Research article title content and form in high-ranked international clinical medicine journals. (October 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kerans, Mary Ellen; Marshall, Jane; Murray, Anne; Sabaté, Sergi
• Is Part Of: English for specific purposes. Volume 60(2020)
• Page Start: 127
• Page End: 139
• Publication Date: 2020-10
• Subjects: Titles -- Research genres -- Clinical research article -- Biomedical research article -- Corpus size; English language -- Study and teaching -- Foreign speakers -- Periodicals; English language -- Business English -- Study and teaching -- Periodicals; English language -- Technical English -- Study and teaching -- Periodicals; Anglais (Langue) -- Étude et enseignement -- Allophones -- Périodiques; Enseignement professionnel -- Périodiques; Anglais (Langue) -- Anglais commercial -- Étude et enseignement -- Périodiques; Anglais (Langue) -- Anglais technique -- Étude et enseignement -- Périodiques; English language -- Business English -- Study and teaching; English language -- Study and teaching -- Foreign speakers; English language -- Technical English -- Study and teaching; Periodicals; 428.007
• DOI: 10.1016/j.esp.2020.06.001
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0889-4906

Abstract

Abstract: Readers now scan keyword-generated search results from online databases to select articles rather than browse tables of contents, increasing the importance of titles in isolation. We aimed to describe clinical research titles in a corpus from two of the four most prestigious general medicine journals plus two high-ranked specialty journals published in 2017. The 2017 corpus was compared to a comparable 2015 corpus to describe titling in all four top-ranked general journals and two specialties 20 years after the advent of clinical research reporting guidelines. We also explored a statistical way to confirm corpus size adequacy. Two observers coded and reached consensus on the following characteristics: methods and results mentions (main content of interest); patient, clinical context, and geography mentions; number of parts and their punctuation; and positioning of methods mention. Title length was also compared. Main findings included differences between journals (notably methods mention) and between general and specialty journals (notably results mention). The 95% confidence intervals for percentages in the full corpus of 274 titles (60–70 per journal) were narrow, suggesting that observations reflect real proportions; the intervals for journal subcorpora were wider but accurate enough to guide writing. We suggest ways authors, instructors, and editors/translators can use the findings. Highlights: Implicit journal policies, not just explicit instructions, influence RA titling. Journals vary in how strictly they follow guidelines' recommendations to mention methods. Results mention is rare to nonexistent in general medicine RA titles. Title length differs significantly in some journals. A corpus of 60–70 titles per journal reveals patterns with acceptable error margins.