Article
In Hungary, and probably other countries, scientific articles are viewed as more valuable, or perhaps stable, the longer they are. This is because, unlike measuring the length of a document, the novelty – value – of the ideas in an article is immeasurable. Why else do universities and teachers set up as an important parameter of homework, dissertations or theses the length of the document (in pages or character numbers)? In my opinion, it is time to move on from a quantity approach towards one of quality.
A good article is easy to read...
- it should not be complicated in what it says; better split into two or three different statements
- should not be defined using overly complex scientific terminology: use simple definitions so that the layman with an interest in psychology, but without an extensive theoretical background, can understand it and so participate in the debate
- should be summarized (if possible) with a drawing or illustration. Sometimes “a picture tells a 1,000 words”
- should contain examples
- should not be a scientific article. Nobody worries about detailed descriptions of experiments, including the number of research subjects, unless they were too few. The detailed results of experiments should be left to the debate
- try to avoid cross-referencing boring articles: use as many links as possible, but by putting a proper link in a page your job is not complete. The page you link to usually contains much irrelevant information. Your reader would not enjoy searching for the relevant information in a completely new visual environment: better is to describe clearly what the relevant findings of that article were, and provide a footnote for those who would like to double-check it
- it should be re-read from the readers' viewpoint(s), and edited before it is posted
- should have a clear structure. Without a well-built presentation even the best idea will reach only those (perhaps 5% of the community) who cannot be bored and who have enormous patience
- here you can find a template
Be ethical by being simple. Follow Mr. Kant's basic principle: do not do to others what you would not like to be done to you, so do not write boring articles that you would not like to read yourself. Try to have fresh, new ideas every three or four sentences to maintain reader’s’ interest. If you can not do that, restructure your text, and check if all words and sub-sentences are relevant and needed.
You might spend an additional hour or two in making your text better and more information-dense. Readers will then read and understand it in less time.