Quantifying scientific jargon

Abstract

<jats:p> When scientists disseminate their work to the general public, excessive use of jargon should be avoided because if too much technical language is used, the message is not effectively conveyed. However, determining which words are jargon and how much jargon is too much is a difficult task, partly because it can be challenging to know which terms the general public knows, and partly that it can be challenging to ensure scientific accuracy while avoiding esoteric terminology. To help address this issue, we have written an R script that an author can use to quantify the amount of scientific jargon in any written piece and make appropriate edits based on the target audience. </jats:p>

Ten simple rules for scientists engaging in science communication

“…Scientists struggle in both identifying jargon terms [ 23 , 24 ] and in balancing being easily understood with retaining a personally acceptable level of precision, conciseness, and authority. A keen awareness of their audience is a communicator’s best tool for identifying what is and is not jargon.…”

“Tortured Phrases” in Covid-19 Literature

“…Medical jargon exists for a reason, primarily to guide medical practitioners about terms that have been standardized and accepted among the majority of a scientific community, to avoid confusion and ambiguity, and to ensure clear and targeted communication among professionals (Rau, Basir, and Flynn 2020), although excessive jargon may defeat the purpose of making medical scientific literature accessible and appreciated by a wider audience, such as the nonscientific public (Willoughby, Johnson, and Sterman 2020). "Tortured phrases" cancel the importance of jargon by replacing common or proper nouns within established jargon with other synonymous common or proper nouns, sometimes replacing established abbreviations with garbled phrases, resulting in terms that while not always incomprehensible, are not established terminology.…”

Using infographics to reduce the negative effects of jargon on intentions to vaccinate against COVID-19

“…Specifically, the two message features under investigation include the presence or absence of jargon, defined as the presence of scientific, technical, or specialized words (Sharon and Baram-Tsabari, 2014;Merriam Webster, n.d.), and the use of infographics, defined as the graphic, visual presentation of complicated information designed to be processed in a fast and efficient manner (Bicen and Beheshti, 2017). The reason for studying these two message features is because a wellknown convention in public science communication is to avoid the use of jargon (see Dean, 2009;Plaxco, 2010;Rakedzon et al, 2017;Willoughby et al, 2020). That said, an unprecedented public health crisis could lead to increases in jargon use due to the need to communicate novel, precise, and discerning scientific information to audiences unfamiliar with these scientific principles.…”