How much is too much when it comes to diagrams in a research article? [closed]












4















This is actually specific to mathematics. In particular, in the sub field of category theory, differential geometry, algebraic geometry.



Question is as mentioned above.




How much is too much when it comes to diagrams in a research article?



Do more diagrams annoy a reader?




I did not expect this question to create so much confusion. May be some one who has experience (don’t ask how much) in reading research articles in mathematics (pure mathematics, if that makes some difference) can say something relevant as it differs from one field to another field.



By diagram, I do not mean graphs. I want to explain the setup in diagrams. I do not know if it reach correctly but, I want to add diagram of heart and not graph of case study how many times it beats in different persons of different age or something like that.










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closed as too broad by Mark, corey979, FuzzyLeapfrog, D.W., Brian Tompsett - 汤莱恩 Feb 24 at 13:18


Please edit the question to limit it to a specific problem with enough detail to identify an adequate answer. Avoid asking multiple distinct questions at once. See the How to Ask page for help clarifying this question. If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.














  • 1





    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proof_without_words

    – JeffE
    Feb 23 at 20:43






  • 3





    1,000,000 is too much. That is not a sharp upper bound. Anything that claims to be a sharp upper bound is probably absurd, hence your question lacks a precise answer. What sort of answer were you expecting?Something definite like 42?

    – John Coleman
    Feb 23 at 21:59













  • @JohnColeman Please see edit.

    – Praphulla Koushik
    Feb 23 at 23:29








  • 1





    In the three fields you mention, graphical explanations are very well-established. So "too many" is going to be entirely a matter of personal taste. I've seen plenty of of papers that seemed like they were half pictures.

    – Elizabeth Henning
    Feb 24 at 0:33











  • @ElizabethHenning Thanks for your comment... I do feel the same, just wanted to see other persons view...

    – Praphulla Koushik
    Feb 24 at 0:35
















4















This is actually specific to mathematics. In particular, in the sub field of category theory, differential geometry, algebraic geometry.



Question is as mentioned above.




How much is too much when it comes to diagrams in a research article?



Do more diagrams annoy a reader?




I did not expect this question to create so much confusion. May be some one who has experience (don’t ask how much) in reading research articles in mathematics (pure mathematics, if that makes some difference) can say something relevant as it differs from one field to another field.



By diagram, I do not mean graphs. I want to explain the setup in diagrams. I do not know if it reach correctly but, I want to add diagram of heart and not graph of case study how many times it beats in different persons of different age or something like that.










share|improve this question















closed as too broad by Mark, corey979, FuzzyLeapfrog, D.W., Brian Tompsett - 汤莱恩 Feb 24 at 13:18


Please edit the question to limit it to a specific problem with enough detail to identify an adequate answer. Avoid asking multiple distinct questions at once. See the How to Ask page for help clarifying this question. If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.














  • 1





    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proof_without_words

    – JeffE
    Feb 23 at 20:43






  • 3





    1,000,000 is too much. That is not a sharp upper bound. Anything that claims to be a sharp upper bound is probably absurd, hence your question lacks a precise answer. What sort of answer were you expecting?Something definite like 42?

    – John Coleman
    Feb 23 at 21:59













  • @JohnColeman Please see edit.

    – Praphulla Koushik
    Feb 23 at 23:29








  • 1





    In the three fields you mention, graphical explanations are very well-established. So "too many" is going to be entirely a matter of personal taste. I've seen plenty of of papers that seemed like they were half pictures.

    – Elizabeth Henning
    Feb 24 at 0:33











  • @ElizabethHenning Thanks for your comment... I do feel the same, just wanted to see other persons view...

    – Praphulla Koushik
    Feb 24 at 0:35














4












4








4








This is actually specific to mathematics. In particular, in the sub field of category theory, differential geometry, algebraic geometry.



Question is as mentioned above.




How much is too much when it comes to diagrams in a research article?



Do more diagrams annoy a reader?




I did not expect this question to create so much confusion. May be some one who has experience (don’t ask how much) in reading research articles in mathematics (pure mathematics, if that makes some difference) can say something relevant as it differs from one field to another field.



By diagram, I do not mean graphs. I want to explain the setup in diagrams. I do not know if it reach correctly but, I want to add diagram of heart and not graph of case study how many times it beats in different persons of different age or something like that.










share|improve this question
















This is actually specific to mathematics. In particular, in the sub field of category theory, differential geometry, algebraic geometry.



Question is as mentioned above.




How much is too much when it comes to diagrams in a research article?



Do more diagrams annoy a reader?




I did not expect this question to create so much confusion. May be some one who has experience (don’t ask how much) in reading research articles in mathematics (pure mathematics, if that makes some difference) can say something relevant as it differs from one field to another field.



By diagram, I do not mean graphs. I want to explain the setup in diagrams. I do not know if it reach correctly but, I want to add diagram of heart and not graph of case study how many times it beats in different persons of different age or something like that.







publications mathematics






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share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited Feb 23 at 23:41







Praphulla Koushik

















asked Feb 23 at 11:27









Praphulla KoushikPraphulla Koushik

1245




1245




closed as too broad by Mark, corey979, FuzzyLeapfrog, D.W., Brian Tompsett - 汤莱恩 Feb 24 at 13:18


Please edit the question to limit it to a specific problem with enough detail to identify an adequate answer. Avoid asking multiple distinct questions at once. See the How to Ask page for help clarifying this question. If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.









closed as too broad by Mark, corey979, FuzzyLeapfrog, D.W., Brian Tompsett - 汤莱恩 Feb 24 at 13:18


Please edit the question to limit it to a specific problem with enough detail to identify an adequate answer. Avoid asking multiple distinct questions at once. See the How to Ask page for help clarifying this question. If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.










