For complex experimental work, the way you publish can affect how easily another lab can reproduce and build on it.
Video can capture setup, timing, handling, and other procedural details that are difficult to communicate fully in text.
Hear from Dr Ong Wee Jun, Professor and Assistant Dean at the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University Malaysia, on what visual publication can add to complex research in sustainable energy.
When Visual Publication Adds Value
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When key details are easier to show than tell
Scientific procedures involve precise sequences, physical setups, or techniques that can't always be captured through text alone.
Dr Ong’s article, for example, covers catalyst synthesis, reaction setup, light irradiation, gas circulation, and analysis. Showing a multi-stage workflow gives other researchers more clarity and context when reproducing it, helping reduce trial and error and avoidable mistakes.
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When a technique needs to be used consistently
A video article can become a shared reference for researchers using the same method within a lab or across collaborating groups.
Team members can return to the original procedure when learning, repeating, or revisiting a technique, helping reduce differences in how key steps are interpreted. This also saves training time and helps researchers become productive sooner.
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When other labs evaluate your method for reuse
Researchers often need to assess a technique before investing time and resources in adopting it. Seeing the equipment, workflow, and execution can makes this easier.
Peer-reviewed text provides the finer scientific detail, while professional in-lab video production gives readers a direct view of how the work is carried out.
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When you want others to build on your work
Clearer procedural information gives follow-on research a stronger starting point. Researchers can see what was done before deciding how to reproduce, modify, or extend the approach.
This clarity can reduce time spent reconstructing a method and help teams move more quickly into new discoveries.
Think Beyond Publication Day
Published research goes further when other scientists can use it in practice. They may repeat a method, use it to train a colleague, adapt it for another system, or cite it as the basis for their next experiment.
Clearer transfer of methods through video can help move follow-on work forward faster. JoVE combines that visual record with a peer-reviewed, indexed article, giving the research a format designed to remain useful after publication.