Best examples of labeling figures in research papers

Strong examples of labeling figures in research papers

Before talking rules, let’s look at what good labeling actually looks like. These short, realistic examples of labeling figures in research papers show the pattern you’ll reuse over and over.

Example 1: APA 7 – Simple bar chart in a psychology paper

Figure 1
Mean Anxiety Scores by Treatment Group

Note. Error bars represent ±1 standard error. CBT = cognitive behavioral therapy; SSRI = selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor.

Why this works:

The figure number is on its own line, in bold, with a period omitted (APA 7 style).
The title is in italic title case, concise but descriptive.
The note explains symbols and abbreviations so the figure can stand alone.

This is one of the best examples of labeling figures in research papers because it shows the full stack: number, title, and explanatory note.

Example 2: APA 7 – Line graph with source data

Figure 2
Daily Step Counts Before and After Intervention

Note. N = 96 adults aged 30–55. Intervention data from Smith et al. (2023).

Here the note both defines the sample and cites a data source. This kind of example of labeling figures in research papers is common in health and behavioral science, where secondary datasets are used.

Example 3: IEEE – Engineering diagram with caption

Fig. 3. Block diagram of the proposed signal processing pipeline.

In IEEE style:

The label uses “Fig.” rather than “Figure.”
The number and caption appear together, usually below the figure.
Only the first word and proper nouns are capitalized.

Many electrical engineering and computer science journals follow this pattern, so if you’re writing in those areas, look for real examples in IEEE journals for confirmation.

Example 4: MLA – Image in a humanities paper

Fig. 1. Dorothea Lange, *Migrant Mother*. 1936, Library of Congress.

The label includes creator, title (italicized), date, and repository. For art history or literature papers, examples of labeling figures in research papers almost always foreground the creator and work, not the method.

Example 5: Scientific figure with panels (A, B, C)

Figure 4
Inflammatory Markers Across Treatment Conditions

(A) IL-6 levels by treatment group.
(B) TNF-α levels by treatment group.
(C) CRP levels by treatment group.

Note. Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals.

Multi-panel figures are everywhere in biology and medical research. Good examples include panel letters in the image and brief descriptions in the caption, so a reader can reference “Figure 4B” and know exactly what they’re looking at.

Example 6: Data visualization in a public health paper

Figure 5
COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage by Age Group, United States, 2024

Note. Data from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), COVID Data Tracker, accessed April 2, 2025.

This mirrors how federal agencies label figures in their own reports. If you want polished, real examples of labeling figures in research papers, browsing CDC or NIH technical reports is surprisingly helpful.

Core patterns behind the best examples of figure labels

When you look across disciplines, the surface details change (APA vs IEEE vs MLA), but the underlying pattern stays remarkably stable. Most strong examples of labeling figures in research papers follow four moves:

Identify the figure with a number in the order it appears.
Provide a clear, specific title or caption.
Add notes for symbols, abbreviations, statistics, and data sources.
Cite sources if the figure is adapted or reproduced.

Once you see that pattern, every example of labeling figures in research papers starts to look familiar.

Figure numbering: simple, but easy to mess up

General rules that hold across major styles:

Use Arabic numerals (Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3 …), even if your paper is long.
Number figures in the order they are first mentioned in the text.
Keep numbering continuous within the main text. Appendices can restart (e.g., Figure A1, Figure A2).

A bad practice that shows up in weaker papers is renumbering figures during revisions and forgetting to update in-text references. Before submission, always scan for every “Figure X” in your text and match it to the actual labels.

Titles vs captions vs notes

Different style guides use different terms, but the hierarchy is similar:

Number: “Figure 3” or “Fig. 3.”
Title or caption: a short description of what the figure shows.
Note: extra information about methods, statistics, abbreviations, or data sources.

A strong example of labeling figures in research papers will:

Make the title descriptive enough that a reader can guess the main point.
Reserve the note for technical details that would clutter the title.

Compare:

Weak: Figure 2
Results

Stronger: Figure 2
Change in Systolic Blood Pressure Following 12-Week Exercise Program

Note. N = 142 adults with prehypertension. Error bars represent ±1 standard deviation.

