A visual abstract is an article that displays a scientific result through an image. These images can be anything from Infographic-style summaries of research studies to illustrations of processes or mechanisms. They can promote interdisciplinary scholarship, as well as promote quality control. Here are some examples of what makes a good visual abstract. Let’s look at each one in more detail. This will give you an idea of how they work and why they are so important.
Infographic-style overviews of research studies
The Visual Abstract is a medical research summary. While medical abstracts are full of technical jargon and are aimed at other scientists, infographic-style summaries focus on the main scientific message and the “so what” factor. While medical abstracts do not need peer-reviewing, they are still helpful for researchers to promote their research. Here are some tips on creating an effective infographic:
A well-presented visual abstract tells the story of the entire research study. It becomes the heart of the article and increases the chances of being cited by other journals. Readers are attracted to the infographic-style overviews. Using a visual abstract can boost a paper’s page view statistics two times. Increasing page views and getting cited by other publications is a key benefit of a visual abstract.
Although graphical abstracts are fairly new, they are already common in scientific publications. While the style of an infographic-style overview varies widely, they generally consist of diagrams. Unlike text-based abstracts, visual abstracts are intended for general audiences, including lay readers. However, few studies have evaluated their effectiveness. Researchers should keep in mind that the visual abstract should be suitable for the intended audience.
Illustrations of processes or mechanisms
While the text abstract outlines the minute details of a scientific paper, visual abstracts are designed to convey the key ideas. The visual abstract should be simple to read and contain keywords or phrases that are easily understood. Andrew Ibrahim, a clinical lecturer in surgery at the University of Michigan, leads the Annals of Surgery. His first visual abstract evolved from creating slides for presentations. He discussed the process with his mentor, Dr. Justin Dimick. Today, he is a leader in the field of visual abstracts.
Many journals and publishing houses are changing their content to include visual abstracts. They are also becoming more common in fields other than biology. A visual abstract is an image of a high-resolution paper representing the general idea. The abstract can summarize a research article, review article, or short communication. Because it’s a high-quality visual representation, it can help communicate the main points of a paper.