  • 1





    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proof_without_words

    – JeffE
    Feb 23 at 20:43






  • 3





    1,000,000 is too much. That is not a sharp upper bound. Anything that claims to be a sharp upper bound is probably absurd, hence your question lacks a precise answer. What sort of answer were you expecting?Something definite like 42?

    – John Coleman
    Feb 23 at 21:59













  • @JohnColeman Please see edit.

    – Praphulla Koushik
    Feb 23 at 23:29








  • 1





    In the three fields you mention, graphical explanations are very well-established. So "too many" is going to be entirely a matter of personal taste. I've seen plenty of of papers that seemed like they were half pictures.

    – Elizabeth Henning
    Feb 24 at 0:33











  • @ElizabethHenning Thanks for your comment... I do feel the same, just wanted to see other persons view...

    – Praphulla Koushik
    Feb 24 at 0:35














  • 1





    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proof_without_words

    – JeffE
    Feb 23 at 20:43






  • 3





    1,000,000 is too much. That is not a sharp upper bound. Anything that claims to be a sharp upper bound is probably absurd, hence your question lacks a precise answer. What sort of answer were you expecting?Something definite like 42?

    – John Coleman
    Feb 23 at 21:59













  • @JohnColeman Please see edit.

    – Praphulla Koushik
    Feb 23 at 23:29








  • 1





    In the three fields you mention, graphical explanations are very well-established. So "too many" is going to be entirely a matter of personal taste. I've seen plenty of of papers that seemed like they were half pictures.

    – Elizabeth Henning
    Feb 24 at 0:33











  • @ElizabethHenning Thanks for your comment... I do feel the same, just wanted to see other persons view...

    – Praphulla Koushik
    Feb 24 at 0:35








1




1





en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proof_without_words

– JeffE
Feb 23 at 20:43





en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proof_without_words

– JeffE
Feb 23 at 20:43




3




3





1,000,000 is too much. That is not a sharp upper bound. Anything that claims to be a sharp upper bound is probably absurd, hence your question lacks a precise answer. What sort of answer were you expecting?Something definite like 42?

– John Coleman
Feb 23 at 21:59







1,000,000 is too much. That is not a sharp upper bound. Anything that claims to be a sharp upper bound is probably absurd, hence your question lacks a precise answer. What sort of answer were you expecting?Something definite like 42?

– John Coleman
Feb 23 at 21:59















@JohnColeman Please see edit.

– Praphulla Koushik
Feb 23 at 23:29







@JohnColeman Please see edit.

– Praphulla Koushik
Feb 23 at 23:29






1




1





In the three fields you mention, graphical explanations are very well-established. So "too many" is going to be entirely a matter of personal taste. I've seen plenty of of papers that seemed like they were half pictures.

– Elizabeth Henning
Feb 24 at 0:33





In the three fields you mention, graphical explanations are very well-established. So "too many" is going to be entirely a matter of personal taste. I've seen plenty of of papers that seemed like they were half pictures.

– Elizabeth Henning
Feb 24 at 0:33













@ElizabethHenning Thanks for your comment... I do feel the same, just wanted to see other persons view...

– Praphulla Koushik
Feb 24 at 0:35





@ElizabethHenning Thanks for your comment... I do feel the same, just wanted to see other persons view...

– Praphulla Koushik
Feb 24 at 0:35










6 Answers
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That entirely depends on the article itself. In some cases diagrams aid an explanation and make it clearer. In others they offer little insight. If an article depends on having many diagrams of the former kind, then I don't see that "too many" is an issue. But even a few of the latter kind may just get in the way of understanding.



Words and pictures can be complementary. It is a judgement call by the authors as to which is best in a given case. They may err a bit, but that is human nature.



In general, think about whether words or pictures/figures better convey your meaning and act accordingly. Sometimes both are needed. Examples illustrating (note the word) a concept are often best presented in figures. Imagine a Calculus textbook without figures. Now imagine one without formulae. Would either work?






share|improve this answer
























  • Thanks for your suggestion. I will keep in mind.. I have not much to ask on what you said...

    – Praphulla Koushik
    Feb 23 at 13:04



















3














I looked at 5 papers of mine in experimental science. The results:



enter image description here



As you can see, it's about ~1-2 figures per typeset page. I did count "panels" (a), (b), etc. as separate figures even though not numbered that way as they are separate on the page.



I never got any push back or even questions on figures from journals or reviewers. Had one co-author on D ask me to pull 3 modeled regressions (or number would have been higher). But the objection was not visual impact but just that he disagreed we needed to show a negative relationship.



In terms of what to show, they were almost all just data graphs and are in the results section. Maybe once or twice I showed a "cartoon" in discussion. Intro, methods, and conclusion tend to be figure free. So the figures are concentrated in the middle of the paper.



