The use of the term ‘limnology’ and its scientometrics consequences for limnologists

Jargon is the specialised vocabulary of any science: it allows the creation of new terms to define concepts and it removes ambiguity from scientific communication. Yet, it may also hinder understanding for a broader audience. Given that the Journal of Limnology has jargon in its title, we here inves...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Diego Fontaneto, Alejandro Martínez, Stefano Mammola, Aldo Marchetto
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: PAGEPress Publications 2021-07-01
Series:Journal of Limnology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://jlimnol.it/index.php/jlimnol/article/view/2042
Description
Summary:Jargon is the specialised vocabulary of any science: it allows the creation of new terms to define concepts and it removes ambiguity from scientific communication. Yet, it may also hinder understanding for a broader audience. Given that the Journal of Limnology has jargon in its title, we here investigate the impact of the term ‘limnology’ on the way limnologists work, publish their research, and attract the interest of other scientists. We do so by comparing scientometric features of papers published from 1965 to 2020 that used the term ‘limnology’ against papers on similar topics but that used the term ‘lake ecology’ or ‘hydrobiology’, and to the marine counterpart of papers that used the term ‘oceanography’. We found that papers using the term limnology score worse than those of the other topics in terms of both publication output and scientific impact. Limnologists may need to use other terms in addition to ‘limnology’ to reach a broader scientific audience.
ISSN:1129-5767
1723-8633