Warning: file_get_contents(https://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pubmed&id=26668206
&cmd=llinks): Failed to open stream: HTTP request failed! HTTP/1.1 429 Too Many Requests
in C:\Inetpub\vhosts\kidney.de\httpdocs\pget.php on line 215
Deprecated: Implicit conversion from float 209.6 to int loses precision in C:\Inetpub\vhosts\kidney.de\httpdocs\pget.php on line 534
Deprecated: Implicit conversion from float 209.6 to int loses precision in C:\Inetpub\vhosts\kidney.de\httpdocs\pget.php on line 534
Deprecated: Implicit conversion from float 209.6 to int loses precision in C:\Inetpub\vhosts\kidney.de\httpdocs\pget.php on line 534
Deprecated: Implicit conversion from float 209.6 to int loses precision in C:\Inetpub\vhosts\kidney.de\httpdocs\pget.php on line 534
Deprecated: Implicit conversion from float 209.6 to int loses precision in C:\Inetpub\vhosts\kidney.de\httpdocs\pget.php on line 534
Deprecated: Implicit conversion from float 209.6 to int loses precision in C:\Inetpub\vhosts\kidney.de\httpdocs\pget.php on line 534
Deprecated: Implicit conversion from float 209.6 to int loses precision in C:\Inetpub\vhosts\kidney.de\httpdocs\pget.php on line 534
Deprecated: Implicit conversion from float 243.2 to int loses precision in C:\Inetpub\vhosts\kidney.de\httpdocs\pget.php on line 534
Deprecated: Implicit conversion from float 243.2 to int loses precision in C:\Inetpub\vhosts\kidney.de\httpdocs\pget.php on line 534
Deprecated: Implicit conversion from float 243.2 to int loses precision in C:\Inetpub\vhosts\kidney.de\httpdocs\pget.php on line 534
Warning: imagejpeg(C:\Inetpub\vhosts\kidney.de\httpdocs\phplern\26668206
.jpg): Failed to open stream: No such file or directory in C:\Inetpub\vhosts\kidney.de\httpdocs\pget.php on line 117 BMJ
2015 ; 351
(ä): h6467
Nephropedia Template TP
gab.com Text
Twit Text FOAVip
Twit Text #
English Wikipedia
Use of positive and negative words in scientific PubMed abstracts between 1974
and 2014: retrospective analysis
#MMPMID26668206
Vinkers CH
; Tijdink JK
; Otte WM
BMJ
2015[Dec]; 351
(ä): h6467
PMID26668206
show ga
OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether language used in science abstracts can skew
towards the use of strikingly positive and negative words over time. DESIGN:
Retrospective analysis of all scientific abstracts in PubMed between 1974 and
2014. METHODS: The yearly frequencies of positive, negative, and neutral words
(25 preselected words in each category), plus 100 randomly selected words were
normalised for the total number of abstracts. Subanalyses included pattern
quantification of individual words, specificity for selected high impact
journals, and comparison between author affiliations within or outside countries
with English as the official majority language. Frequency patterns were compared
with 4% of all books ever printed and digitised by use of Google Books Ngram
Viewer. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Frequencies of positive and negative words in
abstracts compared with frequencies of words with a neutral and random
connotation, expressed as relative change since 1980. RESULTS: The absolute
frequency of positive words increased from 2.0% (1974-80) to 17.5% (2014), a
relative increase of 880% over four decades. All 25 individual positive words
contributed to the increase, particularly the words "robust," "novel,"
"innovative," and "unprecedented," which increased in relative frequency up to
15,000%. Comparable but less pronounced results were obtained when restricting
the analysis to selected journals with high impact factors. Authors affiliated to
an institute in a non-English speaking country used significantly more positive
words. Negative word frequencies increased from 1.3% (1974-80) to 3.2% (2014), a
relative increase of 257%. Over the same time period, no apparent increase was
found in neutral or random word use, or in the frequency of positive word use in
published books. CONCLUSIONS: Our lexicographic analysis indicates that
scientific abstracts are currently written with more positive and negative words,
and provides an insight into the evolution of scientific writing. Apparently
scientists look on the bright side of research results. But whether this
perception fits reality should be questioned.