The abstract should work like a marketing tool. Good research paper titles (typically 10–12 words long) 6,7 use descriptive terms and phrases that accurately highlight the core content of the paper (e.g., the species studied, the literary work evaluated, or the technology discussed). This is why it is important to know how to write a good title for a research paper. Journal websites and search engines use the words in research paper titles to categorize and display articles to interested readers, while readers use the title as the first step to determining whether or not to read an article. How to write a good title for a research paper Given the critical role that these 3 elements play in helping readers access your research, we offer a set of guidelines (compiled from instructions and resources on journals’ websites and academic writing guidelines, listed in the references) on writing effective titles and abstracts and choosing the right keywords. While busy journal editors may use the abstract to decide whether to send a paper for peer review or reject it outright, reviewers will form their first impression about your paper on reading it. Finally, the abstract is the first section of your paper that journal editors and reviewers read.1,9 Hence, once readers find your paper, they will read through the title and abstract to determine whether or not to purchase a full copy of your paper/continue reading. The title and abstract are often the only parts of a paper that are freely available online.1,2,5-8Thus, these 3 elements enable the dissemination of your research without them, readers would not be able to find or cite your paper. Most electronic search engines, databases, or journal websites will use the words found in your title and abstract, and your list of keywords to decide whether and when to display your paper to interested readers.Without them, most papers may never be read or even found by interested readers 1-4. The title, abstract, and keywords play a pivotal role in the communication of research. The title, abstract, and keywords: Why it is important to get them right This is mainly because if readers get all the details of the research paper in the abstract itself, they might be discouraged from reading the entire article. However, formulating the abstract of a research paper can be a tedious task, given that abstracts need to be fairly comprehensive, without giving too much away. This functional advantage alone serves to make an abstract an indispensable component within the research paper format. Once the keywords have helped people find the research paper and an effective title has successfully lassoed and drawn in the readers’ attention, it is up to the abstract of the research paper to further trigger the readers’ interest and maintain their curiosity. It could be said that the keywords, title, and abstract operate in a system analogous to a chain reaction. A negligent or sloppy attitude towards these three vital elements in the research paper format would be almost equivalent to leaving the accessibility of the research paper up to chance and lucky guessing of target words, indirectly making the effort and time expended on the research and publication process almost null and void. Ironically, these three elements-the title, abstract, and keywords -may well hold the key to publication success. Little thought goes into the title and abstract, while keywords get even lesser attention, often being typed out on-the-spot in a journal’s submission system. More often than not, when researchers set about writing a paper, they spend the most time on the "meat" of the article (the Methods, Results, and Discussion sections).
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