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The Abstract as a Marketing Tool:
“Spinning” the Best Title
Russell E. White, MD, MPH, FACS, FCS(ECSA)
Chief of Surgery, Tenwek Hospital Kenya
Professor of Surgery, Brown University USA
Title—Who Cares?
• Most often seen
• Three elements available online
– Title
– Abstract
– Key Words
• Many papers are rejected on the basis of title
What type of paper?
• Original Scientific Content
• Review of Other’s Work
– Series Review
– Invited Commentary
• Editorial/Opinion
A Good Title
• Condenses the paper’s content in a few rods
• Captures the readers’ attention
• Differentiates the paper from other papers of
the same content area
Keep it simple and brief
• A good title is generally 10-12 words
• Lengthy title will seem unfocused
• Avoid: “Drug XYZ has an effect of muscular
contraction for an hour in snails of the Achantina
fulcia species
• Better: Drug XYZ induces muscular contraction in
Achatina fulcia snails
Use appropriate descriptive words
• Think about terms people will use to search and
use them
• Avoid: “Effects of drug A on schizophrenia
patients: Study of a multi-center mixed group”
• Better: Psychosocial effects of drug A on
schizophrenia: A multi-centered randomized
controlled trial
Avoid Abbreviations and Jargon
• Most abbreviations should be avoided (with a few
exceptions—e.g. AIDS)
• Avoid: “MMO expression profiles cannot
distinguish between normal and early
osteoarthritic synovial fluid”
• Better: Matrix metalloproteinase protein
expression profiles cannot distinguish between
normal and early osteoarthritic synovial fluid”
Main Selling Point?
• What is your hypothesis?
• State it in your title
Good words
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RCT (non-abbreviated of course)
Outcome
Mortality
Incidence, Prevalence (if used correctly)
Risk Factor
Etiology
Treatment
Management
Numbers (if appropriate)
Bad words
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Audit (in US journals)
Personal references (I, Me, Mine)
Good/Bad
Expletives
Be careful of “Firsts” or “Bests”
• “First Laparoscopic Nissen Fundoplication in
Kenya”
• “First Thoracoscopic Esophagectomy in Kenya”
Be culturally, ethnically, thoughtful
“Obscene telephone calls to children: A
retrospective field study”
Be careful of humor
• “You probably think this paper’s about you:
Narcissists’ perceptions of their personality
and reception”
• “Guess who’s not coming to dinner?
Evaluating online restaurant reservations for
disease surveillance”
• “Ashes to ashes: thermal contact burns in
children caused by recreational fires”
Humor?
• “An unusual penpal: Case report and
literature review of posterior urethral injuries
secondary to foreign body insertion”
• “Hung jury: Testimonies of genital surgery by
transsexual men”
• Seriously—a problem in conferences
Be careful of “unplanned” humor
• “Chemical processes in the deep interior of
Uranus”
Take home
• What is your take home?
• State it in the title and be brief!
The End
• “Factitious Diarrhea: A Case of Watery
Deception”