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Graphical abstract 

To give some extra power and finesse to your abstract, you are asked to deliver a graphical abstract. This is a single schematic image that visually represents the primary findings or design of your research, allowing readers to easily identify the main message of the research. With a graphical abstract, the reviewer can understand your research aim in a glance. The guidelines and do's and don'ts are listed below. 

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Guidelines graphical abstract

  • Show only the main aspects of your research, do not get lost in the details

  • Use simple icons, which are recognizable for your peers

  • Do not use distracting and cluttering elements

  • Avoid an overuse of text, your figure should be self-explanatory

  • You can imagine that this figure needs to be that simple, it is understandable by a layman, so ask feedback from your family/friends who are not in the same field

  • To design this graphical abstract, you can make use of e.g., Biorender.com platform

  • If you can compartmentalize your research, do so, and use different color shades per compartment/research part, so they are clearly defined

  • An example of a graphical abstract is shown below

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