How To Use Tables and Figures in Academic Papers

How To Use Tables and Figures in Academic Papers
Tables and figures serve as excellent means of enhancing academic and scientific writing by presenting information in immediately discernible visual forms. Illustrating the instruments or conditions discussed in a book, providing graphs and lists of data that cannot be effectively accommodated in the main text of an article and highlighting the most significant aspects of the results of a study are a few of many reasons to provide tables and figures for readers. Tables and figures may seem relatively simple when they are finished and well presented, but designing, labelling and discussing them effectively can be difficult, and to achieve the clarity, accuracy and precision required the author must view his or her work from the perspective of the reader, whose comprehension is, after all, the primary goal.

Tables and figures are most effective if they are clearly numbered (Table 1 and Figure 1) and referred to in the main text with some explanation of what the reader will find in each one. They should be numbered in the order in which they are first mentioned, and each should be provided with a descriptive heading or caption. Since the information provided in them stands on its own, any headings, numbers, words and symbols used in tables and figures should be laid out very carefully with enough space around them to avoid crowding and confusion. Be sure that the terminology, abbreviations, symbols and definitions you use in your tables and figures match with precision those you use in the main text. Table notes and figure legends can provide more detailed information than headings and captions can, but always keep in mind that the goal is to make that information as accessible as possible for readers who wish to understand and analyse it.

Generally speaking, tables and figures should not repeat information given in the main text of a book or article. The highlights and primary trends of the data presented in tables, for instance, can certainly be emphasised as you discuss your results and the tables you use to report them, but it is important to decide which aspects of your study can be presented most effectively in tables and which aspects would be better in your main text. You will then be able to design both the tables and the text to report the necessary information clearly and efficiently without unnecessary repetition.

Before designing or finalising your tables and figures, you should consider the format in which you wish to publish them. Will they be printed in a book with a set page size or available online? Will colour be possible or will they have to appear in black and white? Should they be embedded in the text or tacked on at the end? Can you use rules and lines or will you need to establish different means of separation and connection? These and other questions can be answered by consulting publisher and journal guidelines for authors, so be sure to look into the relevant requirements as soon as possible or you may find yourself redesigning your tables and figures at a late stage in the game and even rewriting your main text to accommodate those changes.