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Science Communication
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Improving the Clarity of Journal Abstracts in Psychology

The Case for Structure

James Hartley

Keele University

Background. Previous research with structured abstracts has taken place in mainly medical contexts. This research indicated that such abstracts are more informative, more readable, and more appreciated by readers than are traditional abstracts.

Aim. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that structured abstracts might also be appropriate for a particular psychology journal.

Method. Twenty-four traditional abstracts from the Journal of Educational Psychology were rewritten in a structured form. Measures of word length, information content, and readability were made for both sets of abstracts, and forty-eight authors rated their clarity.

Results. The structured abstracts were significantly longer than the original ones, but they were also significantly more informative and readable and judged significantly clearer by these academic authors.

Conclusions. These findings support the notion that structured abstracts could be profitably introduced into psychology journals.

Key Words: abstracts • structured writing • information clarity • readability

Science Communication, Vol. 24, No. 3, 366-379 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/1075547002250301
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