The relationship between readability and scientific impact: Evidence from emerging technology discourses |
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| Institution: | 1. Blockchain Research Lab, Max-Brauer-Allee 46, 22765 Hamburg, Germany;2. Universität Hamburg, Von-Melle-Park 5, 20146 Hamburg, Germany;1. Department of Mathematics, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA;2. Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Williams College, Williamstown, MA, USA;3. Graduate Program in Data Science, New College of Florida, Sarasota, FL, USA;4. Department of Experimental Statistics, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA;1. Department of Physics, University of Thessaloniki, and Center of Complex Systems, Thessaloniki 54124, Greece;2. Department of Physics, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel;1. Science Policy and Strategy Department Administrative Headquarters of the Max Planck Society, Hofgartenstr. 8, 80539 Munich, Germany;2. Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Department of Sociology, Konradstr. 6, 80801 Munich, Germany;1. Department of Library and Information Science Education, College of Education, Kongju National University, Gongju 32588, Republic of Korea;2. Department of Library and Information Science, Hannam University, Daejeon 34430, Republic of Korea;3. Department of Library and Information Science, Cheongju University, Cheongju 28503, Republic of Korea;4. Department of Library and Information Science, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea;1. Department of Computer Science, University of Pisa, and IIT-CNR of Pisa, Italy;2. Department of Economics and Statistics, University of Siena, Italy;3. Université du Québec à Trois-Riviéres, Canada;4. Université du Québec à Montreal, Canada;1. Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Heisenbergstr. 1, Stuttgart 70569 Germany;2. CAS, A Division of the American Chemical Society, Custom Services, 2540 Olentangy River Road-1505, Columbus, OH 43202, USA;3. Science Policy and Strategy Department, Administrative Headquarters of the Max Planck Society, Hofgartenstr. 8, Munich 80539 Germany |
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| Abstract: | This study examines how the readability of scientific discourses changes over time and to what extent readability can explain scientific impact in terms of citation counts. The basis are representative datasets of 135,502 abstracts from academic research papers pertaining to twelve technologies of different maturity. Using three different measures of readability, it is found that the language of the abstracts has become more complex over time. Across all technologies, less easily readable texts are more likely to receive at least one citation, while the effects are most pronounced for comparatively immature research streams. Among the more mature or larger discourses, the abstracts of the top 10% and 1% of the most often cited articles are significantly less readable. It remains open to what extent readability actually influences future citations and how much of the relationship is causal. If readability indeed drives citations, the results imply that scientists have an incentive to (artificially) reduce the readability of their abstracts in order to signal quality and competence to readers—both to get noticed at all and to attract more citations. This may mean a prisoner dilemma in academic (abstract) writing, where authors intentionally but unnecessarily complicate the way in which they communicate their work. |
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