When you get to that all important stage of putting your results together for a publication, it's vital to have the figures in the correct order & telling the story in the right way. Figures are the most important part of a research paper, as well as your interpretation of them. Writing papers and arranging figures gets easier with time & practice, here are a few helpful tips that I found useful when I was starting out in the writing game...
1. Smile! If you've gotten this far then congratulations! Paper writing is a daunting task that like everything, seems much more complcated and difficult before you start it. But it's all about practice and lots of drafts & re-drafts, it's a skill that can be developed and honed over time. You have the hard part over with, I'm sure getting that data together took a lot of time, stress & heartbreak, so enjoy this brief respite from the bench!
2. Put the figures together first. Once you have them ordered, it's much easier to write the results section, as you know what to say/describe and when. The same goes for materials and methods, much more straightforward when the figures are in place.
3. The first figure should be ticking the boxes/showing preliminary data/highlighting the result that made you study this topic in the first place. This may seem like an obvious statement but sometimes panels are added to figures as an after thought or aside when they should have been right at the beginning.
4. Use panels wisely. Don't jam 8 panels together just to fill space, some results can stand alone, others are better grouped together as they highlight eachother's findings or may be several ways of showing a similar thing. On the other hand, 6 individual results may not be enough on their own (unless they're fantastic) so it's hard to know how to best lay things out, once it's clear and easy to follow, that's the main thing.
5. Size matters! Font is hugely important; figures are often shrunk right down to accomodate the size of the journals pages, so it's vital to have huge lettering and numbering-especially on axes and labels. I use font 20 and above, it looks a bit ridiculous in word but it makes reading the paper a lot easier in the long run.
6. Make sure figures in the correct order; which experiment should naturally follow the next, what way is it best to present the data such that the story is told well etc.
7. Legends are also a fundamental part of getting figures right. Don't overload them with info about the method, but make sure every part of the graph is explained clearly. A short succint statement about the main finding is good too. Reviewers can often ask for more or less text in legends so check what's the norm for the particular journal you're aiming towards.
Of course your boss will have final say on which way things will appear in the publication, but it's good to have a headstart & always helpful to practice for that big day when we'll have to do things on our own! But that scary time is far far away...for now!
Any questions or comments, just let me know.
Rachel xxx
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