Exploring acknowledgement practices in English-medium astrophysics research papers: Implications on authorship

This article reports the findings of a diachronic study of acknowledgement practices in 300 randomly collected research papers published during three different periods (1998, 2004 and 2012) in the most prestigious American and European astrophysics journals written in English. In order to investigate the influence of these practices on authorship patterns, we analyzed the distribution over time of a series of quantitative variables (number, length and types of acknowledgements, mean number of words/number of acknowledgements per research paper and mean number of acknowledgements/number of authors per research paper, number of named and unnamed acknowledgees, number of identified and anonymous referees, and number of emotionally charged-words). Comparisons between periods were carried out and Student’s t-tests were applied to the quantitative results. Our main findings show that acknowledgements are very common in astrophysics since they are present in 96% of the whole corpus. Financial, mainly public, and instrumental supports are the most frequently acknowledged categories. The number and length of acknowledgements and the mean number of words/number of acknowledgements per research paper grow over time. Financial, instrumental and conceptual assistance, unnamed individuals and anonymous referees increase over time, whereas moral, editorial and unclassified supports, named individuals and identified referees, and emotionally-charged words decline. If we focus on each journal publication context, we can observe that the research papers published in the American journals include more and longer acknowledgements, with a higher mean number of acknowledgements per author, more financial and instrumental supports, and a lower percentage of emotionally-charged words, whereas the European journals contain more conceptual and editorial supports. All these data can be understood in the frame of growing scientific professionalism, while a detailed cross-journal analysis may occasionally suggest honorary/guest/gift authorship.Este trabajo presenta los resultados de un estudio diacrónico de los agradecimientos en una muestra de 300 artículos de investigación recogidos al azar y publicados durante tres periodos diferentes (1998, 2004 y 2012) en las más prestigiosas revistas de astrofísica, americanas y europeas, escritas en inglés. Con el fin de estudiar la influencia de los agradecimientos sobre los patrones de autoría, hemos analizado la evolución de una serie de variables cuantitativas (número, longitud y tipos de agradecimientos, media del número de palabras/número de agradecimientos por artículo y media del número de agradecimientos/número de autores por artículo, número de personas agradecidas identificadas y no identificadas, número de árbitros mencionados por su nombre y anónimos, y número palabras con carga emocional). Hemos utilizado la prueba t de Student para comparar los resultados cuantitativos entre periodos. Nuestros resultados principales muestran que los agradecimientos son muy comunes en astrofísica ya que están presentes en el 96% de todo el corpus. Las ayudas económicas, principalmente públicas, instrumentales y conceptuales son las más frecuentes. El número y la longitud de los agradecimientos, así como la media del número de palabras/número de agradecimientos por artículo, crecen paulatinamente. El apoyo económico, instrumental y conceptual, los individuos no identificados y los árbitros anónimos también aumentan, mientras que el apoyo moral, editorial y no clasificado, los individuos y los árbitros identificados, y las palabras con carga emocional decrecen. Si nos centramos en el contexto de cada publicación, observamos que los artículos publicados en las revistas americanas incluyen más agradecimientos y que éstos son más largos, con una media mayor del número de agradecimientos/número de autores, más ayudas económicas e instrumentales, y un menor porcentaje de palabras con carga emocional, en tanto que los artículos publicados en las revistas europeas incluyen más ayudas conceptuales y editoriales. Todos estos datos se pueden entender en el marco de una creciente profesionalización de la ciencia, mientras que un análisis detallado de cada revista puede ocasionalmente sugerir la existencia de una autoría honoraria/invitada/regalada

Astrophysics Titles in Scientific American Magazine (1990-2014): Linguistic and Discourse Practices

We analyze Astrophysics titles published in Scientific American Magazine in the period 1990-2014 and compare them with Astrophysics titles of specialized journals. Our main results show that titles published in Scientific American are short, clear, direct and with low lexical density and little terminology. They mainly consist in simple and nominal constructions with few adjectives and compound groups. The predominance of nominal compounds and the high number of verbal titles and definite articles imply that popularized science titles mainly deal with global and well-established concepts. Pragmatic and rhetorical strategies are common in Astrophysics Scientific American titles in order to appeal to multiple audiences and invite them to use their cultural background knowledge to grasp at the actual meaning. Although pragmatic and rhetorical mechanisms overlap in some titles, rhetorical devices seem to prevail over pragmatic ones. All in all, however, both types of devices reveal a growing trend over time

