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Scientific Writing. Table : Part-2. Please don’t consider any of these suggestions to be substitutes for carefully thinking about your specific situation. Outline: Table. General considerations Building a table Title Headings Exercise. Table/text ratio.
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Scientific Writing Table:Part-2
Please don’t consider any of these suggestions to be substitutes for carefully thinking about your specific situation.
Outline: Table • General considerations • Building a table • Title • Headings • Exercise
Table/text ratio • If a typical paper in the journal has an estimated text length of 3300 words accompanied by 4 tables, the ratio of tables to text is 4/3.3 thousand or 1.2 tables per one thousand words of text. • If your paper has a text of about 4800 words, round this figure down to 4000. Then 4 x 1.2: 4.8 tables; in round numbers, 5 tables.
Table/text ratio • A useful general rule is no more than I table (or illustration) per 1000 words of text. • Because the average page of text in a manuscript with double spaced text and with l-inch (or 3-centimeter) margins usually runs to between 200 and 250 words, the rule can be stated roughly as no more than I table (or illustration) per 4 pages of manuscript text. • Some journals may accept a larger number of tables in relation to text length, but many will not because of the resulting difficulties in avoiding confusing page layouts.
Level of Exposure to Fine Particulate Matter and the Risk of Death from Cardiovascular Causes in Women.
Estimated Hazard Ratios for the Time to the First Cardiovascular Event or Death Associated with an Exposure Increase of 10 μg per Cubic Meter in the Level of Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5).*
Changes in Glycated Hemoglobin and Fasting Plasma Glucose Levels during the 13-Week Study Period.
Plasma Aspartate Aminotransferase and Alanine Aminotransferase Concentrations during the Run-in Period, the Treatment Period and the Post-Treatment Follow-up Period
The tables • All tables are basically structured the same way, with four main parts: • title, • column headings, • body, and • footnotes.
The tables: title • The title of a table, like the title of a figure, states • the topic or • the point
The tables: title • The details included in a title depend on the type of table. • For tables that give background information, the title should state the topic of the information listed in the body of the table (that is, the variables) and also the animal or population, the material described, or both. • The form is: Y in Z or Y of Z.
For example, in the title of Table 1 , “Clinical Characteristics of the Infants,” “clinical characteristics” is the topic (Y) and “the infants” (that is, the infants in the study) is the population described (Z). The tables title: Y in Z or Y of Z.
The tables: title • In the title “Phospholipid Composition of Cardiac Lymph from Normal Dogs,” • “phospholipid composition” is the topic (Y), • “cardiac lymph” is the material described (Z), • “normal dogs” are the animals (Z).
The tables: title • For tables that present data from experiments that have only dependent variables, similar titles are appropriate. • For example, in the title “Dimensions of Cell Bodies in the Tracheal Ganglia of Ferrets,” • “dimensions” is the topic (dependent variable) (Y), • “cell bodies in the tracheal ganglia” is the material described (Z), and • “ferrets” are the animals (Z).
The tables: title • For tables that present data from experiments that have both independent and dependent variables, the title should state • the independent variable(s) (X), • the dependent variable(s) (Y), • the animal or population, the material described, or both (Z). • It is not necessary to mention the controls in the title. • Two standard forms for these titles are • Effect of X on Y in Z • Y during X in Z.
For example, in the title “Effects of Methacholine on Electrical Properties and Ion Fluxes in Tracheal Epithelium From Cats and Ferrets,” “methacholine” is the independent variable, “electrical properties and ion fluxes” are the dependent variables, “tracheal epithelium” is the material, and “cats and ferrets” are the animals. (See also the title for Table 2.) The tables title: Effect of X on Y in Z
In the title “Plasma Variables Before and After Protein Loss in Lambs,” “plasma variables” are the dependent variables, “before and after” is used instead of “during,” “protein loss” is the independent variable, and “lambs” are the animals. (See also Table 3.) The tables title Y during X in Z.
stating the point • Even better than stating the topic in the title of the table is stating the point (narrowing down the TS). • When the title states the point, the reader knows exactly what to look for in the table. • For example, in the title “Increase in Helicity of Abortifacient Proteins in the Presence of Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate,” “increase in helicity” is the point. • It is not usual due to multiple variables in tables
To keep titles brief, use a category term instead of listing all the dependent variables. For example, in Table 3, “hemodynamic variables” is the category term for all the dependent variables in the table. category term
To ensure that the title relates clearly to the table, use the same key terms in the title as in the column headings, or use a category term in the title instead of two or more column headings. ? category term
category term • For example:"Effects of inhalational anaesthetic X on systemic haemodynamics") in the title rather than repeating several column headings (for example, "Effects of inhalational anaesthetic X on arterial blood pressure, central venous pressure, cardiac output, and systemic vascular resistance".
For example, in Table 1, “infants” in the title corresponds with “infant” in the first column heading, and “clinical characteristics” is a category term for the remaining column headings (sex, birth weight, gestational age, age at study, postconceptual age, diagnosis). category term
BUITDING A TABTE: Title • Example: consider a table summarizing in three groups of columns the admission diagnosis and roentgenographic and autopsy findings in 20 fatal cases of pulmonary embolism. • Its column headings identify the nature of the findings as • "Admission Diagnosis", • "Chest Film", and • "Autopsy", • and its row headings run down from "patient l " to "patient20".
BUITDING A TABTE: Title • ANSWER: • The table title can be simply "cases of Fatal Pulmonary Embolism" rather than "Twenty cases of Fatal Pulmonary Embolism: Admission Diagnosis, chest Film, and Autopsy Findings".
Find a category term : Y in Z or Y of Z. Clinical and biochemical variables for all subjects and for those with an iGFR < or ≥ 60 ml/min per 1.73 m2
Find a category term Test characteristics for various markers of renal function for detecting moderate chronic kidney disease (iGFR cut-off of < 60 ml/min per 1.73 m2)
Keep the title brief, and ensure that it relates clearly to the content of the table. The title should be sufficiently descriptive to tell the reader what will appear in the table. "Results of the Study" is not good enough. The tables: title
Keep the title brief, and ensure that it relates clearly to the content of the table. The title should be sufficiently descriptive to tell the reader what will appear in the table. "Results of the Study" is not good enough. The tables: title
The tables: title • However, the title should not provide detailed background information or summarize or interpret the results ; these explanations are best given in the text. • When several related tables are presented together, the context of the study should be included in the first, but it need not be repeated in the others if such repetition becomes tedious or requires too much space.
Relations of Tables • Check the relation of the remaining tables to the text to be sure that their sequence is correctly tied into the text sequence; then number the tables accordingly. Next consider the tables as a sequence, with appropriate relations to one another.
Relations of Tables • In many clinical papers the title of the first table may adequately identify the main subject of the paper, with shorter titles for the following tables. • Example : The first table, for example, in a review of 25 cases of puncture wound of the heart, might be titled "puncture wound of the Heart: clinical Features". • The second table might then be simply "operative Findings and Postoperative course". • !
Relations of Tables • A look-at the tables by themselves in the proposed sequence will help you judge whether the table, are understandable on their own (and they should be) and however their titles are related to one another.
The tables: title • The rules on which words in a table title should be capitalized will vary from journal to journal. Look at the tables in the publication in which you are interested and style your table titles the same way.