Charts in scientific research papers are the most intuitive way to show research results. Tables and pictures can express some complex information more clearly and intuitively, such as the relationship between complex systems and the sequence of events. Clear, intuitive and correctly expressed pictures will enhance the persuasiveness of the article, and its effect is often better than that of a long paragraph of text description.

Nowadays, many journals have clear requirements on the resolution, format and text labeling of pictures. Therefore, after the target journal is determined, the pictures of the articles should be revised according to the "submission instructions" of the journal. The pictures in the article generally come from photos, graphics made by drawing software or mathematical processing software. Using appropriate tools to deal with different types of diagrams can achieve twice the result with half the effort. For example:

Photo processing tools, heavyweight Photoshop, lightweight ACDSee and sketchpad, I personally recommend GIMP. Because it is not only a very powerful open source software, but also supports the import and export of various formats.

Commonly used mathematical processing software are MatLab and Origin. Origin can make very professional graphics. Of course, Excel is also a good choice.

Flowchart can meet almost all the requirements of Visio or PPT.

In the use of pictures, there are some places that are prone to problems, which need to be noted:

(1) Make sure that the information provided by each picture is clear and credible. The original images obtained in the experiment must be preserved for a long time. All modifications and adjustments in the later period shall not distort the image or affect the authenticity of the original image. The modified image can only be saved as other files. Do not overwrite the original image.

(2) Photographs should pay attention to the intake of reference objects, the background is clean, and the higher the resolution, the better. Don't shoot against the light.

(3) The picture is concise and to the point, and try to delete unnecessary words in the picture. Fonts, labels and abbreviations used in charts must be consistent. In addition, the picture should be consistent with the text description in the article. In the process of modifying the article, it is easy to change the label of the chart, and there will be inconsistencies, which need special attention.

(4) Use charts or tables? In a scientific research paper, some types of information can be presented by charts and tables. At this time, it is necessary to choose a form that can convey the key information in the research most effectively. It is best to use tables for less data and graphs for more data. The comparison of trends is more suitable for charts than tables. In terms of expression, try to use the most compact format, that is to say, the same data information should be expressed in a diagram or a table, and never use both to cause repeated expression. When building a data table, we should weigh the integrity and importance of the data, and don't make the table too complicated. If necessary, a large data table should be divided into several small tables by type, so that when readers read it, important data can be seen at a glance.

(5) Effective explanation. Each chart and table should have a brief description. Even if readers don't look at the content of the article, they can get some useful information only through charts and their notes. In the body of the article, you need to quote some key data in the chart, but don't list all the data in the table repeatedly.

(6) No matter what kind of pictures have high resolution, they should be printed clearly enough. Many academic journals require 600dpi, which is also the highest resolution of printers.

In addition, we need to pay attention to several small details: coordinate labeling and units should be accurate; The size of the text in the picture should be consistent; Different curves in the same picture should be distinguished by different lines or marks. When distinguishing by color, we should pay attention to whether black and white can be distinguished clearly after printing. The background of the picture is preferably white. Other colors may look better on the screen, but the printed results will not be very good.