Should the information within a caption be repeated into the main text?

Question

My understanding is that a caption should be here to help someone read a caption independently from the text (without reading the paper/book/etc for example).

This question answers whether a long caption should be part of the main text: Are there guidelines for amount and content of text in figure captions for theses?

However, I didn't manage to find an answer about the repetition between caption information and the main text.

I have been told that all the information I put within the caption should be part of the main text. Whenever I describe a diagram and the technical part in the caption, I don't see how I can organically put it in the main text without plainly repeating everything. Maybe I can reformulate, but in the end, I am just repeating the information from the caption.

Question:
Does the information in a caption of a figure/table need to be present in the main text? (in a paper, book, thesis, ..., )

Answer 1

I doubt there's a formal rule. Your institution may have a style guide for theses that addresses the issue.

For guidance, think about what is best for your reader.

I think the text should contain a full description of the meaning and use of the figure or table, in context, so the reader knows when to refer to it. A brief caption should suffice for the figure or table itself.

The figures and tables should be self documenting: labels for the axes and graphics in a figure, column headings for a table. That information does not belong in the caption.