Good practice for the preparation of tables

Key points: ● Make sure your tables have a clear purpose. ● Use a layout that maximizes readability. ● Take care with selecting which data to include. ● Simplify as much as possible without introducing bias. ● Make sure numbers and decimals are displayed with clarity. 

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Researcher's guide for the preparation of tables by Siv Fonnes and Jacob Rosenberg

This article, published in the Journal of Surgical Research in 2025, applies to reporting quantitative research but some pieces of advice would, I think, be useful for reporting qualitative research as well. Simplifying tables and making them as clear as possible will not only enhance readability but will also help if you are limited in terms of word count.

Five steps 

Fonnes and Rosenberg state in their article that the different disciplines may have different requirements and priorities when creating tables to present results. Table layout might also depend on what a particular journal wants. However, whatever your area of research, omitting non-essential elements (avoiding, of course, the pitfall of selective reporting) is helpful for readability and for communicating the results of your research.

The authors have created a general guide and suggest five steps to consider when preparing tables:

1. Make sure your tables have a clear purpose.

2. Use a universal layout. For example, by reducing the number of horizontal and vertical lines that appear in the table, using a bold font for column headings, and, in general, avoiding the use of shading because this reduces the clarity of the data on the page.

3. Select data that will be relevant. For example, the data presented in your Table 1 (e.g., regarding the study population) will probably be different from the data in any other tables you include in your paper (i.e., where you report outcomes).

4. Simplify variables. For example, by organizing them into categories and standardizing and reducing what you include as much as possible.

5. Consider the readability of numbers and decimals.

What I liked about the paper

Fonnes and Rosenberg:

• Explain why it is a good idea to present information in a certain way, and why that might be better than doing it another way.

• Describe some basic principles of human perception and the psychology of why presenting data works in some instances and not in others.

• Present lots of examples, contrasting good practice with poor so that you can see the differences for yourself.

• Explain the importance of consistency across tables, such as how you present group names, the names of variables, and units of measurement.

Why preparation is important

The authors point out that:

• It’s better not to fit too much data into your tables – your readers will be reading the tables as well as the text and you want to make this as pleasant and easy an experience as possible. This also makes it easier for peer reviewers to read your tables.

• Wide or elaborate tables might look good to you on a computer screen but will probably be unsuitable for printed journals.

• Maximizing the readability of your tables supports transparency when reporting results. This should give readers (including peer reviewers) confidence that you have thought about your research design and have paid attention to process and detail.

It’s not a long article and I think you will find it interesting and useful too.

Full reference to article: Fonnes, Siv and Rosenberg, Jacob (2025) Researcher's guide for the preparation of tables. Journal of Surgical Research, 310, pp. 209-217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2025.03.034