I really never wondered what to show--felt intuitive.






share|improve this answer
























  • Thanks for your suggestion. I will keep in mind.. I have not much to ask on what you said...

    – Praphulla Koushik
    Feb 23 at 13:04











  • +1 thanks for the work, good approach, as you have to explain the figures also in the floating text

    – Michael Schmidt
    Feb 23 at 14:08











  • Um yes. "Figure 1 shows the change in X with Y. It is linear from a to b. Blabla." I also use detailed figure captions that clearly mention axes, symbols and main insight. Figure captions are high gain text for a science paper reader. (This is normal practice in good experimental reports.)

    – guest
    Feb 23 at 14:20











  • What do you mean by figure captions??

    – Praphulla Koushik
    Feb 23 at 14:21






  • 1





    e-education.psu.edu/styleforstudents/c4_p12.html See examples here: cpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/sites.northwestern.edu/dist/f/44/files/…

    – guest
    Feb 23 at 14:38



















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I'm assuming by "diagrams" you mean computations done in graphical rather than inline symbolic form. In this case the answer depends on the field and on the reader--some people find a multi-page diagrammatic calculation annoying if it could be expressed more succinctly (if also more opaquely) using standard symbolic notation. However, there has been a general trend towards diagrammatic calculations, so it's a bit more au courant even if it annoys the old guard.



If on the other hand you mean "illustrating pictures," I think it's safe to say everybody likes looking at those.






share|improve this answer
























  • Thanks for your answer.... I like “it is a bit more au courant even if it annoys the old guard”.. :) :)

    – Praphulla Koushik
    Feb 23 at 23:36



















2














Personally, I like more diagrams in a paper with good captions.
More complex mental visualization can be aided greatly with diagrams.
If I am skimming through a paper, a diagram will catch my attention more easily, and if the caption does a good job of explaining by itself (with fewer prerequisites from the text of the paper), I am more likely to read other portions of paper in more detail. This is especially true for experimental results. Conversely, not having good captions defeats the purpose of the diagram. My opinion is based on computer science research papers in my small area, however, one of my favorite example is from mathematics






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    1














    I suspect there will be a practical limit related to experimental/theoretical sciences. You should also consider how peers start to read an article. This will vary a lot, I will often read the abstract first and then take immediately a look on the figures, then, maybe, I switch to conclusion, then, maybe, I start from the introduction. If your results are important and understandable easily, your paper will become cited many times in any way and peers are more inclined to read it, if you present a new method as a unknown researcher, I would apply a poster strategy and think thoroughly about what the 1-2 key statements/messages are you want to present instead of bombarding the reader with redundant figures. The attention span you get is the unknown parameter. Basically, there should be not much redundancy in your paper, therefore the the data/figures IMO should be compressed as much as possible withoug looking cluttered. This is an art and science you have to practice and you should carefully analyse how it can be improved whenever reading other papers. Asking how much figures are too much is leading away from the key problem here, which is attainable attention.






    share|improve this answer


























    • What do you think one should do for “attainable attention “

      – Praphulla Koushik
      Feb 23 at 14:51











    • @PraphullaKoushik you cannot "do", you should be aware of limited attention and that some readers of your article only overfly it, so the quality/amount of your figures and that the reader is able to fastly deduce the main statements of your paper is really important to increase its chances to get cited!

      – Michael Schmidt
      Feb 23 at 19:19



















    1














    There are fashions in these matters. When I was an undergraduate over 50 years ago, the presentation of pure mathematics was very strongly influenced by the Bourbaki school, which emphasised extreme abstraction. Diagrams were not allowed! If you wanted to study geometry in the two-dimensional Euclidean plane you first should master the geometries in n dimensions (no diagrams possible) and then set n=2.



    The reasoning behind this idea, which I must say rendered some of my courses incomprehensible, was that diagrams can mislead.



    The question to ask yourself is what you are trying to communicate and to whom. If you know your audience than you will know whether they like lots of pictures or, like the Bourbaki crowd, hate them. If, as is most likely, you do not know your audience, you can bet that what they most want from you is writing, with or without pictures, that is easy to understand.



    In short, put in graphics to aid understanding amongst your readers not just to make the paper look pretty.






    share|improve this answer






























      6 Answers
      6






      active

      oldest

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      6 Answers
      6






      active

      oldest

      votes









      active

      oldest

      votes






      active

      oldest

      votes









      3














      That entirely depends on the article itself. In some cases diagrams aid an explanation and make it clearer. In others they offer little insight. If an article depends on having many diagrams of the former kind, then I don't see that "too many" is an issue. But even a few of the latter kind may just get in the way of understanding.



      Words and pictures can be complementary. It is a judgement call by the authors as to which is best in a given case. They may err a bit, but that is human nature.



      In general, think about whether words or pictures/figures better convey your meaning and act accordingly. Sometimes both are needed. Examples illustrating (note the word) a concept are often best presented in figures. Imagine a Calculus textbook without figures. Now imagine one without formulae. Would either work?






      share|improve this answer
























      • Thanks for your suggestion. I will keep in mind.. I have not much to ask on what you said...

