Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Jan 1992

An Analysis of Fifty Citation Superstars from the Scientific Literature

Joseph E. Harmon Argonne National Laboratory

Abstract

This article contains results from a literary analysis of fifty scientific papers selected from the top 100 most-cited papers appearing in the Science Citation Index for the period 1945–1988. Most papers are from the field of biochemistry and became citation superstars because their authors discovered a method or material that numerous others could use in their own research. The typical paper has two authors, two tables, six figures, and twenty-two references. It adheres to the conventional topical organization, with the topics distributed as follows: 2 percent abstract, 5 percent introduction, 25 percent methods and materials, 50 percent results, 10 percent discussion, 4 percent conclusion, and 4 percent reference list. Tables and figures occupy about 30 percent of the article. With respect to the writing style, the average sentence is somewhat long (24 words) but not unreasonably so, and the sentence structure is simple greater than half the time. Moreover, sentences tend to rely heavily on to be verbs (about 80% of sentences have at least one) and abstract nouns (0.66 per sentence). Explanations for the typical form and writing style in these papers are provided.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
1992-01-01
DOI
10.2190/elyk-pfl1-glfa-alad
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Topics
grammar and mechanics literary studies
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (8)

  1. Malone (2007)
    Historical Studies of Technical Communication in the United States and England:…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  2. Ding (2002)
    The Passive Voice and Social Values in Science
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  3. Little (2001)
    Book Review: Essays in the Study of Scientific Discourse: Methods, Practice, an…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  4. Ding (1998)
    Marxism, Ideology, Power and Scientific and Technical Writing
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  5. Rodman (1994)
    The Active Voice in Scientific Articles: Frequency and Discourse Functions
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Show all 8 →
  1. Harmon (1994)
    The uses of metaphor in citation classics from the scientific literature
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Harmon (1992)
    Current Contents of Theoretical Scientific Papers
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  3. Harmon (1992)
    Current Contents of Theoretical Scientific Papers
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

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CrossRef global citation count: 10 View in citation network → Build reading path →

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