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The evolution of research article titles: the case of Journal of Pragmatics 1978–2018

Author

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  • Zhijun LI

    (Huaqiao University)

  • Jinfen XU

    (Huazhong University of Science and Technology)

Abstract

Previous studies seldom investigated the evolution of research article titles in pragmatics. Based on qualitative and quantitative analysis of 650 research article titles, this study depicts the evolutionary trends of research article titles published in the Journal of Pragmatics regarding their length, lexical density, structural constructions and semantic content since the establishment of the journal in 1977. Our findings identified a trend towards longer titles with higher lexical density, an increasing preference for compound constructions over nominal-group and full sentence constructions, and a more prevalent presentation of information about research method/design in addition to the topic in titles over the past four decades. These findings suggest that research article titles published in the journal appear to be diachronically more informative.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhijun LI & Jinfen XU, 2019. "The evolution of research article titles: the case of Journal of Pragmatics 1978–2018," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 121(3), pages 1619-1634, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:121:y:2019:i:3:d:10.1007_s11192-019-03244-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-019-03244-3
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. Feng Guo & Chao Ma & Qingling Shi & Qingqing Zong, 2018. "Succinct effect or informative effect: the relationship between title length and the number of citations," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 116(3), pages 1531-1539, September.
    5. Matthias Gnewuch & Klaus Wohlrabe, 2017. "Title characteristics and citations in economics," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 110(3), pages 1573-1578, March.
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    Cited by:

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    3. Jiawei Wang, 2024. "Quantifying cohesion in high citation research article titles: a cross-disciplinary and diachronic investigation," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 129(9), pages 5075-5102, September.
    4. William S. Pearson, 2020. "Research article titles in written feedback on English as a second language writing," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 123(2), pages 997-1019, May.
    5. William S. Pearson, 2021. "Quoted speech in linguistics research article titles: patterns of use and effects on citations," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(4), pages 3421-3442, April.
    6. Gianna Kexin Jiang & Yajun Jiang, 2023. "More diversity, more complexity, but more flexibility: research article titles in TESOL Quarterly, 1967–2022," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 128(7), pages 3959-3980, July.

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