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Readability and citations in information science: evidence from abstracts and articles of four journals (2003–2012)

Author

Listed:
  • Lei Lei

    (Huazhong University of Science and Technology)

  • Sheng Yan

    (Huazhong University of Science and Technology
    Central China Normal University)

Abstract

The present study analysed the readability of abstracts and full texts of the articles published in four journals of information science from 2003 to 2012. The results showed that the abstracts are very difficult to read in terms of readability indices such as FRE and SMOG. The results also showed that some of the readabilities of the abstracts and full texts changed in the examined decade, though the effect sizes were minuscule. Meanwhile, the readability scores were not significantly correlated with the number of citations. Although the readability issue of an academic text is secondary to the impact of the study, it is not suggested that the academic writers not pay any attention to the readability issue. On the contrary, it would be better if the technical texts be more readable and clearer after the knowledge or information is accurately and academically conveyed.

Suggested Citation

  • Lei Lei & Sheng Yan, 2016. "Readability and citations in information science: evidence from abstracts and articles of four journals (2003–2012)," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 108(3), pages 1155-1169, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:108:y:2016:i:3:d:10.1007_s11192-016-2036-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-016-2036-9
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Lei Lei, 2016. "When science meets cluttered writing: adjectives and adverbs in academia revisited," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 107(3), pages 1361-1372, June.
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    4. Adam Okulicz-Kozaryn, 2013. "Cluttered writing: adjectives and adverbs in academia," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 96(3), pages 679-681, September.
    5. Dolnicar, Sara & Chapple, Alexander, 2015. "The readability of articles in tourism journals," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 161-166.
    6. Didegah, Fereshteh & Thelwall, Mike, 2013. "Which factors help authors produce the highest impact research? Collaboration, journal and document properties," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 7(4), pages 861-873.
    7. Günter Krampen, 2008. "The evaluation of university departments and their scientists: Some general considerations with reference to exemplary bibliometric publication and citation analyses for a Department of psychology," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 76(1), pages 3-21, July.
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    Cited by:

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    3. Xi Zhao & Li Li & Wei Xiao, 2023. "The diachronic change of research article abstract difficulty across disciplines: a cognitive information-theoretic approach," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-12, December.
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    8. Lu, Wei & Liu, Zhifeng & Huang, Yong & Bu, Yi & Li, Xin & Cheng, Qikai, 2020. "How do authors select keywords? A preliminary study of author keyword selection behavior," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 14(4).
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    10. Ju Wen & Lei Lei, 2022. "Adjectives and adverbs in life sciences across 50 years: implications for emotions and readability in academic texts," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(8), pages 4731-4749, August.
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