A Research Title that Works:

Characteristics and Tips

Date: 04-22-2021 Version: V2 DC No: -QMR--051

• The title occupies an exclusive place in the
text as it immediately captures the reader’s
attention and influences his/her decision to
read the paper or not.
• It’s a good idea to take advantage of this
fact and create a concise, informative, and
catchy title that will draw the reader in.
Date: 04-22-2021 Version: V2 DC No: -QMR--051
Characteristics of a Good
Research Title

Date: 04-22-2021 Version: V2 DC No: -QMR--051

1. A good title predicts the content of the research

• A good title informs the reader accurately about the

contents of the article.

• The main responsibility of a title is to explain what the

article is about without misleading or establishing wrong
expectations.

• Make sure it doesn’t include anything that your reader

won’t be able to find in the paper.

Date: 04-22-2021 Version: V2 DC No: -QMR--051

1. A good title predicts the content of the research

The Usual Way

“Factors Affecting Love and Hate among
Marriage Relationships”

The New way

• “The Love and Hate Dynamics among Marriage
Relationships: An Interview Study”,

Date: 04-22-2021 Version: V2 DC No: -QMR--051

2. A good title should be interesting to the reader

• To make the title interesting, attention-grabbing, and

easy to read, use words that create a positive impression
and stimulate the reader’s interest.

• However, be careful if you want to include a catchy

phrase. When trying to add some zest, make sure your
title conveys information in an unambiguous and precise
manner, communicates the message clearly, and doesn’t
encourage multiple interpretations.

Date: 04-22-2021 Version: V2 DC No: -QMR--051

2. A good title should be interesting to the reader

The Usual Way

“Development of Thematic Assessment Material
to Improve Student Performance”

The New Way

“Assessing from Experiences: Using Thematic
Approach to Improve Learning Autonomy”,

Date: 04-22-2021 Version: V2 DC No: -QMR--051

3. The title must reflect the tone of writing

• It’s very important to define the tone of your research in the

title and keep it throughout the paper. If it’s a serious and
conventional academic study, avoid a casual or fun title
containing ornate or conversational language.

• It is better to avoid amusing or hilarious titles for research

articles. Although they might attract some initial attention,
findings in articles with amusing or humorous titles are usually
taken less seriously and are cited less often. (Bavdekar, 2016)

Date: 04-22-2021 Version: V2 DC No: -QMR--051

4. It contains important keywords

• Keywords are important words and concepts that

are frequently used in your research paper. Using
them in the title will let you introduce the topic,
problem, or solution right away.

Date: 04-22-2021 Version: V2 DC No: -QMR--051

4. It contains important keywords

The Usual Way

“Developing a Digital Approach for Marketing”

According to Gustavi, this title is not very effective as

it reveals the topic studied only at the end. He advises
placing keywords at the beginning of the title.

Date: 04-22-2021 Version: V2 DC No: -QMR--051

4. It contains important keywords

The New Way

“Time for a Marketing Curriculum Overhaul:
Developing a Digital-First Approach”

“Marketing Сurriculum is Dead: Developing a

Digital-First Approach”,

Date: 04-22-2021 Version: V2 DC No: -QMR--051

5. It contains important keywords

The New Way

“Time for a Marketing Curriculum Overhaul:
Developing a Digital-First Approach”

“Marketing Сurriculum is Dead: Developing a

Digital-First Approach”,

Date: 04-22-2021 Version: V2 DC No: -QMR--051

Writing tips to keep in mind

Date: 04-22-2021 Version: V2 DC No: -QMR--051

• APA recommends that your title be no
more than 12 words in length. If it’s too
long, there may be too many
unnecessary words.

Date: 04-22-2021 Version: V2 DC No: -QMR--051

The Usual Way
“Social Influence: Testing the Predictive Power of Its Dimensions in
Explaining the Intention to Use Mobile Learning Systems in Universities
— Empirical Evidence from Ugandan Universities” (18 content words)

The Shortened Way

“Testing the Predictive Power of Using Mobile Learning
Systems and its impact on Social Dimensions in Ugandan
Universities” (12 content words)

Date: 04-22-2021 Version: V2 DC No: -QMR--051

The Usual Way
“An Empirical Examination of the Effect of Self-Regulation and the Unified
Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) Factors on the Online
Learning Behavioural Intention of College Students” (16 content words)

The Shortened Way

“How Students Behave in Online Learning?: The Effects of Self-
Regulation and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of
Technology (UTAUT)”
(12 content words)

Date: 04-22-2021 Version: V2 DC No: -QMR--051

• Avoid non-specific phrases such as ‘a
study to investigate, ‘a review of, ‘a
report on’. These phrases are too
obvious and generally unnecessary.

