Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 10, 2025

Global and Current Research Trends of Single-Cell Sequencing in Cancer: A Bibliometric and Visualization Study
Published on: April 18, 2025
Specialized terminology reduces the number of citations of scientific papers
Alejandro Martínez1, Stefano Mammola1,2
1Molecular Ecology Group (Dark-MEG), Water Research Institute (IRSA), National Research Council (CNR), Verbania Pallanza, Italy.
Abstract:
Words are the building blocks of communicating science. As our understanding of the world progresses, scientific disciplines naturally enrich their specialized vocabulary (jargon). However, in the era of interdisciplinarity, the use of jargon may hinder effective communication among scientists that do not share a common scientific background. The question of how jargon limits the transmission of scientific knowledge has long been debated but rarely addressed quantitatively. We explored the relationship between the use of jargon and citations, using 21 486 articles focusing on cave research, a multidisciplinary field particularly prone to terminological specialization, and where linguistic disagreement among peers is frequent. We demonstrate a significant negative relationship between the proportion of jargon words in the title and abstract and the number of citations a paper receives. Given that these elements are the hook to readers, we urge scientists to restrict jargon to sections of the paper where its use is unavoidable.
Related Concept Videos
Anatomical Terminology
Circuit Terminology
A circuit, on the other hand, is also an interconnected system of electrical elements but must contain one or more closed paths.
Drug Nomenclature
Regional Terms
Primarily, the human body has two major regions, the axial and appendicular regions. The axial region comprises regions from the head to the abdomen and makes up the central body axis. In contrast,...
Nomenclature of Aromatic Compounds with a Single Substituent
Nomenclature of Aromatic Compounds with Multiple Substituents
For disubstituted benzene derivatives, with two groups attached to the benzene ring, three constitutional isomers are possible. For example, consider dimethyl benzene, often called xylene, where the second methyl group can be substituted at the second, third, or fourth carbon. The relative position of the substituents is represented by prefixes ortho, meta, or...

