Mostly, the titles of the research articles are with positive statements or presented with assertive sentences related to the work. But can't we select titles with a question? I mean the research question to be written in the title. Does it make the paper poor in quality or are there any negative thoughts among the reviewers about this?
Thank beforehand for your contributions.
Putting your research question at the top of the blank page quickly gives you focus
I believe so, although I know that many will say no orthodoxly. I believe that whenever it is most appropriate to express more directly some interesting idea, you can use a question as a title. It's always good to see someone breaking the rules.
However, I believe it is important to maintain respect for all that ensures that the product remains a scientific article. Thus, the transgression of using a question as a title will be valued.
I thought I was the only rebel with a cause. For my class notes, and for as many papers as possible, I used a question or my research question as a hook to get the reader's attention. However, you have to be very sure that you do answer the question! (Many journalists ask a question to start a column, but do not answer it in what follows!) No students or reviewers have ever complained. See e.g.
http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Teletraffic_engineering and my RG profile.
Thank you Dr. Alexandre and Dr. Kennedy for your answers. It's really good to know the diversified thoughts!
Putting your research question at the top of the blank page quickly gives you focus
Certainly you can. This is my recent article published in BMC Res Notes and I asked the question in the title. No damage done! [Do submissions entitled to an auto-waiver take more time to be accepted by open access journals?] http://www.biomedcentral.com/1756-0500/7/238
Sure you can. But sometimes it might be better to write a title starting with an active verb. For example:
"Digitising crystal structures in polymers"
"How to digitise crystal structures in polymers"
Here's another example.
Landis, R. S., James, L. R., Lance, C. E., Pierce, C. A., & Rogelberg, S. G. (2014). When is nothing something? Editorial for the null results special issue of Journal of Business and Psychology. Journal of Business and Psychology, 29(2), 163-167. doi: 10.1007/s10869-014-9347-8
I believe research is an attempt to answer any particular question. I love research papers in which the author/authors defines the existing question/questions first then describes his/their methodology for attempting to solve the question and finally mentions what ever answer he/they gets through his/their results. I do not think it will be a crime or against the norm if a question mark is put in the title since most of the times the results of the research answers a particular question but at the same time raises another question. If a title is such that it has an answers to a particular question and at the same time has a question that originated due to this answer will fetch immediate attention by the readers. Research is a process of advance hence any research generating no more curiosity or as you say: no more question mark is a dream that every researcher would love to have!!!!
The rabbi was asked why he always answers a question with a question. He replied: Vhy not?
Rather read the original in understandable English at
http://augmentedtrader.wordpress.com/2012/02/07/how-to-compose-a-title-for-your-research-paper/
Yes, you can form the as "Question statement". This kind of title is more emphatic than normal one.
It's fine you give heading in question form.
Only the thing does matter is your heading justifying the matters for which it is used.
Use the heading which represent the whole of article in a better manner.
Happy Researching..
Why not? Many of my research papers start with a question in the title and end with a question mark (Published and unpublished both). Although it has been recommended by some authors to end the Title with a question mark or insert a colon in between two clauses, to make the title appealing. However, lets say it was not the norm and it was not allowed, I would have still done it because I like to go against norms- it gives your paper more reads and citation. Go ahead do it.
According to an article entitled "Heading for success: or how to title your paper"
at: https://www.researchtrends.com/issue24-september-2011/heading-for-success-or-how-not-to-title-your-paper/
Jamali and Nikzad (2011) found that "articles with a question mark or colon in their title tend to be cited less"
Jamali, H.R. & Nikzad M. (2011) Article title type and its relation with the number of downloads and citations. Scientometrics, online first. DOI: 10.1007/s11192-011-0412-z
I have been considering using a colon or semicolon and question mark in the title of my current manuscript, however this gives me pause.
also see:
Bramoullé, Y., & Ductor, L. (2018). Title length. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 150, 311–324. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JEBO.2018.01.014
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