        – Praphulla Koushik
        Feb 23 at 13:04
















      3














      That entirely depends on the article itself. In some cases diagrams aid an explanation and make it clearer. In others they offer little insight. If an article depends on having many diagrams of the former kind, then I don't see that "too many" is an issue. But even a few of the latter kind may just get in the way of understanding.



      Words and pictures can be complementary. It is a judgement call by the authors as to which is best in a given case. They may err a bit, but that is human nature.



      In general, think about whether words or pictures/figures better convey your meaning and act accordingly. Sometimes both are needed. Examples illustrating (note the word) a concept are often best presented in figures. Imagine a Calculus textbook without figures. Now imagine one without formulae. Would either work?






      share|improve this answer
























      • Thanks for your suggestion. I will keep in mind.. I have not much to ask on what you said...

        – Praphulla Koushik
        Feb 23 at 13:04














      3












      3








      3







      That entirely depends on the article itself. In some cases diagrams aid an explanation and make it clearer. In others they offer little insight. If an article depends on having many diagrams of the former kind, then I don't see that "too many" is an issue. But even a few of the latter kind may just get in the way of understanding.



      Words and pictures can be complementary. It is a judgement call by the authors as to which is best in a given case. They may err a bit, but that is human nature.



      In general, think about whether words or pictures/figures better convey your meaning and act accordingly. Sometimes both are needed. Examples illustrating (note the word) a concept are often best presented in figures. Imagine a Calculus textbook without figures. Now imagine one without formulae. Would either work?






      share|improve this answer













      That entirely depends on the article itself. In some cases diagrams aid an explanation and make it clearer. In others they offer little insight. If an article depends on having many diagrams of the former kind, then I don't see that "too many" is an issue. But even a few of the latter kind may just get in the way of understanding.



      Words and pictures can be complementary. It is a judgement call by the authors as to which is best in a given case. They may err a bit, but that is human nature.



      In general, think about whether words or pictures/figures better convey your meaning and act accordingly. Sometimes both are needed. Examples illustrating (note the word) a concept are often best presented in figures. Imagine a Calculus textbook without figures. Now imagine one without formulae. Would either work?







      share|improve this answer












      share|improve this answer



      share|improve this answer










      answered Feb 23 at 12:13









      BuffyBuffy

      49.6k13162245




      49.6k13162245













      • Thanks for your suggestion. I will keep in mind.. I have not much to ask on what you said...

        – Praphulla Koushik
        Feb 23 at 13:04



















      • Thanks for your suggestion. I will keep in mind.. I have not much to ask on what you said...

        – Praphulla Koushik
        Feb 23 at 13:04

















      Thanks for your suggestion. I will keep in mind.. I have not much to ask on what you said...

      – Praphulla Koushik
      Feb 23 at 13:04





      Thanks for your suggestion. I will keep in mind.. I have not much to ask on what you said...

      – Praphulla Koushik
      Feb 23 at 13:04











      3














      I looked at 5 papers of mine in experimental science. The results:



      enter image description here



      As you can see, it's about ~1-2 figures per typeset page. I did count "panels" (a), (b), etc. as separate figures even though not numbered that way as they are separate on the page.



      I never got any push back or even questions on figures from journals or reviewers. Had one co-author on D ask me to pull 3 modeled regressions (or number would have been higher). But the objection was not visual impact but just that he disagreed we needed to show a negative relationship.



      In terms of what to show, they were almost all just data graphs and are in the results section. Maybe once or twice I showed a "cartoon" in discussion. Intro, methods, and conclusion tend to be figure free. So the figures are concentrated in the middle of the paper.



      I really never wondered what to show--felt intuitive.






      share|improve this answer
























      • Thanks for your suggestion. I will keep in mind.. I have not much to ask on what you said...

        – Praphulla Koushik
        Feb 23 at 13:04











      • +1 thanks for the work, good approach, as you have to explain the figures also in the floating text

        – Michael Schmidt
        Feb 23 at 14:08











      • Um yes. "Figure 1 shows the change in X with Y. It is linear from a to b. Blabla." I also use detailed figure captions that clearly mention axes, symbols and main insight. Figure captions are high gain text for a science paper reader. (This is normal practice in good experimental reports.)

        – guest
        Feb 23 at 14:20











      • What do you mean by figure captions??

        – Praphulla Koushik
        Feb 23 at 14:21






      • 1





        e-education.psu.edu/styleforstudents/c4_p12.html See examples here: cpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/sites.northwestern.edu/dist/f/44/files/…

        – guest
        Feb 23 at 14:38
















      3














      I looked at 5 papers of mine in experimental science. The results:



      enter image description here



      As you can see, it's about ~1-2 figures per typeset page. I did count "panels" (a), (b), etc. as separate figures even though not numbered that way as they are separate on the page.



      I never got any push back or even questions on figures from journals or reviewers. Had one co-author on D ask me to pull 3 modeled regressions (or number would have been higher). But the objection was not visual impact but just that he disagreed we needed to show a negative relationship.



      In terms of what to show, they were almost all just data graphs and are in the results section. Maybe once or twice I showed a "cartoon" in discussion. Intro, methods, and conclusion tend to be figure free. So the figures are concentrated in the middle of the paper.



      I really never wondered what to show--felt intuitive.






      share|improve this answer
























      • Thanks for your suggestion. I will keep in mind.. I have not much to ask on what you said...

