The effect of writing style on success in grant applications

Peter van den Besselaar and Charlie Mom

Journal of Informetrics, 2022, vol. 16, issue 1

Abstract: Why are some research grant applications selected for funding while others are not? In this paper we investigate whether the writing style of grant applications influences the evaluation scores and the decisions by selection panels. A linguistic analysis of the grant proposal abstract, the project description and the CV of the applicant does reveal several characteristics of the texts that have a positive effect on the score the grant applications receive, and through that on the probability to be selected for funding. The explained variance is moderate, suggesting grant proposal reviewers base their decisions not only on the scientific content of the grant application, but also on the form in which it is presented.

Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:infome:v:16:y:2022:i:1:s1751157722000098

DOI: 10.1016/j.joi.2022.101257

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