Writing and Publishing Scientific Articles
8-6
Figures
Figures can show data visually or show complex relationships between values. They also can serve to enhance your readers’ understanding of complicated information. Types of figures include photographs, line drawings, flow charts, schematics, and graphs (graphs will be discussed separately).
Check the journal’s author instructions for specific guidelines on electronic figure preparation, including file format and resolution.
Figures Other than Graphs
Figure Guidelines
The variety of types of figures is huge, and many books have been written about creating figures. Providing advice on creating effective photographs, line drawings, and other figures is outside the scope of this chapter. However, the following points are applicable to most types of figures. Make it easy for your readers to find the most important points in your figures and to understand what your figures show. Use arrows or other indicators to point out important items in a figure so that readers do not need to search for them. And be sure to label the items required to understand the figure so that readers can identify them easily. Whenever possible, put information on the figure itself rather than in the figure legend. All figures need legends, but it is hard on readers if they have to switch back and forth between a figure and its legend to understand what is being illustrated. For example, label lanes on photographs of gels and autoradiographs. Most journals will print your figures much smaller than the originals. Therefore, make labeling on figures large. Otherwise, when the figures are reduced by the publisher, the labeling will not be readable. Also, make sure that letters and symbols can be distinguished from the images on the figure (for example, do not place a black letter on a dark image or a white symbol on a very light image). Be sure to include any relevant information that does not appear on the figure itself in the accompanying legend. General guidelines for legends include the following:
▪ Give enough information that the reader can understand the figure without referring to the text of the article.
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