第三,图表的标注
也应该独立成文,并且无需阅读全文就能完全理解。因此,缩写要么不用,要么先定义后才用,同时应该避免使用技术术语。标注应清楚说明做了什么、观察到了什
么;也应简述使用了什么统计检验,给出P值,并对所用的符号进行定义。除了其中描述方法的语句,标注和图表标题都应采用现在时。比如,应该
写:“Western blot showing an increase in the levels of p53
after…”而不是“Western blotting showed that the levels of p53 increased
after…”。
In
the chapter on abstracts I mentioned that many readers will only read
the abstract of your paper, and so the abstract needed to be
self-contained, describing all of the important findings and their
significance. Some readers will go further than just the abstract and
look at the display items to validate the findings described in the
abstract, but still not read the entire paper. Thus, like the abstract,
the display items in your paper (along with their associated legends)
need to be able to stand alone and be understood without the need to
refer to the text of the paper.
Display items include figures and
tables, which are essentially graphical representations of the results
described in the text. Simply put, they are the most effective and
efficient way to present your results. With good figures and tables you
will be able to impart to the reader exactly what you found in your
study in a relatively short period of time (that is, much faster than it
would take the reader to read the entire paper). Researchers in rapidly
moving fields or with limited time to keep up to date with advances in
their field will appreciate the rapidity with which they can be informed
of your findings; journals editors and peer reviewers will appreciate
the clarity. Therefore, it is worthwhile devoting some thought and
attention to developing good quality figures and tables that clearly
convey your results. As with the other sections of scientific
manuscripts, there are certain ‘rules’ that should be followed when
generating display items. First, if you have a target journal in mind
already, consider how many display items they allow and ensure that you
do not exceed that limit. If you have more results to describe than can
be simply shown in the allowable number of display items, some may need
to be included in a Supplementary Information section, or described in
the text with the statement “(data not shown)”. However, only the least
important or peripheral findings should be described in this way, and
all findings that support your hypothesis need to be shown. Thus, you
may need to consider an alternative journal if your first choice will
not allow you to present all of your important data. By contrast, if a
journal allows more display items than is necessary to show your
findings, do not add redundant or unnecessary display items simply
because you can. All display items must have a clear and necessary
purpose.
Second, the data shown in figures and tables needs to be
easy to interpret. Consider how much data you wish to show in a given
display item and how it can be organized to convey the important
message. Therefore, rather than combining multiple parameters or
treatments into a single graphic, consider splitting the data across
multiple simpler graphics that can be grouped together in a single
figure. Remember to clearly label any graph axes, table columns and
rows, and components of diagrams if appropriate. Trendlines, scale bars
and the results of any statistical tests should be also shown, where
relevant, for example by using an asterisk to indicate significance, or a
variety of symbols to indicate different levels of significance. With
large samples, report the % change or % difference as well as absolute
values. Third, the legends accompanying display items need to be able
to stand alone such that the display items are entirely understandable
without the need to read the entire manuscript. That means abbreviations
should not be used or need to be defined, and technical terms should be
avoided. It should be clear exactly what was done and what was seen.
Statistical tests should be briefly described in the legends, with p
values given and any symbols used defined. Legends, including their
headings, should be written in the present tense with the exception of
any methods described within them. For example, use “Western blot
showing an increase in the levels of p53 after…” rather than “Western
blotting showed that the levels of p53 increased after…”.
Finally,
as mentioned in the chapter on writing the results section, there
should be no redundancies between the display items and the text.
Therefore, do not produce a display item to show information that can
easily and briefly be stated in the text, and do not duplicate
information among tables and figures, for example, by making a table to
show the same information already conveyed in a figure. Do not embed
figures and their legends within the text of the manuscript you plan to
submit. The publisher will put your text and display items into a
template ‘proof’ that will be specific to the target journal. What they
usually require from authors is a separate file containing display items
(occasionally these can be placed at the end of a manuscript files) and
a text file that includes figure and table legends listed together at
the end (usually following the references). Check the instructions for
authors of your intended target journal for their specific requirements.
By
preparing good quality, clear display items before writing the results
section, this section will practically write itself. The display items
can be grouped in a logical order that progresses your argument or
progressively strengthens your hypothesis. With one subsection and one
display item for each of the major findings, the subsection headings
will be similar to the relevant legend headings, and the text in each
subsection will provide a brief description of the findings shown in
each display item, complete with the results of statistical analyses,
with the reader being referred to the display items for more detail.
Examples
Tables
are a great way to present large amounts of necessary data with minimal
description required. The table shown above is a truncated version of a
table in a paper published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation
(doi:10.1172/JCI37622; reproduced with permission). The data presented
clearly and economically in this table would have required a
considerable amount of word space to describe in the text, but the use
of a table makes the information available without the need for a wordy
description. All that was required to describe this in the main text was
the following statement: “Clinical characteristics of all patients and
tumor samples are summarized in Table 1”. The figure below, taken from
the same paper, contains many of the elements of a successful display
item described in this chapter and listed in the checklist below.
Checklist 1. ‘Stand alone’ legends 2. Comply with the allowable number of display items 3. Avoid redundancy among display items or between display items and text 4. Divide data showing different effects or parameters among different panels within the same display item 5. Use scale bars, trend lines and clear labels, and show the results of statistical tests 6. Avoid or define all symbols and abbreviations 7. With large samples, show % changes/differences as well as absolute values 8. Submit figures in a separate file or at the end of the manuscript file rather than embedded in the main text 9.
Check the instructions for authors for any specific requirements
regarding format, size, color, number of items and any other parameters