Review Figures Clinic

Need help with getting the figures in your Cochrane review right?

If you are doing a Cochrane Review, and want to include figures from other sources than RevMan, the Review Figures Clinic can help you get the technical quality of those figures right.

From RevMan Help, "Adding a figure from a file":

Preparing image files

Before you can add the figure to RevMan, you must first prepare the file so that it is suitable for publication.

Warning: Optimising images can be a complex task, and this text only provides an overview. If you have no previous experience with image editing, it is recommended that you obtain professional guidance or assistance.

The basic principles outlined here are:

  • Be aware of copyright issues.
  • Crop if necessary.
  • Resize down as necessary, while retaining dimensions and legibility.
  • Save graphs and tables as PNG, photographs as JPEG.
  • Check the image quality carefully.

... See more in RevMan Help or the User Guide.

How to use the clinic

First read through the information in the help file, and then take a look at your figure. If you see concrete problems, but don't know how to fix them, or if you are unsure if the figure is entirely good enough, contact us at figuresclinic@ims.cochrane.org. Your message should include:

  • The review's title and Review Group.
  • A short description of the problem.
  • The relevant files - remember to include any source files that are used for generating the image.
  • A desired date for when you need the image back (note disclaimer below).

Disclaimer!

The Review Figures Clinic is a pilot project with very limited resources. Be warned that it may take up to a week before you can expect a reply. We cannot provide last-minute assistance just before a deadline.