Jan. 4, 2023 — For scientists, the effective communication of research can sometimes be just as important as the research itself. The ability to distill complex topics into clear and accessible findings often leads to greater success in connecting research with those who can support and benefit from it.

One way scientists can better promote their efforts is through visual abstracts, which leverage illustrations, iconography and flow-chart graphics to explain studies in a digestible way and communicate the overall goal and outcomes of any given research project. Data published in the Annals of Surgery show that studies using visual abstracts see significantly improved performance on social media, garnering seven times more impressions, eight times more reshares and nearly three times more article visits than studies displayed without visual abstracts.

The UF College of Medicine is now providing faculty with several visual abstract templates for sharing research impact with peers and the public. Built in PowerPoint for ease of use, the templates present a starting point for researchers to customize their own visual abstracts for journal submissions, social media posts and more. Each template includes an example, along with a blank version that researchers can use to integrate their own data.

College of Medicine faculty are encouraged to experiment with the visual abstracts and use them on their social media channels. These templates can be expanded upon in the future if they prove beneficial to faculty promoting their work online.

Please submit feedback on the utility and designs of the visual abstracts to the College of Medicine communications team at Med-Comms@ufl.edu.