Comments From the Editor: The Effects of Bourbon Drinking on Creating Manuscript Titles

Abstract

After several minutes of online searching, I could not find this manuscript anywhere. It turns out that it has not been written yet, but I am sure there are many of us who have attempted this as a one-shot investigation in the past. And when trying to craft an appropriate title for my dissertation in graduate school, I may have taken two or three shots at finalizing that one, but it all remains pretty hazy. I hope that my attempt at creating a somewhat clickbait title has gotten you to read at least this far. Although creating a title for a manuscript seems easy, I have been thinking more about the importance of titles in my own scholarly work. According to the American Psychological Association (2020), “the title should summarize the main idea of the paper simply and, if possible, in a way that is engaging for readers” (p. 31). Unless we are searching for manuscripts that align with our own interests, the title may be the deciding factor in whether an article is read or downloaded by the casual reader. Therefore, if you potentially want more people to read your manuscript, this advice seems like a sensible place to begin when formulating your title. One problem with titles can be wordiness. This is probably why the original title for these comments, “The Effects of Drinking Inexpensive, Moderately Expensive, and Expensive Bourbon on Creating Manuscript Titles While Reading Student Comments About Your Teaching and Contemplating a New Career Path,” was shortened by an editor before publication. There is research evidence suggesting that articles with longer titles are downloaded less than articles with shorter titles (Hallock & Dillner, 2016). When thinking about how to title your next manuscript, there are three types of titles that have been identified as most common: (1) declarative, (2) descriptive, and (3) question (Wager et al., 2016). Declarative titles often include the main finding of the research that was conducted. Using my silly example, I could have written “Drinking Bourbon Makes for Better Manuscript Titles.” (I really think it does, but I have no empirical evidence to make this assertion.) This style might encourage potential readers to engage further with the manuscript due to their interest in a particular topic or finding. “Gayand Straight-Sounding Auditory Cues Elicit Stereotyping About Teaching Effectiveness” (Taylor & Raadt, 2020) is a recent and real example of a declarative title. Although I have no previous research experience with auditory cues or teaching stereotypes, my intrigue at the title caused me to download and read an article I might otherwise have scrolled past without much thought. “The Effects of Bourbon Drinking on Creating Manuscript Titles” is an example of a descriptive title. It is easy to tease out the variables (i.e., bourbon drinking, manuscript titles) and ponder their potential relationship. A would-be reader knows that some number of individuals in my study drank bourbon and created manuscript titles—otherwise known as my typical Friday night. Similar to declarative titles, descriptive ones should also be succinct and focused. In this issue of Update, “Viewing the Parent–Teacher Relationship in Music Education Through the Lens of Role Theory: A Literature Review” by Ang et al. (2021) is an example of a descriptive title that fits this criteria. Creating your title as a question piques readers’ curiosity. Instead of using the descriptive title for my fake manuscript, what if I had chosen “Does Bourbon Drinking Help Authors Create Better Manuscript Titles?” There is an “I-need-to-know” mechanism triggered when forced to predict the findings of a study. Even if the answer to this question seems obvious (“Yes, of course bourbon helps!”), the title-as-question may encourage potential readers to view the Abstract to find out a bit more, and could be the difference in whether the article is read. A real nonmusic education example, “Work: What Is It Good For? (Absolutely Nothing)—A Critical Theorist’s Perspective” (Mumby, 2019), has got me thinking that these comments are nearing their end. Titles may seem somewhat inconsequential given the effort put into everything that follows it, but are one of many factors in why articles are downloaded, read, and cited (for a thorough review, see Milojević, 2017). 985086 UPDXXX10.1177/8755123320985086Update: Applications of Research in Music EducationRickels editorial2020