Reviewer wants “media-friendly schematic”
This schematic figure by Bob Houze has quite the legs. Scientists use it frequently in their talks , lectures, and their own articles to represent the typical cross section through an MCS. Imagine having a schematic that the public could refer to when discussing your recently published paper?
“I suggest creating a media-friendly schematic showing the basic conclusions of how ….” Given all the recent publicity about …, I believe this paper will attract media interest, and a schematic like this will be useful for explaining the results of this study to lay audiences.”
I have occasionally seen reviewers asking for the authors to make the figures more clear for the scientists, or even occasionally encouraging development of a conceptual model figure to help summarize the research into a pithy figure. But, I have not seen this type of comment in a review before where the reviewer was thinking of the impact of the paper for the lay audience.
Kudos to the reviewer for recognizing that sometimes our papers do speak to people outside our scientific community and occasionally reach lay people. Not all our scientific papers have that potential, but for those that do, I see good reason for making the extra effort to communicate to all our potential audiences.
I think that’s great advice, and matches well with directives from some funding agencies that require at least a paragraph on lay implications of research. It would be a good thing for everyone making a graphic to keep in mind.
Thanks, Colin.
For those who don’t know, Colin has a great page on designing scientific posters. Check it out: http://colinpurrington.com/tips/academic/posterdesign