Trends in the Use of Promotional Language (Hype) in National Institutes of Health Funding Opportunity Announcements, 1992-2020

Neil Millar, Bojan Batalo, Brian Budgell

Abstract: An article in JAMA Network Open found that in abstracts of successful National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant applications the use of promotional language (hype) increased substantially from 1985 to 2020. As part of the discussion stimulated by the article, the question was raised as to what was motivating this change in language. In particular, some commentators questioned whether some of the responsibility for the proliferation of hype might not, in part, reside with the NIH itself. This study therefore assesses the use of hype in NIH funding opportunity announcements (FOA) from 1992 to 2020 and compares trends with those reported in grant applications.