        – Praphulla Koushik
        Feb 23 at 13:04











      • +1 thanks for the work, good approach, as you have to explain the figures also in the floating text

        – Michael Schmidt
        Feb 23 at 14:08











      • Um yes. "Figure 1 shows the change in X with Y. It is linear from a to b. Blabla." I also use detailed figure captions that clearly mention axes, symbols and main insight. Figure captions are high gain text for a science paper reader. (This is normal practice in good experimental reports.)

        – guest
        Feb 23 at 14:20











      • What do you mean by figure captions??

        – Praphulla Koushik
        Feb 23 at 14:21






      • 1





        e-education.psu.edu/styleforstudents/c4_p12.html See examples here: cpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/sites.northwestern.edu/dist/f/44/files/…

        – guest
        Feb 23 at 14:38














      3












      3








      3







      I looked at 5 papers of mine in experimental science. The results:



      enter image description here



      As you can see, it's about ~1-2 figures per typeset page. I did count "panels" (a), (b), etc. as separate figures even though not numbered that way as they are separate on the page.



      I never got any push back or even questions on figures from journals or reviewers. Had one co-author on D ask me to pull 3 modeled regressions (or number would have been higher). But the objection was not visual impact but just that he disagreed we needed to show a negative relationship.



      In terms of what to show, they were almost all just data graphs and are in the results section. Maybe once or twice I showed a "cartoon" in discussion. Intro, methods, and conclusion tend to be figure free. So the figures are concentrated in the middle of the paper.



      I really never wondered what to show--felt intuitive.






      share|improve this answer













      I looked at 5 papers of mine in experimental science. The results:



      enter image description here



      As you can see, it's about ~1-2 figures per typeset page. I did count "panels" (a), (b), etc. as separate figures even though not numbered that way as they are separate on the page.



      I never got any push back or even questions on figures from journals or reviewers. Had one co-author on D ask me to pull 3 modeled regressions (or number would have been higher). But the objection was not visual impact but just that he disagreed we needed to show a negative relationship.



      In terms of what to show, they were almost all just data graphs and are in the results section. Maybe once or twice I showed a "cartoon" in discussion. Intro, methods, and conclusion tend to be figure free. So the figures are concentrated in the middle of the paper.



      I really never wondered what to show--felt intuitive.







      share|improve this answer












      share|improve this answer



      share|improve this answer










      answered Feb 23 at 12:55









      guestguest

      1553




      1553













      • Thanks for your suggestion. I will keep in mind.. I have not much to ask on what you said...

        – Praphulla Koushik
        Feb 23 at 13:04











      • +1 thanks for the work, good approach, as you have to explain the figures also in the floating text

        – Michael Schmidt
        Feb 23 at 14:08











      • Um yes. "Figure 1 shows the change in X with Y. It is linear from a to b. Blabla." I also use detailed figure captions that clearly mention axes, symbols and main insight. Figure captions are high gain text for a science paper reader. (This is normal practice in good experimental reports.)

        – guest
        Feb 23 at 14:20











      • What do you mean by figure captions??

        – Praphulla Koushik
        Feb 23 at 14:21






      • 1





        e-education.psu.edu/styleforstudents/c4_p12.html See examples here: cpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/sites.northwestern.edu/dist/f/44/files/…

        – guest
        Feb 23 at 14:38



















      • Thanks for your suggestion. I will keep in mind.. I have not much to ask on what you said...

        – Praphulla Koushik
        Feb 23 at 13:04











      • +1 thanks for the work, good approach, as you have to explain the figures also in the floating text

        – Michael Schmidt
        Feb 23 at 14:08











      • Um yes. "Figure 1 shows the change in X with Y. It is linear from a to b. Blabla." I also use detailed figure captions that clearly mention axes, symbols and main insight. Figure captions are high gain text for a science paper reader. (This is normal practice in good experimental reports.)

        – guest
        Feb 23 at 14:20











      • What do you mean by figure captions??

        – Praphulla Koushik
        Feb 23 at 14:21






      • 1





        e-education.psu.edu/styleforstudents/c4_p12.html See examples here: cpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/sites.northwestern.edu/dist/f/44/files/…

        – guest
        Feb 23 at 14:38

















      Thanks for your suggestion. I will keep in mind.. I have not much to ask on what you said...

      – Praphulla Koushik
      Feb 23 at 13:04





      Thanks for your suggestion. I will keep in mind.. I have not much to ask on what you said...

      – Praphulla Koushik
      Feb 23 at 13:04













      +1 thanks for the work, good approach, as you have to explain the figures also in the floating text

      – Michael Schmidt
      Feb 23 at 14:08





      +1 thanks for the work, good approach, as you have to explain the figures also in the floating text

      – Michael Schmidt
      Feb 23 at 14:08













      Um yes. "Figure 1 shows the change in X with Y. It is linear from a to b. Blabla." I also use detailed figure captions that clearly mention axes, symbols and main insight. Figure captions are high gain text for a science paper reader. (This is normal practice in good experimental reports.)

      – guest
      Feb 23 at 14:20





      Um yes. "Figure 1 shows the change in X with Y. It is linear from a to b. Blabla." I also use detailed figure captions that clearly mention axes, symbols and main insight. Figure captions are high gain text for a science paper reader. (This is normal practice in good experimental reports.)

