AMA Manual of Style

18 Pages·2011·1.14 MB·English

AMA Manual of Style

Section 4-1. Tables

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AMA Manual of Style
Section 4. Tables

Contents

Organizing Information in Tables ............................................................................................................................ 3
Various types of tables ............................................................................................................................................. 3
Tabulation (a brief, in-text table) .......................................................................................................................... 3
Matrix (a tabular structure) ..................................................................................................................................... 4
Nontabular Material (Boxes) ................................................................................................................................ 5
Nontabular Material (Sidebars) ............................................................................................................................ 6
Table Components ................................................................................................................................................... 8
Title ....................................................................................................................................................................... 8
Column Headings .................................................................................................................................................. 8
Table Stubs (Row Headings).................................................................................................................................. 9
Field (body) ......................................................................................................................................................... 12
Footnotes ............................................................................................................................................................ 14
Units of Measure .................................................................................................................................................... 16
Punctuation ............................................................................................................................................................ 16
Abbreviations ......................................................................................................................................................... 16
Numbers ................................................................................................................................................................. 17
Guidelines for Preparing and Submitting Tables................................................................................................... 18

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AMA Manual of Style
Section 4. Tables

Organizing Information in Tables
 Tabulating all collected study data is unnecessary and actually may distract and overwhelm the
reader.
 Data that depict cause-and-effect or before-and-after relationships should be arranged from left
to right if space allows or, alternatively, from top to bottom. Information being compared (such
as numerical data) should be juxtaposed within adjacent rows or adjacent columns to facilitate
comparisons among items of interest.
 The length of the table should also be considered.
• Too large tables (> 1 page) -> continued on another page with a “continued” line
following the title on the subsequent page.
• More than one page tables should be recast into 2 or more smaller tables, if it is
not possible, table should set in smaller type
• Tables can contain up to 9 or 10 columns of data
Various types of tables
Tabulation (a brief, in-text table)
• Placed directly in the text
• Unnecessary titles, numbering, and rules

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AMA Manual of Style
Section 4. Tables

1or 2 columns
boldface column
headings
requires the text to
explainmeaning
Matrix (a tabular structure)
A tabular structure that uses numbers, short words (eg, no, yes), or symbols (eg, bullets, check marks) to
depict relationships among items in columns and rows
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AMA Manual of Style
Section 4. Tables

Nontabular Material (Boxes)
• Contains words, phrases, or sentences often in list form
• Are used to emphasize key points, summarize information, and/or reduce the narrative
text
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AMA Manual of Style
Section 4. Tables

Nontabular Material (Sidebars)
Sidebars typically contain supplementary information, including related topics or lists of sources for
further reading

Sidebar of sources for further reading

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AMA Manual of Style
Section 4. Tables

Sidebar from a news story on influenza

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Kowsar Medical Publishing Company
AMA Manual of Style
Section 4. Tables

Table Components
 Title
 Column headings
 Stubs (row headings)
 Body (data field)
 Footnotes
Title
 Each table should have a brief, specific, descriptive title, usually written as a phrase rather than
as a sentence, that distinguishes the table from other data displays in the article.
 Convey the topic of the table, but not detailed background information or summary of results.
 Numbered according to the text order
 If the article contains only 1 table, it is referred to in the text as “Table”.
 The capitalization style used in article titles should be followed for table titles.
Column Headings
 The main categories should have separate columns
 Each column should have a brief heading
 For studies that have independent and dependent variables, the independent variables
conventionally are displayed in the left-hand column (stub) and the dependent variables in the
columns to the right.
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AMA Manual of Style
Section 4. Tables

 The stub, however, may not require a heading, particularly if the elements in the stubs are very
different.
 If relevant, the unit of measure should be indicated in the column heading (unless it is given in
the table stub) and is preceded by a comma
 Boldface type
 If necessary, column subheadings can be used
 For complex headings braces, or footnotes may be used
 If all elements in a column are identical (eg. female sex) this information could be provided in a
footnote or in the table title and the column deleted.
 Numbers and abbreviations may be relaxed with abbreviations expanded in a footnote. However,
when space allows, expansions are preferable to abbreviations.
 The capitalization style should be followed as article titles
Table Stubs (Row Headings)
 If a unit of measure is not included in the column heading, it should be included in the stub.
 Stubs are capitalized according to style for sentences, not titles. Therefore, if a symbol (such as
%), an Arabic numeral, or a lowercase Greek letter (such as ) begins the entry, the first word to
follow should be capitalized.
 Indentions are used to depict hierarchical components of the stubs
 Stubs are left-justified without boldface.

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AMA Manual of Style
Section 4. Tables

Left-justified

Unit of measure if
it is not included in
column heading

Capitalization:
sentences,
NOTtitles

Indentions :
Depict hierarchical

components of the stubs

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