Men Promote Scientific Findings More Effusively than Women Do

Male researchers are more likely to describe their work in publications using positive superlatives than their female colleagues are, a habit tied to more citations.

Written byLisa Winter

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It’s not news that gender inequality exists in STEM research, from women being underrepresented as faculty members, to disparities in grant funding, to exclusion on conference panels. According to a study published Monday (December 16) in The BMJ, women scientists are perhaps missing out on citations because of the language they use to describe their findings in publications.

The study, led by Marc Lerchenmueller from the University of Mannheim in Germany, scanned the titles and abstracts of more than 100,000 research papers between 2002 and 2017 for 25 different superlative words such as “unprecedented” and “unique.” They corrected for a number of factors, including field of research, the journal in which the article appeared, and when the paper was published.

Papers that include exciting language such as “novel,” “remarkable,” and “promising” were cited 13 percent more often than papers that didn’t, the study finds. Papers published ...

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Meet the Author

Lisa Winter
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Lisa joined The Scientist in 2017. As social media editor, some of her duties include creating content, managing interactions, and developing strategies for the brand’s social media presence. She also contributes to the News & Opinion section of the website. Lisa holds a degree in Biological Sciences with a concentration in genetics, cell, and developmental biology from Arizona State University and has worked in science communication since 2012.
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