      – guest
      Feb 23 at 14:20













      What do you mean by figure captions??

      – Praphulla Koushik
      Feb 23 at 14:21





      What do you mean by figure captions??

      – Praphulla Koushik
      Feb 23 at 14:21




      1




      1





      e-education.psu.edu/styleforstudents/c4_p12.html See examples here: cpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/sites.northwestern.edu/dist/f/44/files/…

      – guest
      Feb 23 at 14:38





      e-education.psu.edu/styleforstudents/c4_p12.html See examples here: cpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/sites.northwestern.edu/dist/f/44/files/…

      – guest
      Feb 23 at 14:38











      2














      I'm assuming by "diagrams" you mean computations done in graphical rather than inline symbolic form. In this case the answer depends on the field and on the reader--some people find a multi-page diagrammatic calculation annoying if it could be expressed more succinctly (if also more opaquely) using standard symbolic notation. However, there has been a general trend towards diagrammatic calculations, so it's a bit more au courant even if it annoys the old guard.



      If on the other hand you mean "illustrating pictures," I think it's safe to say everybody likes looking at those.






      share|improve this answer
























      • Thanks for your answer.... I like “it is a bit more au courant even if it annoys the old guard”.. :) :)

        – Praphulla Koushik
        Feb 23 at 23:36
















      2














      I'm assuming by "diagrams" you mean computations done in graphical rather than inline symbolic form. In this case the answer depends on the field and on the reader--some people find a multi-page diagrammatic calculation annoying if it could be expressed more succinctly (if also more opaquely) using standard symbolic notation. However, there has been a general trend towards diagrammatic calculations, so it's a bit more au courant even if it annoys the old guard.



      If on the other hand you mean "illustrating pictures," I think it's safe to say everybody likes looking at those.






      share|improve this answer
























      • Thanks for your answer.... I like “it is a bit more au courant even if it annoys the old guard”.. :) :)

        – Praphulla Koushik
        Feb 23 at 23:36














      2












      2








      2







      I'm assuming by "diagrams" you mean computations done in graphical rather than inline symbolic form. In this case the answer depends on the field and on the reader--some people find a multi-page diagrammatic calculation annoying if it could be expressed more succinctly (if also more opaquely) using standard symbolic notation. However, there has been a general trend towards diagrammatic calculations, so it's a bit more au courant even if it annoys the old guard.



      If on the other hand you mean "illustrating pictures," I think it's safe to say everybody likes looking at those.






      share|improve this answer













      I'm assuming by "diagrams" you mean computations done in graphical rather than inline symbolic form. In this case the answer depends on the field and on the reader--some people find a multi-page diagrammatic calculation annoying if it could be expressed more succinctly (if also more opaquely) using standard symbolic notation. However, there has been a general trend towards diagrammatic calculations, so it's a bit more au courant even if it annoys the old guard.



      If on the other hand you mean "illustrating pictures," I think it's safe to say everybody likes looking at those.







      share|improve this answer












      share|improve this answer



      share|improve this answer










      answered Feb 23 at 20:03









      Elizabeth HenningElizabeth Henning

      5,77711033




      5,77711033













      • Thanks for your answer.... I like “it is a bit more au courant even if it annoys the old guard”.. :) :)

        – Praphulla Koushik
        Feb 23 at 23:36



















      • Thanks for your answer.... I like “it is a bit more au courant even if it annoys the old guard”.. :) :)

        – Praphulla Koushik
        Feb 23 at 23:36

















      Thanks for your answer.... I like “it is a bit more au courant even if it annoys the old guard”.. :) :)

      – Praphulla Koushik
      Feb 23 at 23:36





      Thanks for your answer.... I like “it is a bit more au courant even if it annoys the old guard”.. :) :)

      – Praphulla Koushik
      Feb 23 at 23:36











      2














      Personally, I like more diagrams in a paper with good captions.
      More complex mental visualization can be aided greatly with diagrams.
      If I am skimming through a paper, a diagram will catch my attention more easily, and if the caption does a good job of explaining by itself (with fewer prerequisites from the text of the paper), I am more likely to read other portions of paper in more detail. This is especially true for experimental results. Conversely, not having good captions defeats the purpose of the diagram. My opinion is based on computer science research papers in my small area, however, one of my favorite example is from mathematics






      share|improve this answer






























        2














        Personally, I like more diagrams in a paper with good captions.
        More complex mental visualization can be aided greatly with diagrams.
        If I am skimming through a paper, a diagram will catch my attention more easily, and if the caption does a good job of explaining by itself (with fewer prerequisites from the text of the paper), I am more likely to read other portions of paper in more detail. This is especially true for experimental results. Conversely, not having good captions defeats the purpose of the diagram. My opinion is based on computer science research papers in my small area, however, one of my favorite example is from mathematics






        share|improve this answer




























          2












          2








          2







          Personally, I like more diagrams in a paper with good captions.
          More complex mental visualization can be aided greatly with diagrams.
          If I am skimming through a paper, a diagram will catch my attention more easily, and if the caption does a good job of explaining by itself (with fewer prerequisites from the text of the paper), I am more likely to read other portions of paper in more detail. This is especially true for experimental results. Conversely, not having good captions defeats the purpose of the diagram. My opinion is based on computer science research papers in my small area, however, one of my favorite example is from mathematics






