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Content and form of original research articles in general major medical journals

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  • Nicole Heßler
  • Andreas Ziegler

Abstract

The title of an article is the main entrance for reading the full article. The aim of our work therefore is to examine differences of title content and form between original research articles and its changes over time. Using PubMed we examined title properties of 500 randomly chosen original research articles published in the general major medical journals BMJ, JAMA, Lancet, NEJM and PLOS Medicine between 2011 and 2020. Articles were manually evaluated with two independent raters. To analyze differences between journals and changes over time, we performed random effect meta-analyses and logistic regression models. Mentioning of results, providing any quantitative or semi-quantitative information, using a declarative title, a dash or a question mark were rarely used in the title in all considered journals. The use of a subtitle, methods-related items, such as mentioning of methods, clinical context or treatment increased over time (all p

Suggested Citation

  • Nicole Heßler & Andreas Ziegler, 2023. "Content and form of original research articles in general major medical journals," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 18(6), pages 1-12, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0287677
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287677
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Rafael Aleixandre-Benavent & Vicent Montalt-Resurecció & Juan Carlos Valderrama-Zurián, 2014. "A descriptive study of inaccuracy in article titles on bibliometrics published in biomedical journals," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 101(1), pages 781-791, October.
    2. Hamid R. Jamali & Mahsa Nikzad, 2011. "Article title type and its relation with the number of downloads and citations," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 88(2), pages 653-661, August.
    3. Mary Ellen Kerans & Anne Murray & Sergi Sabatè, 2016. "Content and Phrasing in Titles of Original Research and Review Articles in 2015: Range of Practice in Four Clinical Journals," Publications, MDPI, vol. 4(2), pages 1-22, April.
    4. Rafael Ball, 2009. "Scholarly communication in transition: The use of question marks in the titles of scientific articles in medicine, life sciences and physics 1966–2005," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 79(3), pages 667-679, June.
    5. Ale Ebrahim, Nader & Salehi, Hadi & Embi, Mohamed Amin & Habibi Tanha, Farid & Gholizadeh, Hossein & Motahar, Seyed Mohammad & Ordi, Ali, 2013. "Effective Strategies for Increasing Citation Frequency," MPRA Paper 50919, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 12 Oct 2013.
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