Artikel

Is the readability of abstracts decreasing in management research?

The readability of scientific texts is critical for the successful distribution of research findings. I replicate a recent study which found that the abstracts of scientific articles in the life sciences became less readable over time. Specifically, I sample 28,345 abstracts from 17 of the leading journals in the field of management and organization over 3 decades, and study two established indicators of readability over time, namely the Flesch Reading Ease and the New Dale–Chall Readability Formula. I find a modest trend towards less readable abstracts, which leads to an increase in articles that are extremely hard to read from 12% in the first decade of the sample to 16% in the final decade of the sample. I further find that an increasing number of authors partially explains this trend, as do the use of scientific jargon and corresponding author affiliations with institutions in English-speaking countries. I discuss implications for authors, reviewers, and editors in the field of management.

Language
Englisch

Bibliographic citation
Journal: Review of Managerial Science ; ISSN: 1863-6691 ; Volume: 16 ; Year: 2021 ; Issue: 4 ; Pages: 1063-1084 ; Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer

Classification
Management
Business Administration: General
Subject
Readability
Management research
Replication

Event
Geistige Schöpfung
(who)
Graf-Vlachy, Lorenz
Event
Veröffentlichung
(who)
Springer
(where)
Berlin, Heidelberg
(when)
2021

DOI
doi:10.1007/s11846-021-00468-7
Last update
10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET

Data provider

This object is provided by:
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. If you have any questions about the object, please contact the data provider.

Object type

  • Artikel

Associated

  • Graf-Vlachy, Lorenz
  • Springer

Time of origin

  • 2021

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