          share|improve this answer















          Personally, I like more diagrams in a paper with good captions.
          More complex mental visualization can be aided greatly with diagrams.
          If I am skimming through a paper, a diagram will catch my attention more easily, and if the caption does a good job of explaining by itself (with fewer prerequisites from the text of the paper), I am more likely to read other portions of paper in more detail. This is especially true for experimental results. Conversely, not having good captions defeats the purpose of the diagram. My opinion is based on computer science research papers in my small area, however, one of my favorite example is from mathematics







          share|improve this answer














          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer








          edited Feb 23 at 20:07

























          answered Feb 23 at 17:18









          zimbra314zimbra314

          1213




          1213























              1














              I suspect there will be a practical limit related to experimental/theoretical sciences. You should also consider how peers start to read an article. This will vary a lot, I will often read the abstract first and then take immediately a look on the figures, then, maybe, I switch to conclusion, then, maybe, I start from the introduction. If your results are important and understandable easily, your paper will become cited many times in any way and peers are more inclined to read it, if you present a new method as a unknown researcher, I would apply a poster strategy and think thoroughly about what the 1-2 key statements/messages are you want to present instead of bombarding the reader with redundant figures. The attention span you get is the unknown parameter. Basically, there should be not much redundancy in your paper, therefore the the data/figures IMO should be compressed as much as possible withoug looking cluttered. This is an art and science you have to practice and you should carefully analyse how it can be improved whenever reading other papers. Asking how much figures are too much is leading away from the key problem here, which is attainable attention.






              share|improve this answer


























              • What do you think one should do for “attainable attention “

                – Praphulla Koushik
                Feb 23 at 14:51











              • @PraphullaKoushik you cannot "do", you should be aware of limited attention and that some readers of your article only overfly it, so the quality/amount of your figures and that the reader is able to fastly deduce the main statements of your paper is really important to increase its chances to get cited!

                – Michael Schmidt
                Feb 23 at 19:19
















              1














              I suspect there will be a practical limit related to experimental/theoretical sciences. You should also consider how peers start to read an article. This will vary a lot, I will often read the abstract first and then take immediately a look on the figures, then, maybe, I switch to conclusion, then, maybe, I start from the introduction. If your results are important and understandable easily, your paper will become cited many times in any way and peers are more inclined to read it, if you present a new method as a unknown researcher, I would apply a poster strategy and think thoroughly about what the 1-2 key statements/messages are you want to present instead of bombarding the reader with redundant figures. The attention span you get is the unknown parameter. Basically, there should be not much redundancy in your paper, therefore the the data/figures IMO should be compressed as much as possible withoug looking cluttered. This is an art and science you have to practice and you should carefully analyse how it can be improved whenever reading other papers. Asking how much figures are too much is leading away from the key problem here, which is attainable attention.






              share|improve this answer


























              • What do you think one should do for “attainable attention “

                – Praphulla Koushik
                Feb 23 at 14:51











              • @PraphullaKoushik you cannot "do", you should be aware of limited attention and that some readers of your article only overfly it, so the quality/amount of your figures and that the reader is able to fastly deduce the main statements of your paper is really important to increase its chances to get cited!

                – Michael Schmidt
                Feb 23 at 19:19














              1












              1








              1







              I suspect there will be a practical limit related to experimental/theoretical sciences. You should also consider how peers start to read an article. This will vary a lot, I will often read the abstract first and then take immediately a look on the figures, then, maybe, I switch to conclusion, then, maybe, I start from the introduction. If your results are important and understandable easily, your paper will become cited many times in any way and peers are more inclined to read it, if you present a new method as a unknown researcher, I would apply a poster strategy and think thoroughly about what the 1-2 key statements/messages are you want to present instead of bombarding the reader with redundant figures. The attention span you get is the unknown parameter. Basically, there should be not much redundancy in your paper, therefore the the data/figures IMO should be compressed as much as possible withoug looking cluttered. This is an art and science you have to practice and you should carefully analyse how it can be improved whenever reading other papers. Asking how much figures are too much is leading away from the key problem here, which is attainable attention.






              share|improve this answer















              I suspect there will be a practical limit related to experimental/theoretical sciences. You should also consider how peers start to read an article. This will vary a lot, I will often read the abstract first and then take immediately a look on the figures, then, maybe, I switch to conclusion, then, maybe, I start from the introduction. If your results are important and understandable easily, your paper will become cited many times in any way and peers are more inclined to read it, if you present a new method as a unknown researcher, I would apply a poster strategy and think thoroughly about what the 1-2 key statements/messages are you want to present instead of bombarding the reader with redundant figures. The attention span you get is the unknown parameter. Basically, there should be not much redundancy in your paper, therefore the the data/figures IMO should be compressed as much as possible withoug looking cluttered. This is an art and science you have to practice and you should carefully analyse how it can be improved whenever reading other papers. Asking how much figures are too much is leading away from the key problem here, which is attainable attention.







              share|improve this answer














              share|improve this answer



              share|improve this answer








              edited Feb 23 at 14:43

























              answered Feb 23 at 14:24









              Michael SchmidtMichael Schmidt

              32819




              32819













              • What do you think one should do for “attainable attention “

                – Praphulla Koushik
                Feb 23 at 14:51











              • @PraphullaKoushik you cannot "do", you should be aware of limited attention and that some readers of your article only overfly it, so the quality/amount of your figures and that the reader is able to fastly deduce the main statements of your paper is really important to increase its chances to get cited!

