Presenting data in tables 1: Table Number

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Presenting data in tables 1: Table Number

Science is all about counting and measuring. This preoccupation with numbers, with quantitative data, means that many research papers include one more tables. Tables present a great deal of information in small space, which is why tables need to be designed with care. This post is the first in a series that will cover different parts of a typical data table.

Presenting data in tables 1: Table Number

It is customary to number the tables in a research paper in the order in which they are mentioned and then refer to each table with its number. Supplementary tables, if used, are numbered in a separate sequence (Supplementary Table 1, for example) [1].

[1] www.nature.com/nature/authors/submissions/final/suppinfo.html

Presenting data in tables 1: Table Number

Tables in chapters of a multi-authored book are usually numbered in such a way that each number also identifies the number of the chapter: if, for example, Chapter 2 has three tables, they will numbered Table 2.1, Table 2.2, and Table 2.3. Such a numbering scheme is sometimes referred to as "double numeration." The two numbers may be separated either with a dot or with a hyphen.Do not include a leading zero in the numbers: Table 1 and not Table 01.

Presenting data in tables 1: Table Number

If there is only one table in your paper, should you number it Table 1? Some publishers, including the American Psychological Association [2] insist on numbering it as Table 1; the United Nations [3], on the other hand, take the opposite view: "If there is only one table in a document, it is not numbered and the word "Table" is omitted from the heading.“[2] www.apsstylemanual.org/oldmanual/parts/text/tables.htm[3] http://69.94.137.26/editorialcontrol/ed-guidelines/format/tables.htm

Presenting data in tables 1: Table Number

Lastly, pay attention to how the word table is handled by your target journal: Table, table (lower case), or TABLE - and the punctuation, if any, that separates the number from the title of the table: some publishers use no punctuation, some use a dot, some use a colon. Note also whether the word Table and the number that follows it are printed in normal font or in bold or in italics.

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