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--- name: figure-table-audit description: Audit figures, tables, captions, cross-references, and statistical notes. argument-hint: "[path to manuscript, figures, tables, SI, or compiled PDF; include target journal if known]" --- # Figure and Table Auditor ## Heritage and scope This is an original Open Science Skills workflow for manuscript QA. It remixes general figure/table and citation-compliance ideas from Cheng-I Wu's *Academic Research Skills for Claude Code* (CC BY-NC 4.0), but is rewritten for open-science social-science manuscripts. It is not a visual hallucination engine: when a claim requires reading plotted values from an image, prefer source data or mark the issue as needing author verification. This is the **end-stage** auditor. For figure design and production guidance during drafting, use the `figures` skill; for table design, use the `tables` skill. Run `figure-table-audit` once the figure and table set is stable and you are preparing for submission. ## Instructions ### 1. Orient before auditing Identify: - Manuscript source and compiled output, if any. - Figure directory, table files, appendix/SI files, and build command. - Target journal or style guide. - Whether figures are generated from code, manually edited, or exported from software. - Whether source data for figures/tables are available. If only a PDF is available, state that cross-reference and value checks are lower confidence. ### 2. Inventory figures and tables Build an inventory with: - Figure/table number or label. - File path or source location. - Caption/title. - First in-text callout. - Appendix/SI location if applicable. - Producing script or data source, if visible. Check: - Every in-text callout resolves to an existing figure/table. - Every figure/table is called out in text before or near appearance. - Numbering is gap-free and not duplicated. - Main-text and SI labels do not collide. - LaTeX/Markdown references compile without unresolved labels. ### 3. Check text-to-evidence consistency For each figure/table used to support a substantive claim: - Match the in-text claim to the exact row, column, panel, model, or plotted quantity. - Verify direction, magnitude, uncertainty, subgroup, and denominator. - Check whether text overstates non-significant or imprecise estimates. - Check whether figure/table notes disclose model specification, N, weights, fixed effects, clustering, and missing-data handling. - For experimental papers, check ITT vs per-protocol labeling, attrition-by-arm, baseline balance, and CONSORT/sample-flow consistency. Do not infer exact values by eyeballing a plot unless the figure encodes labeled values. If source data are unavailable, write `VISUAL READ ONLY - AUTHOR VERIFY`. ### 4. Audit captions and notes Captions and table notes should let a reader understand the evidence without hunting: - Figure caption states what is plotted, units, sample, uncertainty interval, and panel meanings. - Table title states the estimand or model family, not only "Results." - Table notes define dependent variable, treatment/condition coding, omitted categories, controls, fixed effects, clustering, weights, and significance markers. - All abbreviations are defined on first use. - All transformations, scales, and index directions are explicit. - Any data exclusions or subgroup restrictions are named. For conjoint, list-experiment, topic-modeling, LLM-classification, and OCR studies, invoke or recommend the relevant sibling skill when table/figure interpretation depends on method-specific standards. ### 5. Check accessibility and production quality Flag: - Color palettes not interpretable in grayscale or by color-blind readers. - Low-resolution or rasterized text in vector outputs. - Axis labels too small or missing units. - Legends that obscure data or use ambiguous labels. - Inconsistent decimal precision. - Overcrowded tables that should move to SI. - Missing alt text when the target venue requires it. - Non-reproducible manual edits that are not documented. ### 6. Audit SI and replication linkage Check whether: - Main-text claims that point to SI land on the correct appendix/table/figure. - SI numbering and captions are internally consistent. - Each main figure/table can be traced to a script or documented manual step. - Replication README maps outputs to scripts and data files. - Figure/table source data are archived or clearly restricted. ## Output Produce a `Figure and Table Audit Report`: ``` # Figure and Table Audit Report Scope: Inputs checked: Build/source status: Summary: <N blocking, N recommended, N minor, N author-verification> ## Inventory | ID | Path/location | Caption/title | First callout | Source/script | ## Blocking Issues | Location | Figure/table | Issue | Evidence | Fix | ## Recommended Fixes | Location | Figure/table | Issue | Fix | ## Minor / Production Issues | Figure/table | Issue | Fix | ## Author Verification Needed | Figure/table | Why verification is needed | ## Readiness Checklist | Dimension | PASS/FAIL/PARTIAL/NA | Notes | ``` Severity: - **Blocking:** missing figure/table, wrong referenced value, denominator mismatch, unresolved label, table contradicts text, missing sample-flow evidence for experimental paper, or non-reproducible main result output. - **Recommended:** incomplete notes, unclear captions, missing units, missing source script, accessibility problem, imprecise uncertainty reporting. - **Minor:** style, spacing, decimal precision, typography, cosmetic consistency. ## Quality checks - [ ] Figure/table inventory was built before findings were listed. - [ ] Every substantive text-to-table finding names the row/column/panel/model checked. - [ ] Visual-only readings are flagged for author verification unless exact values are labeled. - [ ] Captions and notes were checked for sample, units, uncertainty, and model details. - [ ] SI and replication links were checked when files were available. - [ ] Method-specific figures/tables triggered the relevant sibling skill when needed.