Date: 04-22-2021 Version: V2 DC No: -QMR--051

The Usual Way
“A Study to Investigate the Relationship between Locus of Control and
Academic Achievement of Students

The Revised Way

• The Relationship between Locus of Control and Academic
Achievement of Students

• Self-belief and Learning Outcomes: Pragmatic Experiences of

Late Bloomers

Date: 04-22-2021 Version: V2 DC No: -QMR--051

The Usual Way
“A Study to Investigate the Relationship between Locus of Control and
Academic Achievement of Students

The Revised Way

• Locus of Control and Academic Achievement: What
does research say about its relationship?

• Self Belief: How it Affects Students’ Academic

Achievement?

Date: 04-22-2021 Version: V2 DC No: -QMR--051

• Stay active. Use active verbs and structures
instead of Passive Voice and complex noun-based
phrases, which may distract the reader’s attention.
• According to Gustavii, turning the noun into a verb
makes a sentence more dynamic.

Date: 04-22-2021 Version: V2 DC No: -QMR--051

The Passive Way
“Perspectives on Effective Coaching by Those Who Have
Been Coached”

The Active Way

“Effective Coaching: Perspectives from the
Experiences of Beginning Teachers”

Date: 04-22-2021 Version: V2 DC No: -QMR--051

The Passive Way
“The Dynamics of Cognitive Performance: What Has
Been Learnt from Empirical Research in Science Education”

The Active Way

“Learning through Dynamics of Cognitive
Performance: Improving the Delivery of Science
Education”

Date: 04-22-2021 Version: V2 DC No: -QMR--051

• Instead of asking, answer. Titles
containing a question mark, a colon, or
a hyphen were associated with a lower
number of citations (Paiva et al., 2012)

Date: 04-22-2021 Version: V2 DC No: -QMR--051

The Question Form
“Do the Big-Five Personality Traits Predict Empathic
Listening and Assertive Communication?”

The Answer Form

“Using the Big-Five Personality Traits to Predict
Empathic Listening and Assertive
Communication”

Date: 04-22-2021 Version: V2 DC No: -QMR--051

The Question Form
“Contextual Influences on the Role of Evidence in Health
Policy Development: What Can We Learn from Six Policies in
India and Nigeria?”

The Answer Form

“Learnings from the Contextual Influences on the
Role of Evidence in Health Policy Development of
India and Nigeria”

Date: 04-22-2021 Version: V2 DC No: -QMR--051

• Avoid abbreviations and jargon. The use of non-standard
abbreviations in the title distracts and disturbs the reader.

• If acronyms must be used in the title, it is advisable to spell

them out, unless they are universally known, such as NASA
or WWF. Otherwise, there is a possibility that readers not
familiar with the acronym might skip the article altogether.

Date: 04-22-2021 Version: V2 DC No: -QMR--051

The Question Form
“The Discourse of QDAS: Reporting Practices of
ATLAS.ti and NVivo Users with Implications for Best
Practices?”

• These abbreviations can cause confusion

Date: 04-22-2021 Version: V2 DC No: -QMR--051

• Titles with jargon or too many technical words are
considered uninteresting, unnecessarily complex, and
difficult to read. They may confuse the readers,
inducing them to ignore the article altogether.

Date: 04-22-2021 Version: V2 DC No: -QMR--051

Writing a title is not a piece of cake, but it’s worth
making the effort. Keep in mind the characteristics
and tips you’ve learned and create an informative and
concise title that will grab the reader’s full attention.

Date: 04-22-2021 Version: V2 DC No: -QMR--051

WORKSHOP

Writing Titles

Date: 04-22-2021 Version: V2 DC No: -QMR--051