Making Journal-Quality Tables
(and other useful hints!)
Making Journal-Quality Tables
(and other useful hints!)
Presented by the CFDR
Instructor: Meredith Porter
Monday, October 23, 2006
First question to ask…
z Who is your audience?
– Specific journal
– Conference reviewer
– Professor overseeing assistantship
– Professor of class
First question to ask…
z Specific journal
– Consult the journal’s website
zManuscript submission guidelines
…Here are some examples of manuscript submission
guidelines Æ
ASA Manuscripts (American Sociological
Review, Social Psychology Quarterly…)
z Number tables consecutively throughout the text.
Type or print each table on a separate page at the
end of your paper. Insert a note in the text to indicate
table placement
z Each table must include a descriptive title and
headings for all columns and rows (see recent
journal issues for examples).
z For clarity, always use the same variable names in
your tables as you use in your text.
ASA Manuscripts (American Sociological
Review, Social Psychology Quarterly…)
z Standard errors, standard deviations, t-statistics, and so on,
should appear in parentheses under the means or coefficients in
the tables.
z Gather general notes to tables as “Note:” or “Notes:” at the
bottom of the table; use a, b, c, etc., for table footnotes.
z Use asterisks *, **, and/or *** to indicate significance at the p <
.05, p < .01, and p < .001 levels, respectively; note if tests are
one-tailed or two-tailed. Generally, only those results significant
at the p < .10 level or better should be indicated as significant in
tables or text.
Criminology
z Please note that if a paper is accepted for
publication, all the formatting and layout of tables and
graphs will have to be redone in the composition
stage of publication. It is therefore requested that
table formatting and layout be kept simple and
straightforward. Information should be conveyed as
simply as possible…
z The title of the table is flush left at the top of the
page. "Table" is followed by a space, the table
number, and a period. This is followed by two
spaces and then the title of the table, with initial
capital letters for all important words, and no period.
Criminology
z Tables should have no borders or shading. This will
be added during composition. Set the first column
heading and column flush left; other headings and
columns can be arranged in whatever format best
presents the data, so long as all data within a
column are aligned with the heading and with
other data in the column.
z Consult a recent issue of Criminology for style and
placement of general notes to the table, specific
footnotes, and the source.
Demography
z Tables are numbered consecutively in the order in which they
are cited. Thus each table must be cited in the text. …
Sometimes a straddle heading is appropriate to avoid repeating
the same word in two column heads.
z Avoid using bold or italic type within the body of the table.
Separate headings from the title using a horizontal rule covering
the width of the table; separate straddle heads from the column
heads using a single horizontal rule straddling only the pertinent
columns; separate column heads from the body using a
horizontal rule covering the entire width of the table. Do not use
vertical rules anywhere in the table; do not use horizontal
rules in the body of the table. Close the body of the table with
a single horizontal rule covering the width of the table.
American Journal of Sociology
z Tables should be numbered consecutively as they
appear in text. AJS strongly prefers that authors
number discrete items separately (table 1, 2, 3, 4,
etc.) as opposed to grouping items together (table 1,
table 2a, 2b, 2c). Appendix tables are numbered
table A1, A2, or table B1, B2, and so on. AJS frowns
on the use of font in tables (i.e., bold or italic to
mark a specific cell) and avoids the use of “panel” to
refer to a specific group of table entries. AJS requires
that you collect tables together at the back of your
manuscript rather than placing them where cited in
the text.
Journal of Marriage and Family
z Generally follows APA
z Gives templates for tables
z Follow rules set out by specific journal
z If rules are vague or you have a different
audience, there are some general rules you
can keep in mind…
Examples of Not-So-Good Tables
Table 6. Summary of Estimates of Birth Attendance by a Physician, Nurse, or Trained Midwife Using Confirmatory-Factor Scores
Re
g
ion Factor Score Positive and Si
g
nificant All Si
g
nificant All Si
g
nificant
North Africa 4 of 4 7.1 0.070 11.6 0.001
Sub-Saharan Africa 31 of 39 10.7 0.005 18.7 0.065
Southeast Asia 4 of 5 10.8 0.150 14.9 0.154
South and Central Asia 8 of 8 18.8 0.800 47.6 0.008
West Asia 3 of 4 4.4 0.010 7.6 0.118
Latin America 13 of 16 7.9 0.001 13.8 0.548
Total 63 of 76 10.4 0.000 19.5 0.853
Notes: The surveys for Ethiopia 1999, Niger 1998, and Philippeans 1998 did not collect data on birth attendance.
Effect of Household Factor Score
Absolute Difference Difference Relative to the Mean
z Open Excel
– Open Excel Examples file
Examples of Good Tables
Item
Estimated
Positive and
Significant
N
egative and
Significant
Demographic Variables for Head
Male 85 74 11
Age 85 85 0
Age Squared
a
85 0 85
Head's Education
Completed primary or incomplete secondary 76 76 0
Completed secondary or higher 60 60 0
Completed secondary 19 19 0
Higher 20 20 0
Unknown 12 12 0
Other
Household has electricity 61 61 0
Residence in a small city 71 60 11
Residence in a capital or large city 82 74 7
Table 4. Summary of γ, the Effects of Determinants X on the Living-Standards Factor
a
The living-standards factor was estimated to increase with the head's age up to age 59.7, which is
the average "turning point" among all the estimated models.
Examples of Good Tables
Region
Factor Score
Positive and
Significant All Significant All Significant
North Africa 4 of 4 7.1 7.1 11.6 11.6
Sub-Saharan Africa 31 of 39 10.7 12.9 18.7 20.2
Southeast Asia 4 of 5 10.8 14.3 14.9 19.5
South and Central Asia 8 of 8 18.8 18.8 47.6 47.6
West Asia 3 of 4 4.4 5.3 7.6 9.4
Latin America 13 of 16 7.9 9.4 13.8 16.4
Total 63 of 76 10.4 9.4 19.5 21.8
Table 6. Summary of Estimates of Birth Attendance by a Physician, Nurse, or Trained
Midwife Using Confirmatory-Factor Scores
Notes: The surveys for Ethiopia 1999, Niger 1998, and Philippeans 1998 did not collect data
on birth attendance.
Absolute Difference
Difference Relative to
the Mean
Effect of Household Factor Score
Examples of Good Tables
z So how do we get from having a whole
jumble of data to a nice, organized table?
Excel Basics
z Entering data
–Raw data
z Formatting
– Merging
– Alignment
–Decimals
z Inserting & Deleting
Advanced Excel Moves
z Borders & Lines
z Formulas (“Functions”)
–Summing
– Mean/Median/Mode
– Minimum/Maximum
Entering Data
z Bringing in data from SAS
Æ Excel
z Make sure SAS is set-up for HTML output
(before running program)
1. tools…
2. options…
3. preferences…
4. results…
5. create HTML (check box)
Folder (desktop or work folder)
Style Minimal
Æ Excel
z Two ways to get output into Excel
1. Open with Excel
1. Once HTML output is generated, go to file (on
desktop if you save there)
2. Right-click on file, click on Open with
3. Choose Excel
Æ Excel
z Two ways to get output into Excel
2. Copy and paste from HTML output
ExcelÆ Word
z How can I put my table into Word?
– Highlight cells you want copied
– Copy (Edit, Copy OR CTRL C)
– Open Word document
– Paste (Edit, Paste OR Edit, Paste Special)
zMany options…
Creating Tables in Word
z Table, Insert Table
