Searching the Resource Information Network
Are you sure you want to leave this community? Leaving the community will revoke any permissions you have been granted in this community.
Findings from psychological research are usually difficult to interpret for non-experts. Yet, non-experts resort to psychological findings to inform their decisions (e.g., whether to seek a psychotherapeutic treatment or not). Thus, the communication of psychological research to non-expert audiences has received increasing attention over the last years. Plain language summaries (PLS) are abstracts of peer-reviewed journal articles that aim to explain the rationale, methods, findings, and interpretation of a scientific study to non-expert audiences using non-technical language. Unlike media articles or other forms of accessible research summaries, PLS are usually written by the authors of the respective journal article, ensuring that research content is accurately reproduced. In this study, we compared the readability of PLS and corresponding scientific abstracts in a sample of 103 journal articles from two psychological peer-reviewed journals. To assess readability, we calculated four readability indices that quantify text characteristics related to reading comprehension (e.g., word difficulty, sentence length). Analyses of variance revealed that PLS were easier to read than scientific abstracts. This effect emerged in both included journals and across all readability indices. There was only little evidence that this effect differed in magnitude between the included journals. In sum, this study shows that PLS may be an effective instrument for communicating psychological research to non-expert audiences. We discuss future research avenues to increase the quality of PLS and strengthen their role in science communication.
Pubmed ID: 32240246
Publication data is provided by the National Library of Medicine ® and PubMed ®. Data is retrieved from PubMed ® on a weekly schedule. For terms and conditions see the National Library of Medicine Terms and Conditions.
Based in Washington, D.C., the American Psychological Association (APA) is a scientific and professional organization that represents psychology in the United States. With more than 154,000 members, APA is the largest association of psychologists worldwide. The mission of the APA is to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people''s lives. The American Psychological Association aspires to excel as a valuable, effective and influential organization advancing psychology as a science, serving as: * A uniting force for the discipline * The major catalyst for the stimulation, growth and dissemination of psychological science and practice * The primary resource for all psychologists * The premier innovator in the education, development, and training of psychological scientists, practitioners and educators * The leading advocate for psychological knowledge and practice informing policy makers and the public to improve public policy and daily living * A principal leader and global partner promoting psychological knowledge and methods to facilitate the resolution of personal, societal and global challenges in diverse, multicultural and international contexts * An effective champion of the application of psychology to promote human rights, health, well being and dignity APA and its affiliate organizations provide a diverse range of scholarships, grants, and awards with the aim of advancing research in psychology. Using our specialized search tool, you can find funding by type, sponsor, topic area, recipient type, and deadline date.
View all literature mentionsDatabase for published, indexed resources pertaining to psychological, psychiatric and other behavioral and social science research. Users can search for resources by document type, research methodology, and funding source.
View all literature mentionsWelcome to the Neuroscience Information Framework Project, designed to serve the biomedical research community. NIF maintains the largest searchable collection of neuroscience data, the largest catalog of biomedical resources, and the largest ontology for neuroscience on the web. We welcome all feedback and suggestions and are actively looking for resource providers to make their resources accessible through NIF. Learn about the tools available to help you share your data and discover a dynamic inventory of Web-based neuroscience resources.
