Editorial: Choosing a title for a scholarly paper

This editorial was written following the discussion initiated at the conference for scientific editors and publishers. The delegates raised a number of relevant and thought-provoking issues. Among them was the quality of reviews, the author-editorship interaction, ethical issues and many more. But the presentation on how to choose a title for a scientific paper kindled my interest. The speaker showed examples of headings in the manuscripts from the chemistry field. As the comments were quite universal, I would like to share them with readers and potential authors of Education and Self-Development Journal. When creating a title, one should remember two basic functions that headings carry out. First, they are supposed to engage the attention of readers. Second, they should facilitate the quick discoverability of a full manuscript in databases (Medvedev, 2022). Therefore, an initial recommendation for authors seeking to find a suitable title is the length. Long and complex titles usually discourage readers from reading the full text. Given that, it is recommended to make titles concise, but not too short. The length should range from 5 to 15 words (Enago Academy, 2022).