Infographics as a communication tool in pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences

Infographics may be more effective at communicating scientific research compared to text-based abstracts. Using well-designed infographics may expand target audiences beyond the traditional scholarly circles.

This study aims to compare the effectiveness and viewer experience of infographics vs. text-based abstracts as research communication tools.

A posttest-only, between-participants, digital pilot study was conducted in early 2024. Participants from the field of pharmacy or pharmaceutical sciences were randomized to view either infographics or text-based abstracts for the same research articles. Articles and infographics chosen were sourced from peer-reviewed journals. Survey items, designed from previously published research and by authors, assessed understanding, recall, effectiveness, cognition (cognitive load), and attention. Chi-square tests were used to analyze categorical and ordinal data. Unpaired two-sided t-tests were used to analyze continuous data. Internal reliabilities were calculated for each Likert scale. Exclusion criteria included responses recorded in less than 300 seconds and responses that did not complete all questions for at least one article.

Final analysis included data from 30 infographics viewers and 16 text-based abstracts viewers. Most participants were white, female students from the United States without any reported learning disabilities. Overall, there were no statistically significant differences observed between any measure type. Some infographics had significantly better scores on attention and effectiveness items.

Some infographics may perform better than text-based abstracts on measures of attention and effectiveness. The study lacks sufficient power, potentially resulting in failure to detect true differences. Results may differ in populations including non-experts, neurodivergent readers, and individuals whose first language is not English.

Infographics may be no better than abstracts at communicating research findings within an audience of scientific readers. Further investigation is warranted to understand how to best leverage infographics as a communication tool.