Graphing Inline: Understanding Word-scale Graphics Use in Scientific Papers
Siyu Lu, Yanhan Liu, Shiyu Xu, Ruishi Zou, Chen Ye

TL;DR
This study investigates the use of word-scale graphics in scientific papers, revealing their rare adoption, common use of icons, and their role in enhancing communication, with insights for future improvements.
Contribution
The paper provides a comprehensive analysis of word-scale graphics in scientific literature, introducing a framework for understanding their placement, purpose, and design.
Findings
Word-scale graphics are rarely used in scientific papers.
Icons are the dominant visual representation.
Visuals are linked to specific communicative functions.
Abstract
Graphics (e.g., figures and charts) are ubiquitous in scientific papers, yet separating graphics from text increases cognitive load in understanding text-graphic connections. Research has found that word-scale graphics, or visual embellishments at typographic size, can augment original text, making it more expressive and easier to understand. However, whether, if so, how scientific papers adopt word-scale graphics for scholarly communication remains unclear. To address this gap, we conducted a corpus study reviewing 909 word-scale graphics extracted from 126,797 scientific papers. Through analysis, we propose a framework that characterizes where (positioning), why (communicative function), and how (visual representation) authors apply word-scale graphics in scientific papers. Our findings reveal that word-scale graphics are rarely used, that icons dominate visual representation, and…
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Taxonomy
TopicsData Visualization and Analytics · Visual and Cognitive Learning Processes · Interactive and Immersive Displays