The Use of Abbreviations in English-Medium Astrophysics Research Paper Titles: A Problematic Issue

In this study, we carry out a qualitative and quantitative analysis of abbreviations in 300 randomly collected research paper titles published in the most prestigious European and US-based Astrophysics journals written in English. Our main results show that the process of shortening words and groups of words is one of the most characteristic and recurrent features in Astrophysics research paper titling construction. In spite of the convenience of abbreviations as a mechanism for word-formation, some of them may pose certain difficulties of understanding and/or misinterpretation because of their specificity, ambiguity, or overlapping. To overcome these difficulties, we propose a series of options which with no doubt would lead to a better interaction among the different branches of Astrophysics in particular and of science in general and would definitely improve how research is currently performed and communicated

Simultaneous and comparable numerical indicators of international, national and local collaboration practices in English-medium astrophysics research papers

Introduction. We report an investigation on collaboration practices in research papers published in the most prestigious English-medium astrophysics journals. Method. We propose an evaluation method based on three numerical indicators to study and compare, in absolute terms, three different types of collaboration (international, national and local) and authors' mobility on the basis of co-authorship. Analysis. We analysed 300 randomly selected research papers in three different time periods and used the student's t-test to determine whether the paired two-sample differences observed were statistically significant or not. Results. International collaboration is more common than national and local collaboration. International, national and local authors' mobility and intra-national collaboration do not seriously affect the indicators of the principal levels of collaboration. International collaboration and authors' mobility are more relevant for authors publishing in European journals, whereas national and intra-national collaboration and national mobility are more important for authors publishing in US journals. Conclusions. We explain the observed differences and patterns in terms of the specific scope of each journal and the socio-economic and political situation in both geographic contexts (Europe and the USA). Our study provides a global picture of collaboration practices in astrophysics and its possible application to many other sciences and fields would undoubtedly help bring into focus the really big issues for overall research management and policy

Evaluating Authorship Variation Patterns in English-Medium Astrophysics Research Papers: An Across Journal and Diachronic Study (1998-2012)

This paper explores authorship practices from a diachronic perspective in a corpus of 300 randomly selected research papers published in the most prestigious Astrophysics English-medium journals. Our main results show that 21 variants were recorded in the number of authors in the whole sample and that multi-authored research papers far outnumber single-authored ones. They also reveal a growth not only in the number of authors, but also in the number of multi-authored research papers over time, mainly in those contributed by more than seven authors. From a specific diachronic perspective, each journal has its own authorship variation patterns and variants, which are analysed and explained in relation to their specific scope and to the socio-economic and political situation in each geographic context (European countries and the USA).En este artículo hemos analizado las prácticas autoriales en una muestra seleccionada al azar compuesta por 300 artículos de investigación publicados en tres periodos diferentes (1998, 2004 y 2012) en las más prestigiosas revistas de Astrofísica publicadas en inglés en Europa y Estados Unidos de Norteamérica. Hemos hallado una gama de 21 variantes en el número de autores en toda la muestra analizada. También hemos apreciado que los artículos de investigación con autoría colectiva son muchos más numerosos que los de autoría individual. Asimismo, hemos observado que no sólo ha ido creciendo el número de autores, sino también el número de artículos con autoría colectiva, principalmente en aquellos redactados por más de siete autores. En términos diacrónicos específicos, hemos comprobado que cada revista posee sus propias variantes y patrones de variación autoriales, que hemos explicado en relación a su ámbito específico y a la situación socio-económica y política en ambos contextos geográficos (países europeos y EE.UU.).Françoise Salager-Meyer was supported by Grant No. CDCHTA-M-1039-13-06 from the University of Los Andes Research Centre

