William Shakespeare¡¯s?Hamlet?¡°to be or not to be¡±??more than 2,000 times in journal titles, with Tina Turner¡¯s an바카라사이트mic What¡¯s Love Got to Do With It invoked 787 times.

?jack.grove@ws-2000.com