Recommendations for Image and Video Articles in Scholarly Publishing

Abstract

Image and video articles have been increasingly used in scientific literature. These articles provide an improved understanding of a specific topic, enhance accessibility for people with reading difficulties, and play significant role in educational, scientific, and social contexts. Nevertheless, the quality of the articles still needs considerable improvement. The current article aims to review the role of image and video articles in scientific communication, discuss the technical and ethical aspects of creating image and video content, and provide recommendations for authors, reviewers, and editors. In terms of technical aspects, clear and high-resolution visuals, as well as adherence to the requirements (video structure, acceptable formats, etc.) of the targeted journal are required in image and video articles. In terms of ethical aspects, the existence of a statement on patient(s)’ written informed consent for the publication of their visual data should be ensured. In order to enhance science communication, submission of image and video articles should be encouraged.

INTRODUCTION

An image is the general perception that a person has of an idea, an item, a person, a group, an organization, an institution, a region, or a nation. This mental image, which is formed by their prior experiences and feelings, has a significant impact on the decisions people make. Polat1 analyzed image articles using bibliometric and descriptive analysis techniques. A total of 48 research articles published from 2002 to 2022 were reviewed using a systematic literature review approach. The results of the systematic review revealed that image studies were categorized as teacher image, concept image, and organizational image. Despite the growing number of image articles, the quality of the articles still requires a long way to go.1

Not only the image-based items, but also video articles play a significant role in educational, scientific, and social contexts. The importance of multimedia particularly relates to its ability to enhance communication. They are used as persuasive tools in advertising, to attract attention on websites, to visualize complex concepts, or for storytelling.2,3,4 Over the last decade, multimedia content (e.g., graphical abstracts, explanatory videos) has also evolved in academic and journalistic platforms such as Nature and The Lancet. 5,6 Traditional text-based articles have been increasingly replaced or supported by modern image/video-supported articles.

Given the growing importance of the topic, the present article aimed to review the role of image and video articles in scientific communication, provide a clear understanding of the technical and ethical aspects of creating image and video content, and provide recommendations and future insights for potential authors, reviewers, and editors.

SEARCH METHODOLOGY

Following previously published recommendations, the current article adopted a search methodology driven through three databases/search engines, including PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus.7,8,9 Keywords used in the search were as follows: “video article,” “image article,” “video media,” and “video-audio media.” No time limit was applied for the literature search. Original articles, reviews (either systematic or narrative), editorials, and letters written in English were evaluated for eligibility. Unpublished data, abstract-only items, and theses were excluded. Included articles’ reference lists were also searched to identify any other relevant papers on the topic.

THE ROLE OF IMAGE AND VIDEO ARTICLES IN SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATION

Image and video articles influence education and science in several ways. These articles provide an improved understanding of a specific topic. They serve as engaging and interactive sources for readers. People who are not fluent at the article’s language can still be informed by visual media, which highlights the universal nature of image and video articles. Moreover, these articles enhance accessibility for people with reading difficulties.

Video articles are used to disseminate knowledge on particular procedures such as surgery. Mansour et al.10 performed a systematic literature review on videographic robotic lateral pelvic lymph node dissection. They showed that video articles served as a valuable educational source in disseminating and implementing robotic techniques. The authors highlighted the need for standardization of reporting objectives and reporting of pathology/oncologic outcomes entirely in videographic procedural-based articles in order to meet the IDEAL (idea, development, exploration, assessment and long-term follow-up) 2A framework criteria.10,11 Boehm et al.12 highlighted the fact that to learn surgical practices is faster and better “if we read it, see it ‘live’ and then do it in the comfort of our own environment.” This advantage is particularly important in residency education, as video articles do not require a long time commitment. Given that most articles are less than 5 minutes in duration, as well as the fact that watching/listening requires less concentration than reading, video presentations make it possible for exhausted residents to passively obtain precious knowledge and practices from skilled surgeons following a demanding workday.12

Images and videos are not only essential in surgical disciplines but also play a significant role in other disciplines such as rehabilitation/physiotherapy and dermatology where visual items convey strong messages. In physical medicine and rehabilitation, images and videos are crucial for illustrating certain physical examination tests, injection techniques, kinesiotaping applications, posture and gait analysis, and exercise techniques. These items can help the trainees, as well as the patients. In dermatology, visual presentations are invaluable for depicting lesion appearances and biopsy techniques, in particular. Overall, they can make complex concepts clearer and more accessible.

Video articles can also be used to provide information on more general topics such as fertility/infertility. Video articles from the Fertility and Sterility journal have been reported to increase awareness in terms of opportunities specific to fertility preservation and inspire researchers on how they could do more. Such articles also focused on practical solutions to common clinical issues within a very short period, such as seven minutes. Video articles were deemed to be a few minutes learning chance of how to act and obtain better care.13

Case reports/series and original studies implemented into video articles can help bridge the gap in converting common sense into proof. Not only researchers/physicians but also patients can benefit from video articles depicting clinical research in a more easily understandable format.13 Visual presentations are particularly valuable to impart messages to various audience, such as older adults with difficulties in reading.2 Parry13 describes this value of video articles as: “Patients benefit when we see clinical research as not just for those in ivory towers, but for those in the trenches as well.”

There is, nowadays, a view that citations do not count as implication metrics. Citations are commonly used to measure the impact or influence of academic papers.14 However, they may not always directly reflect how much the research has been applied in practical settings15 which is referred to as “implication metrics.” In simpler terms, while citations show how often a piece of work is referenced in other academic research, they do not necessarily show whether the findings have had real-world applications or broader practical implications.

TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF CREATING IMAGE AND VIDEO CONTENT

It is essential to use clear and high-resolution visuals in image and video articles. The image(s) should be clear with proper resolution, lighting, contrast, sharpness, framing, and minimal noise. The video(s) should be clear with sufficient resolution, bitrate, frame rate, and audio quality. Captioning and adding descriptive text are necessary for accessibility. Journals’ “instructions for authors” sections should include a guide for posting video materials or constructing video articles. Such a guide should cover important issues such as video structure, acceptable formats, and resolution issues.16 For example, the Journal of Korean Medical Sciences (JKMS) clearly states the technical requirements of images in its ‘Information for Contributors.’17 For graphs and illustrations, the journal prefers the PPT format, but also accepts PDF format as an alternative. Images should have a minimum resolution of 300 dpi. For materials created using MS Excel or Word, JKMS advises submitting the original files in their native formats.17

Technical expertise could be required for high-quality visuals and videos. One of the most common reasons is the challenge of sharing or storing data-heavy formats. In line with the shift from text-based articles to visual media, researchers/authors have been putting effort into enhancing their skills regarding image and video contents. Parsa et al.18 evaluated 69 educational items, including 52 text articles and 17 video articles. The evaluation of video articles was performed using the Patient Educational Video Assessment Tool (PEVAT). The mean PEVAT score was 25 ± 1.9, with a range of 22.6–27. Seven of the top 10 leading academic centers offered video content specifically focused on patient education for hip surgery. As a promising result, the educational videos were deemed to be of high quality.18

ETHICAL ASPECTS OF CREATING IMAGE AND VIDEO CONTENT

Ethical considerations are critically important in image and video articles. Written informed consent must be obtained from the patients and/or their parents/legal guardians. Specific attention should be given to keeping the signed consent forms for future reference. Reviewers and editors should meticulously check the articles to ensure the existence of a statement on patients’ written informed consent for the publication of their visual data. Such ethical requirements must also be stated appropriately on journals’ websites.16 Regarding the authors, particular consideration should be paid to confidentiality and conflict of interest disclosures.16,19

Table 1 presents a checklist for the technical and ethical aspects of creating image and video articles.

Table 1. Checklist for the technical and ethical aspects of creating image and video articles.

Section/Item		Checking F/NF/NA
Title and keywords
	The title is descriptive and concise, incorporates keywords, and reflects the content
	Keywords are highly relevant to the content and consistent with the vocabulary used in literature
Image/Video
	The image is clear with proper resolution, lighting, contrast, sharpness, framing, and minimal noisea
	The video is clear with sufficient resolution, bitrate, frame rate, and audio qualityb
	The resolution of the image(s) is at least 300 dpi
	The format aligns with the target journal’s acceptable requirements
Descriptive text
	Provides a clear explanation of the image(s)/video(s)
	Discloses the imaging technology or software used
	Explains the significance/purpose of the visual content
	Maintains a scientific and formal tone
	Avoids casual or overly descriptive language
Statements
	Clearly discloses potential conflicts of interest
	Explains each author’s contributions
	Includes acknowledgements, if any
	Includes a statement confirming written informed consent for the publication of visual datac
	Contains a declaration on fundingd
	Clearly articulates the role of the funding/funderd

For the second column, please use either F, NF, or NA.

F = fulfilled, NF = not fulfilled, NA = not applicable.

^aApplicable for image articles.

^bApplicable for video articles.

^cWritten informed consent must be obtained from the patients and/or their parents/legal guardians.

^dApplicable for studies that have received funding.

SOCIAL MEDIA USE FOR THE DISSEMINATION OF IMAGE AND VIDEO ARTICLES

Articles can be disseminated through several ways including networking platforms, international seminars and congresses, and open-access publishing.20 Social media is one of the most widely used tools for scientific authors to increase global visibility of their works.21,22 Social media is particularly important for articles based on visual items-image and video articles. When shared on social media, they can reach a broader audience within a short period of time. Such an interaction can also increase reader engagement with the topic. They can provide the authors with comments and/or raise questions. Not only can these comments, but also the authors’ responses can be seen by other readers/researchers. This interaction is important for science communication and increasing quality scientific research.

Social media plugins are accessible on most journal websites, PubMed/PubMed Central platforms. Such an approach can help readers/authors disseminate article links, which would lead to increased attention from the scholarly community worldwide. X, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Mendeley, and ResearchGate are examples of platforms for scholarly activities.23 Each might possess certain advantages (e.g., high global popularity, enabling professional networking) and disadvantages (e.g., not being included in Altmetric aggregate score calculation, allowing a limited number of characters) in terms of scholarly communication.24 The immediate influence of social media on the post-publication promotion of most scholarly articles is undeniable.23 The impact of social media is even more evident in the dissemination of image and video articles.

CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS

There are several recommendations on writing different types of articles such as letters to the editors, case reports, and case-based reviews.25,26,27 Nevertheless, except for some journals’ specific recommendations on their websites, there is not any comprehensive guide on generating image or video articles. The current article, thus, can fill this gap by discussing image and video media through technical and ethical perspectives, as well as recent developments in this field. It presents recommendations specifically for creating standalone image and video articles, rather than incorporating images or videos as appendices to traditional articles.

Video- and image-based articles have been increasingly used in the scientific arena. Recently, the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) heading “Video-Audio Media” has been introduced as a publication type to be used with articles that include video files/clips or those that are entirely video.28 Nevertheless, there is still a lack of headings such as “video article” and “image article.” Future efforts to compensate for this lack should be given in order to enhance indexing practices.

Video and image articles are essential elements of scientific publishing. They can be used for several purposes such as providing trainees with a dynamic learning experience, facilitating scientific communication, enhancing overall understanding of a complex topic, and attracting readers’ attention. However, their use is still limited. Editors and publishers may encourage more submissions by updating their instructions to emphasize these formats.