Los títulos de las “cartas” en astrofísica. El discurso inmediato de la ciencia

The main purpose of this study is to compare length, lexical density and types of titles in letters, research papers and popular science articles published in the most prestigious journals of astrophysics written in English in order to find the differences and/or similarities between them. Our results may be summarized as follows: 1) average length, lexical density and frequency of appearance of compound groups are similar in titles of letters and research papers, which confirms that both genres are aimed at a very specialized audience; 2) the greater presence of adverbs, pronouns and possessives in letter and popular science article titles are used to give them a journalistic tone in order to reach a wider audience; 3) simple and nominal titles prevail over compound and verbal titles in the three genres, although the higher incidence of verbal constructions in letter and popular science article titles may lead to a certain generalization of the ideas presented which, however, would be somewhat reduced in letter titles thanks to a higher presence of interrogative structures. These results reveal that the titles of letters are situated halfway between those of research papers and popular science articles since they contain characteristics of both genres

Titles of Scientific Letters in Astrophysics (2000- 2015): A Diachronic Study of Type Distribution and the Relationship Between Title Length and Collaboration Issues

This paper examines how some linguistic and extra-linguistic features of scientific letters published in well-reputed journals in the field of astrophysics (types and length of titles, as well as the relationship between title length and authorship patterns and collaboration practices) have changed over time. Our main results may be summarized as follows: 1) simple and nominal titles significantly outweigh compound, question and verbal titles, although the latter are on the rise; 2) the colon is the most frequently used punctuation mark; 3) the frequency of appearance of colons, full stops and commas increases over time; 4) there is a steady upward trend in longer titles, number of authors and countries; 5) Although over time authors contribute fewer words and countries involved in the research provide more words to the writing of scientific letter titles, authorship variations seem to be more relevant in relationship to the evolution of title length, i.e. title length is more author-driven than country-driven. A final diachronic cross-journal analysis confirms the co-existence of two different collaboration scenarios as already disclosed in a previous synchronic study on the same topic

When astrophysics meets lay and specialized audiences: titles in popular and scientific papers

In this study we carry out a comparative analysis between titles of research papers published in the most authoritative specialized European and US-based astrophysics journals written in English and titles of articles on astrophysics published in Scientific American Magazine, the most prestigious English-written journal in the divulgation of science. We specifically address issues related to three linguistic variables: title length, title lexical density and title type. Our main results show that titles of research papers published in scientific journals are much longer than titles of articles published in Scientific American Magazine. Lexical density is also higher in scientific titles than in popular science ones. Scientific American Magazine titles are formulated in a clear and direct way, with no syntactic complexity. They consist primarily in simple and nominal constructions with a low presence of adjectives, compound groups and technical terminology. The predominance of nominal compounds over adjectival ones and the use of proper names, which mainly refer to well-known stars, planets, satellites and galaxies, imply that popular science titles usually deal with more global and well established concepts. The higher number of verbal titles and of definite articles in popular science titles when compared to scientific titles may also be interpreted as a greater desire to generalize the ideas presented. This study may be applied to languages other than English and would surely be of the utmost importance to determine the design of titles of scientific and popular science papers, not only in astrophysics but also in other fields

Titles of Scientific Letters and Research Papers In Astrophysics: A Comparative Study of Some Linguistic Aspects and Their Relationship with Collaboration Issues

In this study we compare the titles of scientific letters and those of research papers published in the field of astrophysics in order to identify the possible differences and/or similarities between both genres in terms of several linguistic and extra-linguistic variables (length, lexical density, number of prepositions, number of compound groups, number of authors and number of countries mentioned in the paper bylines). We also carry out a cross-genre and cross-journal analysis of the referred six variables. Our main findings may be summarized as follows: (1) When compared to research paper titles, scientific letter titles are usually shorter, they have a lower lexical density, they include a higher number of prepositions per number of words and a lower number of compound groups per number of words, although they have more up to 4-word compound groups, i.e. the simplest ones. As a consequence, scientific letter titles include less information, which is also less condensed, than research paper titles. (2) The predominance of compound adjectives over compound nouns in the titles of both genres highlights the scientificity of astrophysical discourse. (3) In general terms, our data show a positive correlation between title length and the number of countries mentioned in the bylines for both genres. The positive correlation between title length and number of authors is only met in the case of research papers. In light of these findings, it may be concluded that scientific letters are a clear example of a timeliness and more “immediate” science, whereas research papers are connected to a more timeless and “elaborate” science. It may also be concluded that two different collaboration scenarios are intertwining on the basis of three separate geographic and linguistic publication contexts (Mainland Europe, The United Kingdom and The United States of North America)