@theBrightman
Tell this to the professors out there demanding this style of writing and the journals that want papers to sound "scientific". Most people are probably very happy to write easily understood papers. But the community in general doesn't reward those types of papers.
@Oudia777
My thesis professor openly mocked me a lot of times because my thesis was readable. He said it was professionally and well written but too entertaining. He was a-hole
@EmeraldSky33
My professors in undergrad insisted on never using jargon when an accessible word was equally accurate. I loved them and their papers!
@KalmanHuman
Tried doing that with my thesis. I was told to make my vocabulary "proper".
@johnsmith1926
Skip jargon if it is not neccessary or at least helpful. Scientific papers are often meant to compress a lot of information into a tiny space. Defining a term first and then just repeating the term instead of the definition can make the text more readable.But at the end a scientific paper will always assume knowledge about certain terms from the reader which are commonly used in the field of science..
@ShamgarSoA
This is why it's so refreshing to read the 'older' scientists. They're more straight forward and even fun to read.
@Abadion12
Its always great to have someone who has no detailed knowledge of your field, proof read your research paper. Let them highlight everything they didn't understand and correct your paper until anyone can read it. I found this to be amazing for my theses.
@Abstract_zx
also this problem in scientific papers can worsen the discrepancies between science and journalism. If journalists don't understand the scientific paper, they are more likely to report on the topic inaccurately.
@DEATHbyHEMLOCK
One good reason that partially effects this is the need to be very specific. The research and experiments being explained in scientific papers are often very technical in nature, and ideally should be something that can be replicated, so that others can confirm (or challenge) your results. This means you have to speak very specifically, in technical terms, leaving no room for misinterpretation. While this obviously harms the readability of your paper, if you put in the effort to understand it, you will understand what they've done in no uncertain terms and can successfully repeat their experiment.
@milou66
As a graphic designer, I constantly have to explain to my clients (not even scientists) that their text is written for insiders when the audience is not. Initialisms that are never spelled out are one of the chief sins.
@angrymikko
When a FINNISH paper says your language is too hard to understand you know there is a problem 😂
@adamlove592
At the same time jargon when used correctly helps bring precision into the scientific world. These terms are good because it allows us to be extremely precise in what we say and we all use agreed upon definitions. There is definitely a balance though
@Andrea-xs4ny
It is implicitly encouraged within the community. Submitting a dissertation to a committee or a paper to a journal that has language that is more accessible may not be accepted as is. We need to direct our pleas to the graduate schools and journals as well, not the scientists only. When I was in graduate school, I found that the more flowery and dense the language, the higher the grade.
@woodysmith2681
Don't tell scientists; tell editors and peer reviewers, especially the peer reviewers using their peer review to seem smart.
@silversparrow1457
From the article (that has not been peer reviewed) "We explored the relationship between the use of jargon and citations using 21,486 articles focusing on cave research, a multidisciplinary field particularly prone to terminological specialization and where linguistic disagreement among peers is frequent." So not the "millions" that were claimed to be analyzed. Specialized scientific and higher academic papers are written for a specific audience, that being the authors' peers in the field in which they are researching. These efforts are to made to advance the field by building on existing knowledge. Imagine if everytime you had to right a paper you had to explain over and over the fundamentals of the discipline or explain again and again complex topics that are well understood within the field. Jargon serves a purpose. If a paper is too complex for you to understand, do a bit of background research into the field to pick up the fundamentals. Don't slow down the researchers because its hard to read when you are not the intended audience.
@insert_creative_line_here1516
We are making papers hard to understand to show our professors we understand what we're talking about. Then it just sticks around after you get a doctorate and doing in any other way would be "unprofessional"
@ah3432jdf
While writing my paper, the core issue I faced was plagiarism software. It flags even simple, common sentences. This forced me to use synonyms and unnecessary jargon, which I understand is not ideal. However, most journals have strict requirements, leaving little room for alternative approaches.
@manuel0578
Well in many journals you have strict word limits so of course that encourages using as many acronyms as possible.
@patricknorton5788
The specialized jargon is very useful. It saves a lot of extra wordiness and makes it clear to the specific audience exactly what the writer means in that context. If a reader is not familiar with the subject, and doesn't know the jargon, well, they may not understand it very well. Most biologists aren't expert plumbers, and that's okay.
@ChrisWaterguy