The second version functions like a mini-abstract for the figure.

Style-specific examples of labeling figures in research papers

Different disciplines have different expectations. Here’s how those best practices show up in major style guides, with concrete examples.

APA is very explicit about figure labels. The official Publication Manual (7th ed.) and the APA Style website offer real examples of labeling figures in research papers:

Figure number: bold, on its own line (e.g., Figure 3)
Title: italicized, title case, on the next line
Note: regular font, left aligned, starting with Note.

Example from an education research paper:

Figure 3
Reading Comprehension Scores by Instructional Method

Note. N = 248 fifth-grade students from three public schools. Scores are adjusted for baseline reading level.

In-text reference:

As shown in Figure 3, students receiving explicit strategy instruction outperformed those in the control group.

For up-to-date guidance, APA maintains online examples: https://apastyle.apa.org

MLA 9th edition: Humanities and visual culture

MLA treats visuals (including figures) as “illustrations.” The label usually appears below the figure, starting with Fig.

Example from an English literature paper analyzing film stills:

Fig. 2. Still from *Moonlight*, directed by Barry Jenkins, A24, 2016.

If you discuss multiple works by the same director or artist, MLA-style examples of labeling figures in research papers often add more detail:

Fig. 3. Jenkins, *Moonlight*, classroom scene (01:12:45).

The pattern is flexible but always answers: What is this? Who made it? Where is it from?

IEEE and STEM journals: Technical and engineering papers

IEEE-style captions are compact and heavily used in engineering, computer science, and applied physics.

Typical pattern:

Fig. 4. Accuracy of the proposed classifier compared with baseline models.

Some journals prefer figures and tables to be placed after the references on submission, but the labels and in-text references (e.g., “As shown in Fig. 4…”) stay the same.

If you adapt a figure from another paper, IEEE examples of labeling figures in research papers will often include a credit line:

Fig. 5. System architecture of the proposed IoT platform. Adapted from [12].

The bracketed number points to the reference list.

Real-world figure label examples by discipline

Seeing discipline-specific patterns helps you model your own captions.

Public health and medical research

Public health agencies like the CDC and NIH publish reports with meticulous figure labels. A typical CDC-style label:

Figure 1. Percentage of adults aged ≥18 years who received an influenza vaccination in the past 12 months, by age group — United States, 2023–2024 influenza season.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Health Interview Survey.

You can see similar real examples at the CDC’s COVID Data Tracker: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker

These labels:

Define the population and time frame.
Specify the measure (percentage vaccinated).
Identify the data source.

If you’re writing a health sciences paper, modeling your captions on these examples of labeling figures in research papers will make your work look more like a professional report than a class assignment.

Economics papers often use figures to show trends or model predictions. A realistic example:

Figure 6
Unemployment Rate by Education Level, United States, 2000–2024

Note. Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey. Shaded areas indicate NBER-defined recession periods.

This label:

Names the variable (unemployment rate).
Specifies the grouping (education level).
States the geography and time period.
Credits the data source and defines shaded regions.

Many of the best examples of labeling figures in research papers in economics come from working papers on sites like the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) or Federal Reserve research pages.

Psychology and education

A psychology intervention study might label a figure like this:

Figure 7
Change in Depressive Symptoms Over 8 Weeks by Treatment Condition

Note. Scores represent mean Patient Health Questionnaire–9 (PHQ-9) values. Higher scores indicate more severe depressive symptoms.

This makes the scale interpretable without forcing the reader to hunt through the methods section.

For education, a figure showing test score distributions could be:

Figure 8
Distribution of Math Achievement Scores by School Type

Note. Scores are standardized (M = 0, SD = 1) relative to the national sample.

Again, the label clarifies what the numbers actually mean.

Common mistakes that weaken figure labels

When you compare weak and strong examples of labeling figures in research papers, the same problems show up repeatedly.

