The world of science is inundated with figures, graphs, and tables. Researchers spend a lot of time making sense of their data to communicate their findings to the rest of the scientific community. As such, it is common to see figures and tables in research articles. Even so, scientists realize there is often more to be gained from data than just its numerical value. Visual abstract is one way for researchers to convey information that doesn’t fit into the confines of a table or figure: they tell a story about what happened by giving context and meaning to numbers and observations in an experiment. This article discusses how visual abstracts help us understand complex datasets.
Visual abstract is a term coined by researchers and editors at scientific journals. It refers to the visual representation of the most important parts of a manuscript informing readers about what happened during an experiment or investigation. It is often referred to as “a picture is worth a thousand words.” This means fewer words than normal text to explain complex data through an image, such as graphs and figures. The use of visual abstracts has been gaining popularity over the past decade due partly to Editor’s interest in moving away from traditional methods for communicating research findings. One reason is that journals use them to decide which articles will be sent for peer review because they provide a quick snapshot of what the study was about and how it panned out. Many journals explicitly request visual abstracts from authors to make their decision easier.
In short, visual abstracts are tools used by scientists to communicate their findings more efficiently. They help summarize complex research findings in a visually appealing format that anyone can understand. We see this evidence every day through infographics on the news and social media outlets such as Twitter — images that tell stories quickly. Since at least the 1950s, visual abstracts have been around when they were called “abstract graphs” or “graphical abstract.” As information became more widely accessible with the advent of the printing press, newspapers started to use infographics to communicate knowledge. During World War II, visual abstracts were used by government agencies for war propaganda. Later during the 1960s and 1970s, some psychology research journals began using them as part of their submission requirements.
In conclusion, science today is incredibly complex because researchers face so many challenges. Although science is ever-evolving, it must remain accessible to the greater scientific community and laypeople alike. With this in mind, scientific journals are now making visual abstracts an important part of the publication process to communicate research findings through figures and graphs that show data rather than just numbers. This will help further advances in science and greatly enhance public understanding of research results by conveying information quickly and easily.
