Every scientist is a memory researcher: Suggestions for making research more memorable

F1000Research
Christopher R Madan

Abstract

Independent of the actual results, some scientific articles are more memorable than others. As anyone who has written an article collaboratively knows, there are numerous ways a manuscript can be written to convey the same general ideas. To aid with this, many scientific writing books and editorials provide advice, often anecdotal, on how to make articles more memorable. Here I ground these suggestions with empirical support from memory research. Specifically, I suggest that researchers consider how to emphasize their work's novelty, strive to describe their work using concrete, easy-to-understand terms, and use caution when attempting to evoke an emotional response in the reader. I also discuss considerations in title selections and conference presentations.

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Citations

Jan 11, 2019·BMJ : British Medical Journal·Susan Greenhalgh
May 10, 2019·The European Journal of Neuroscience·Cyril R Pernet, Christopher R Madan
Mar 10, 2018·Medical Teacher·Paul de CatesColin Francis Macdougall

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