Vague or meaningless titles

Weak: Figure 2
Results of Study

Better: Figure 2
Self-Reported Sleep Duration by Work Shift

Readers should not have to infer what a figure shows from the axis labels alone.

Missing units, scales, or definitions

If your y-axis says “Performance,” your note should specify:

Performance on what measure?
On what scale (0–100, z-scores, percentage correct)?

Figure 3
Task Performance by Condition

Note. Performance represents percentage of correct responses on a 40-item recognition task.

Inconsistent numbering or cross-references

Nothing irritates reviewers faster than reading “see Figure 4” and discovering it’s actually labeled “Figure 3” in the caption. Before submission, do a search for the word “Figure” and reconcile every reference.

Overloaded captions

On the other end of the spectrum, some authors try to cram an entire methods section into a figure note. A good example of labeling figures in research papers balances clarity with brevity: enough detail to interpret the graphic, but not a wall of text.

2024–2025 trends in figure labeling and accessibility

Two big shifts are shaping how we label figures now:

Accessibility and screen readers

More journals and universities now require figure labels that work with screen readers. That means:

Writing captions that make sense when read aloud with no visual context.
Avoiding “See figure above” and instead using descriptive language: “See Figure 2 for the distribution of…”
Providing alternative text (alt text) in submission systems when requested.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and many university writing centers now include guidance on accessible figure captions. For an example, see Harvard’s guidance on accessible content: https://accessibility.harvard.edu

Data transparency and reproducibility

Post-2020, journals increasingly expect precise data source information in figure notes:

Exact dataset names and versions
Access dates for dynamic dashboards
Whether the figure is original, adapted, or reprinted

A 2024 trend in open science policies is requiring that any adapted figure clearly state “Adapted from” or “Reprinted from” along with a citation. Strong examples of labeling figures in research papers now routinely include lines like:

Note. Adapted from “Title of Article,” by A. Author & B. Author, 2022, *Journal Name*, 45(3), p. 210. Copyright 2022 by Publisher.

This protects you legally and signals respect for intellectual property.

Quick checklist for your own figure labels

When you write or revise a label, compare it mentally to the best examples of labeling figures in research papers you’ve seen and ask:

Does the figure have a clear number that matches every in-text reference?
Is the title specific enough that a reader can grasp the main idea at a glance?
Have you defined units, scales, and abbreviations?
Have you credited any data sources or original creators if adapted?
Would the caption still make sense if someone couldn’t see the figure and only heard it read aloud?

If you can answer yes to those, you’re in good shape.

FAQ: Examples of labeling figures in research papers

How many figures should I include in a typical research paper?
There’s no universal number. Use a figure when a visual makes the information easier to understand than text alone. In many theses or journal articles, you’ll see anywhere from three to fifteen figures, depending on the field. What matters is that each figure is referenced in the text and supported by a clear label.

Do I need a note for every figure?
Not always. If your figure is self-explanatory and all units and variables are obvious from the axes and title, you can skip the note. But most strong examples of labeling figures in research papers use at least a short note to define abbreviations, explain error bars, or identify data sources.

Can you give an example of labeling a reproduced figure from another article?
Yes. In APA style, a typical caption for a reproduced figure looks like this:

Figure 9
Conceptual Model of Health Behavior Change

Note. From “Title of Original Article,” by A. Author & B. Author, 2021, *Journal Name*, 40(2), p. 145 (https://doi.org/xx.xxxx/xxxx). Copyright 2021 by Publisher. Reprinted with permission.

This example of a figure label makes it obvious that the work is not original and provides a direct path back to the source.

Should figure labels go above or below the figure?
That depends on the style guide and journal. APA, MLA, and most medical journals place the label below the figure. Some technical or design-oriented publications may place short captions above. Always follow your target journal or instructor’s guidelines rather than copying random examples from the internet.

Where can I find more real examples of labeling figures in research papers?
Look at open-access articles in reputable journals and official style guide sites. For instance, the APA Style site, the CDC’s data reports, and university writing centers (such as those at major research universities) all publish sample papers with labeled figures you can copy as models.

Best examples of labeling figures in research papers (with templates)