The graphical abstract as a new genre in the promotion of science

Abstract

Abstract This study explores an increasingly popular Internet genre, the graphical abstract, and its relations to verbal abstracts and to the images used in research articles. We develop a preliminary description of the form and function of GAs, based on a sample of texts from chemistry and engineering and on journal editors and authors’ perceptions about the genre. The results show significant variation among the texts, yet some discipline-internal regularities could be observed. These findings do not necessarily reflect editors and authors’ perceptions. The frequent use of color and drawings is related to the promotional role of graphical abstracts in attracting a wide range of readers, which approximates the genre to verbal abstracts, but dissociates it from scientific images. Graphical abstracts seem to combine the best of its precedent part-genres to optimize the journal readership.

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