中文摘要：

科学图形因其具有科学记录工具特点而备受学者们关注。本文在总结前人工作的基础上,研究了科学图形的演变历程,认为科学图形是科学实验和数学方法发展并结合的产物,经历辉煌到沉寂到再度兴起的曲折过程。科学图形具有科学属性和传播属性双重特征,其构成要素包括定量信息、关联和坐标尺度等。科学图形可定义为：通过坐标尺度等数学化方式,实现科学定量信息及其关系有效客观呈现,并能为视觉识别的一系列图形的统称。文章还探讨了科学图形的分类情况,为科学图形的计量研究打下了理论基础。

英文摘要：

Scientific graph is paid much attention by scholars for it is the inscription devices of sciences.On the basis of the preview on the study of series of graphs,this article shows the evolution of the graph,and indicated that the scientific graph was invented during the development and combination of mathematics and experiment,and had a history up and down.Scientific graph is of two characteristics of science and communication.The main content of the graph conception includes quantified information,connection and coordination measurement,and so on.The term of scientific graph may be defined as： it is a group of graphs which are measured by a system of coordination or scales,are plotted effectively and objectively to show the scientific quantified information and their relations,and are visually discriminated easily.This article discusses also the classification of scientific graphs,in order to improve the further theoretic study of scientometrics of graphs.