31 lines
939 B
Markdown
31 lines
939 B
Markdown
# Figure Interpretation Guide
|
|
|
|
A scientific figure is incomplete until the text answers:
|
|
1. why the figure exists,
|
|
2. what the reader should notice,
|
|
3. why that observation matters.
|
|
|
|
## Minimal interpretation block
|
|
|
|
For each figure, provide:
|
|
- **Purpose**: the research question this figure addresses
|
|
- **Observation**: the concrete pattern seen in the plot
|
|
- **Interpretation**: the mechanism or explanation supported by the evidence
|
|
- **Implication**: what decision, next experiment, or claim changes because of it
|
|
|
|
## Caption checklist
|
|
|
|
A usable caption should specify:
|
|
- what is plotted,
|
|
- what each axis means,
|
|
- sample size,
|
|
- what error bars / ribbons represent,
|
|
- any normalization or smoothing,
|
|
- any significance marker convention.
|
|
|
|
## Anti-patterns
|
|
- restating the axis labels as “interpretation”
|
|
- giving only aesthetic comments
|
|
- making causal claims unsupported by the plot
|
|
- repeating the caption without adding insight
|