The Future of Scientific Publishing: How Video Boosts Citations and Understanding

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For decades, scientific communication followed a predictable format: paper, abstract, keywords, reference list. But digital transformation—accelerated by social media, open science, and new demands for public accountability—is steadily rewriting the rules. One of the clearest signs of this shift is the rise of the video abstract: a short scientific video that explains the essence, methodology, and significance of a study.

Today, video abstracts are no longer a novelty. They’ve become a strategic tool for increasing visibility, impact, and meeting communication requirements—especially within the context of European science funding programs.

Why Communication Is Now Central to Science

Under the Communication and Visibility Rules for EU programs (2021–2027), communication is no longer a nice-to-have—it’s a legally binding obligation for recipients of European funding. The core idea is simple: policy and communication are two sides of the same coin. Achieving results isn’t enough; they must also be visible, understandable, and accessible to diverse audiences.

The guidelines specifically encourage the use of “modern communication tools,” including video content, web platforms, and social media, to increase the public impact of scientific research. Video abstracts fit squarely into this category—scientific, visual, and easily adapted across channels.

What a Video Abstract Is—and What It Isn’t

A video abstract isn’t a promo video or marketing trailer. It’s a scientifically grounded, short (typically 1–3 minutes) visual explanation that:

  • Presents the research question
  • Explains the method or approach
  • Highlights the main findings
  • Emphasizes the significance—scientific, societal, or practical

This format blends storytelling, visuals, and narration, making it especially effective for audiences outside a narrow field of expertise—policymakers, journalists, researchers from other disciplines, students, and the general public.

Video and Visibility: What the EU Guidelines Say

The EU’s Communication and Visibility Rules outline 10 key principles. Those most relevant to video abstracts include:

  • A requirement for active communication efforts proportional to the scale of the project
  • Use of accurate, clear, and targeted information
  • The eligibility of communication costs, including video production
  • The EU’s right to use communication materials for broader visibility

A well-made video abstract checks all these boxes: it’s clear, scalable, easy to distribute, and compatible with both social and institutional EU channels.

Does Video Actually Increase Citations?

Mounting empirical evidence says yes. Analyses of journals like PLOS ONE, Nature, and BMJ show that articles accompanied by video abstracts:

  • Get more views
  • Are shared more often on social media
  • Receive significantly more citations than similar papers without video

The reason isn’t mysterious. Video abstracts lower the cognitive barrier to engaging with complex material. They help researchers from other fields quickly determine whether a paper is relevant to them—often the first step toward a citation.

It’s About Understanding, Not Just Visibility

From a learning science perspective, video activates multiple channels at once—visual, auditory, and narrative. This aligns with multimodal learning principles, which show that combining images and words leads to better retention and understanding.

This is where video abstracts go beyond promotion: they become tools for scientific literacy, a crucial need in an era when public trust in science can no longer be taken for granted.

Social Media: A Natural Habitat for Video Abstracts

Guidelines from the European Research Executive Agency highlight short videos as one of the most effective formats for engaging audiences online. A video abstract can easily be:

  • Posted on X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, or YouTube
  • Embedded on a project website
  • Used in presentations, training sessions, or public events
  • Adapted into shorter clips for various platforms

In this way, a research finding begins to live beyond the PDF—something traditional publications rarely achieve on their own.

The Video Abstract as a Building Block of Future Publishing

All of this points to a broader trend: the scientific article is no longer a standalone artifact. It’s becoming the core of an ecosystem of communication formats. Video abstracts don’t replace the written word—they enhance it, making research more accessible, citable, and comprehensible.

Within the EU’s framework for transparency, accountability, and societal impact, video abstracts aren’t just a best practice. They’re a logical next step in the evolution of scientific communication.

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