B - Amusing titles in scientific journals and article citation

Sagi I. Amusing titles in scientific journals and article citation. Journal of Information Science, 2008;34(5):680-687
DOI: 10.1177/0165551507086261

The present study examines whether the use of humor in scientific article titles is associated with the number of citations an article receives. The association between the levels of amusement and pleasantness and the article's monthly citation average has been assessed in articles published over 10 years in two of the most prestigious journals in psychology, Psychological Bulletin and Psychological Review. The results show that the pleasantness rating was weakly associated with the number of citations, while articles with highly amusing titles received fewer citations.

http://jis.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/34/5/680

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