Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/314710 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 11671
Publisher: 
CESifo GmbH, Munich
Abstract: 
This study examines how tripartite phrases in academic paper titles affect citation counts. Tripartite phrases consist of three interconnected elements separated by commas and conjunctions such as pattern, perception, and performance. Analyzing comprehensive datasets from economics (235,330 articles) and medicine and life sciences (93,713 articles), we found that papers with titles including tripartite phrases receive significantly more citations. Papers with tripartite phrases receive on average 3.5 additional citations in economics and 32 additional citations in medicine and life sciences compared to those without, controlling for paper characteristics, journal characteristics, and publication timing. For medical and life sciences papers, this effect persists when controlling for expert-assessed paper quality. The relative share of tripartite titles among the titles of all papers was stable over time at approximately 9% in economics and 4% in medicine and life sciences, suggesting an established stylistic convention.
Subjects: 
tripartite phrases
academic writing
bibliometrics
citation analysis
paper titles
JEL: 
A10
Document Type: 
Working Paper
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