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Catchy, clear and concise three-part paragraphs increase research paper citations
Using concise three-part paragraphs in research titles can increase citations, new studies in business and life sciences show.
Catchy, clear and concise three-part paragraphs increase research paper citations
From “envy, inequality and fertility” to “market size, trade and productivity”, using catchy three-part phrases in the titles of research papers can increase their citations, a study finds.
The study used algorithms to analyze more than 235,000 economics papers and 93,000 medical and life science articles that contain three-part phrases in their titles. The medical and life sciences studies that used this format received an average of 32 additional citations compared to papers that did not contain such phrases. Business papers using this format received an average of 3.5 additional citations.
“If you have a catchy title, readers are more likely to read at least the abstract or the entire paper,” says Klaus Wohlrabe, co-author of the study and an economist at the Leibniz Institute for Economic Research in Munich, Germany. The analysis became 1 published last month on the SSRN preprint server.
Previous analyzes have shown that short titles, humorous titles or certain punctuation marks such as hyphens, commas, brackets or colons can also help increase the number of citations.
The economic studies were published in specialist journals that were indexed in the scientific database Web of Science between 2006 and 2019. The life sciences and medical studies - reviewed from 2001 to 2023 - were rated as “good”, “very good” or “excellent” by the publication review service, Faculty Opinions.
Wohlrabe explains that medical and life sciences studies with three-part phrases in their titles attract more additional citations than comparable economics publications because “the average citation for an article in medicine or life sciences is much higher than in economics.”
The study says that “three-part phrases” increase clarity by breaking complex ideas into interconnected parts, creating rhythmic patterns that are memorable, and succinctly conveying multiple aspects of research.
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Bornmann, L. & Wohlrabe, K. Pattern, Perception, and Performance: Tripartite Phrases in Academic Paper Titles. CESifo Working Paper 11671 (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute, 2025).