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							<p>What you should or should not do when you prepare images for publication depends on your field of research. Practices that are acceptable in one field may not be acceptable in another. For example, cropping (only presenting part of an image) might be appropriate in some scientific fields, where it can be used to save space or add clarity; however, in other areas, such as historical research, cropping an image could be deemed equivalent to presenting selective evidence.</p>

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								<pod-modal-heading>Useful links</pod-modal-heading>
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										<p><a href="https://retractionwatch.com/category/by-reason-for-retraction/image-manipulation/" target="_blank">Click here</a> for various examples of image manipulation featured in Retraction Watch.</p>
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							<p>It is, therefore, difficult to develop one set of rules that can be universally relied upon, especially since the technologies available for editing and preparing images are constantly evolving. If you have questions about how to present images in your own research, you should consult subject-specific guidance or the journals in which you intend to publish.</p>
							
							<h3>Practices to avoid</h3>
							
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							<p>The improper manipulation of digital images is increasingly being used to misrepresent research findings, usually to add extra weight to arguments. Photo-editing software makes it easy to manipulate images, often by copying elements from one image into another. Improper practices are most common in the biomedical sciences, where researchers often rely on images to convey complex findings; however, they can occur in any field where images are being used to present data. The activity below illustrates four improper practices.</p>
							
							<instructional-text><p>Click through the different tabs to see various examples of irresponsible graphic manipulation.</p></instructional-text>
							<instructional-text-accessible><p>Continue on for various examples of irresponsible graphic manipulation.</p></instructional-text-accessible>
							
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									<tab-heading>Cut&ndash;and&ndash;paste, clone and burn tools</tab-heading>
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										<img class="img-responsive" src="../images/activity_images/course_specific/dap_1_70_img1.png" alt="Two blot tests. The second test shows the removal of a band from the first test and the addition of an extra band." />
										<p class="text-note-right"><strong>Source:</strong> Gilda <em>et al.</em> (2015), with manipulations by the author</p>
										<p>Tests to identify complex molecules, known as 'blot tests', are widely used in the biomedical sciences. Different molecules move across a surface at different rates and are identified as bands on the paper or gels used in blot tests. Such test results can be easily manipulated by use of digital photo-editing tools such as cutting and pasting (copying one part of an image into a different image or a different part of the same image), cloning (replacing one part of an image with material from another part of the same image), and burning (darkening specific parts of an image). In the example above, which has been edited for this course, the clone tool was used to remove one band in the middle, while the cut-and-paste tool was used to add an extra band towards the bottom.</p>
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									<tab-heading>Colour, contrast and brightness changes</tab-heading>
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										<img class="img-responsive" src="../images/activity_images/course_specific/dap_1_70_img2.png" alt="Two images of bacteria. The second image shows a change in colour of one bacteria colony from orange to yellow." />
										<p class="text-note-right"><strong>Source:</strong> iStock by Getty Images (n.d.), manipulations by author</p>
										<p>In this case, selective use of the colour balance, brightness and contrast tools has turned an orange bacteria colony into a yellow one. Straightforward changes such as these could lead to different conclusions being reached about the test group. </p>
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									<tab-heading>Improper cropping</tab-heading>
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										<img class="img-responsive" src="../images/activity_images/course_specific/dap_1_70_img3.png" alt="Two photographs of a demonstration. The second image is cropped to focus on a particular placard." />
										<p class="text-note-right"><strong>Source:</strong> Library of Congress (2018), cropping by author</p>
										<p>The original photograph of a demonstration in Washington, DC, provides evidence of the widespread social unrest that existed in the United States in 1967. The cropped photo, if used in isolation, could lead to the conclusion that the demonstrators were primarily concerned with poverty, which would not properly represent the sentiments of the time or the evidence that the whole photograph provides.</p>
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									<tab-heading>Inconsistent image use</tab-heading>
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										<img class="img-responsive" src="../images/activity_images/course_specific/dap_1_70_img4.png" alt="Two figures, each using the same image to illustrate two different findings." />
										<p class="text-note-right"><strong>Source:</strong> Ropelle <em>et al.</em> (2009)</p>
										<p>Either accidentally or deliberately, researchers sometimes use the wrong image in a publication. These figures were published in a 2009 article on induced obesity in rats (Ropelle <em>et al.</em>, 2009). Readers later suggested to the editor that "The blot used in Figure 2A for alpha‐tubulin [α-tubulin] appears to be repeated for insulin receptor [IR] in Figure 3A" (The Journal of Physiology, 2016). When this was pointed out to the authors, they agreed and said it was due to an inadvertent error, which they subsequently corrected.</p>
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							<p>Images are an essential part of publication in most fields of research. When properly prepared and used, they can help readers understand your findings.  However you prepare your images, they should accurately reflect your research. Changes or enhancements are not necessarily prohibited, but must be clearly labelled and explained; care should also be taken to ensure they conform to the standards that are generally adhered to within your field.</p>
							
							<h3>Summary</h3>
							
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							<p>When you prepare images for publication, you should:</p>
							
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								<li>Avoid complex or inconsistent manipulations</li>
								<li>Avoid cutting information from, or pasting information into, your image</li>
								<li>Explain how you processed/manipulated the image you are presenting</li>
								<li>Keep and time stamp the original image; you could be asked to provide this information if the validity of your published image is ever questioned.</li>
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