                – Michael Schmidt
                Feb 23 at 19:19



















              • What do you think one should do for “attainable attention “

                – Praphulla Koushik
                Feb 23 at 14:51











              • @PraphullaKoushik you cannot "do", you should be aware of limited attention and that some readers of your article only overfly it, so the quality/amount of your figures and that the reader is able to fastly deduce the main statements of your paper is really important to increase its chances to get cited!

                – Michael Schmidt
                Feb 23 at 19:19

















              What do you think one should do for “attainable attention “

              – Praphulla Koushik
              Feb 23 at 14:51





              What do you think one should do for “attainable attention “

              – Praphulla Koushik
              Feb 23 at 14:51













              @PraphullaKoushik you cannot "do", you should be aware of limited attention and that some readers of your article only overfly it, so the quality/amount of your figures and that the reader is able to fastly deduce the main statements of your paper is really important to increase its chances to get cited!

              – Michael Schmidt
              Feb 23 at 19:19





              @PraphullaKoushik you cannot "do", you should be aware of limited attention and that some readers of your article only overfly it, so the quality/amount of your figures and that the reader is able to fastly deduce the main statements of your paper is really important to increase its chances to get cited!

              – Michael Schmidt
              Feb 23 at 19:19











              1














              There are fashions in these matters. When I was an undergraduate over 50 years ago, the presentation of pure mathematics was very strongly influenced by the Bourbaki school, which emphasised extreme abstraction. Diagrams were not allowed! If you wanted to study geometry in the two-dimensional Euclidean plane you first should master the geometries in n dimensions (no diagrams possible) and then set n=2.



              The reasoning behind this idea, which I must say rendered some of my courses incomprehensible, was that diagrams can mislead.



              The question to ask yourself is what you are trying to communicate and to whom. If you know your audience than you will know whether they like lots of pictures or, like the Bourbaki crowd, hate them. If, as is most likely, you do not know your audience, you can bet that what they most want from you is writing, with or without pictures, that is easy to understand.



              In short, put in graphics to aid understanding amongst your readers not just to make the paper look pretty.






              share|improve this answer




























                1














                There are fashions in these matters. When I was an undergraduate over 50 years ago, the presentation of pure mathematics was very strongly influenced by the Bourbaki school, which emphasised extreme abstraction. Diagrams were not allowed! If you wanted to study geometry in the two-dimensional Euclidean plane you first should master the geometries in n dimensions (no diagrams possible) and then set n=2.



                The reasoning behind this idea, which I must say rendered some of my courses incomprehensible, was that diagrams can mislead.



                The question to ask yourself is what you are trying to communicate and to whom. If you know your audience than you will know whether they like lots of pictures or, like the Bourbaki crowd, hate them. If, as is most likely, you do not know your audience, you can bet that what they most want from you is writing, with or without pictures, that is easy to understand.



                In short, put in graphics to aid understanding amongst your readers not just to make the paper look pretty.






                share|improve this answer


























                  1












                  1








                  1







                  There are fashions in these matters. When I was an undergraduate over 50 years ago, the presentation of pure mathematics was very strongly influenced by the Bourbaki school, which emphasised extreme abstraction. Diagrams were not allowed! If you wanted to study geometry in the two-dimensional Euclidean plane you first should master the geometries in n dimensions (no diagrams possible) and then set n=2.



                  The reasoning behind this idea, which I must say rendered some of my courses incomprehensible, was that diagrams can mislead.



                  The question to ask yourself is what you are trying to communicate and to whom. If you know your audience than you will know whether they like lots of pictures or, like the Bourbaki crowd, hate them. If, as is most likely, you do not know your audience, you can bet that what they most want from you is writing, with or without pictures, that is easy to understand.



                  In short, put in graphics to aid understanding amongst your readers not just to make the paper look pretty.






                  share|improve this answer













                  There are fashions in these matters. When I was an undergraduate over 50 years ago, the presentation of pure mathematics was very strongly influenced by the Bourbaki school, which emphasised extreme abstraction. Diagrams were not allowed! If you wanted to study geometry in the two-dimensional Euclidean plane you first should master the geometries in n dimensions (no diagrams possible) and then set n=2.



                  The reasoning behind this idea, which I must say rendered some of my courses incomprehensible, was that diagrams can mislead.



                  The question to ask yourself is what you are trying to communicate and to whom. If you know your audience than you will know whether they like lots of pictures or, like the Bourbaki crowd, hate them. If, as is most likely, you do not know your audience, you can bet that what they most want from you is writing, with or without pictures, that is easy to understand.



                  In short, put in graphics to aid understanding amongst your readers not just to make the paper look pretty.







                  share|improve this answer












                  share|improve this answer



                  share|improve this answer










                  answered Feb 23 at 23:07









                  JeremyCJeremyC

                  1,02939




                  1,02939















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