AMA Manual of Style Section 4-1. Tables - Kowsar Medical Institute
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AMA Manual of Style
Section 4-1. Tables
Kowsar Medical Institute
Journal's homepage: www.Hepatmon.com
Email: Raufee@kowsarmed.comAMA 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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Kowsar Medical Publishing CompanyAMA 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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Section 4. Tables
1 or 2 columns
boldface column
headings
requires the text to
explain meaning
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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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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Kowsar Medical Publishing CompanyAMA 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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Kowsar Medical Publishing CompanyAMA Manual of Style
Section 4. Tables
Sidebar from a news story on influenza
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Kowsar Medical Publishing CompanyAMA 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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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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Section 4. Tables
Left-justified
Unit of measure if
it is not included in
column heading
Capitalization:
sentences,
NOT titles
Indentions:
Depict hierarchical
components of the stubs
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Section 4. Tables
Cut-in headings
It is considered for a table that may be readily divided into parts to enhance clarity or for 2
closely related tables that would be better combined
It is placed above the table columns (below the column heads) and applies to all tabular material
below.
These are set boldface, are centered, and have a rule above (but not below) them
N0TE: Both column headings and stubs should be consistent in style and presentation between
tables in the same article.
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Section 4. Tables
Field (body)
Presents the data in cells. Table cells may contain numerals, text, symbols, or a combination of
these
Data should be arranged logically so the reader can find data point easily. e.g.
• time order should be used for data collected in sequence
• Similar types of data should be grouped.
• Numbers that are added or averaged should be placed in the same column.
Capitalization should be followed according to style for sentences
Blank space should be avoided, unless an entry in a cell does not contain data.
• The numeral 0 should be used to indicate that the value of the data in the cell is zero
• Ellipsis (...) may be used to indicate that no data are available or the category is not
applicable for a cell
• Other designations such as NA may be used, provided their meaning is explained in a
footnote
Alignment of Data
Horizontal alignment (across rows)
If the table stubs contain lines of text that exceed the width of the stub column (run over lines in
the table stub) and the cell entries in that row do not, the field entries should be aligned across
the first or top line of the table stub entry
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Section 4. Tables
Vertical alignment (within each column)
• Whenever possible, columns of data should be aligned on common elements, such as decimal
points, plus or minus signs, hyphens (used in ranges), virgules, or parentheses.
• If table entries consist of lengthy text, the flush-left format should be used with an indent for run
over lines.
• If entries in a column are mixed (ie, if no common element exists or if the numbers vary greatly
in magnitude), primary consideration should be given to the visual aspects of the entire table and
the type of material being presented.
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Section 4. Tables
Footnotes
The order of the footnotes is determined by the placement in the table of the item to which the
footnote refers.
The letter for entire table should be placed after the table title
A footnote that applies to 1 or 2 columns or rows should be placed after the column heading(s)
or stub(s)
Appearing to be part of the actual data
Care -> Superscript footnote letters are distinguished clearly from superscripts used for data
elements (Blood Groups, Platelet Antigens). In these cases using symbols as footnote indicator
may avoid confusion.
Footnotes can be phrases or complete sentences.
Operational signs (P = .01) are considered complete sentence.
Footnote letters should be used before the text and Followed by a space for clarity.
Abbreviations and units of measure conversions should be set off with a superscript letter plus
an introductory word or phrase.
Abbreviations are expanded in alphabetical order
Units of measure and applicable conversion factors are listed in a separate footnote
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Section 4. Tables
If several tables share a detailed or long footnote that explains several abbreviations or methods,
this footnote may appear in the first table for which it is applicable, and the others may refer the
reader to the first appearance of the detailed information (eg. Study acronyms are explained in
the first footnote to Table 1. )
The reader may be referred to a relevant discussion in the text by a footnote. (eg. See the
“Statistical Analysis” section for a description of this procedure.)
References for information in a table or figure should be numbered and listed as if this
information were part of the text
N0TE: References at the end of table titles are ambiguous. Instead, a footnote should be added
with an explanation that it was
• Adapted from ...
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Section 4. Tables
• Reproduced with permission from ...
• Data were derived from ...
Units of Measure
Follow a comma in the table column heading or stub:
• Age, mean (SD), y
• Systolic blood pressure, mean (SD), mm Hg
• Body mass index, median (IQR)
• Duration of hypertension, mean (SD) [range], y
• Change in rate, % (SE)
Use a conversion footnote to indicate how to convert values to the SI or another system (Table
11).
Punctuation
slashes may be used to present dates (eg, 04/27/03 for April 27, 2003)
hyphens may be used to present ranges (eg, 60-90 for 60 to 90)
Abbreviations
Within the body of the table and in column headings abbreviations may be used to save the
space.
Spelled-out words should not be combined with abbreviations:
• “First Week” or “1st wk” or “Week 1”, but NOT “First wk.”
Abbreviations or acronyms should be explained in a footnote
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Section 4. Tables
Numbers
Additional digits (including zeros) should not be added, eg, 3.00
A percentage or decimal quotient should contain no more than the number of digits in the
denominator. (eg, 9 of 28 -> 32% (or decimal quotient 0.32), not 32.1% (or 0.321).
Laboratory data should be provided and rounded, according to the number of digits that reflects
the precision of the reported results to eliminate reporting results beyond the sensitivity of the
procedure performed.
Statistical data, (P values and confidence intervals) should be presented and rounded.
Although some publications suggest use of specific designations for levels of significance (eg, a
single * -> for P< .05), exact P values are preferred, regardless of statistical significance.
P values
2 digits to the right of the decimal point unless the first 2 digits are zeros
P values less than .001 are better to be written as “P < .001,” rather than exact values, eg, P =
.00006.
For study outcomes, individual statistically significant values should NOT be expressed as “P <
.05” either in the table or in the table footnote, and nonsignificant P values should NOT be
expressed as “NS”.
Confidence intervals
The number of digits should correspond to the number of digits in the point estimate. (eg, for an
odds ratio reported as 2.45, the 95% confidence interval should be reported as 1.32 to 4.78, not
as 1.322 to 4.784)
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Kowsar Medical Publishing CompanyAMA Manual of Style
Section 4. Tables
Guidelines for Preparing and Submitting Tables
Use the table editor of the word processing software to build a table
Each piece of data needs to be contained in its own cell in the table.
Avoid creating tables using spaces or tabs. Such tables must be retyped during the editing
process, creating delays and opportunities for error.
Do not try to align cells with hard returns or extra spaces. Similarly, no cell should contain a
hard return or tab.
Be sure there are no empty columns.
Tables should not be submitted on oversized paper, as a graphic image, or as photographic
prints.
Each row of data must be in a separate row of cells:
Table 1. Title
Treatment Group A Group B
Medical 500 510
Surgical 500 490
Note that percentages are presented in the same cell as numbers and measures of variability are
in the same cell as their corresponding statistic:
Table 2. Title
Characteristics Group A (n=50) Group B (n=50) Relative Risk (95% CI)
Women, No. (%) 25 (50) 20 (40) 1.25 (1.11-1.57)
Age, mean (SD), y 35 (8) 37 (7) 0.98 (0.92-1.05)
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