Skills Data Science Reporting Statistical Tables and Figures

Reporting Statistical Tables and Figures

v20260724
jcp-tables-figures
This guide details advanced best practices for creating publication-ready, APA-formatted tables and figures for academic research, particularly in behavioral sciences. It moves beyond simply presenting numbers, focusing instead on visualizing the underlying research mechanism, such as mediation paths, moderated effects, and multi-study comparisons. Mastery ensures rigor and clarity for top-tier submissions.
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Overview

Tables & Figures (jcp-tables-figures)

When to trigger

  • Your means tables show stars but not the effect sizes/CIs a reviewer needs
  • A mediation result is buried in prose instead of shown as a path diagram
  • An interaction is described but there is no plot of the simple effects
  • Tables/figures do not follow APA format and the copyeditor will bounce them
  • Exhibits across studies are inconsistent, so the multi-study chain is hard to follow

Exhibits at JCP must make the process legible

In a JCP paper the exhibits exist to let a reader see the mechanism, not just the effect. A condition-means table that shows cells without the contrast that tests the hypothesis wastes space; a mediation figure that shows the indirect path with its coefficient and CI earns its place. Build exhibits in APA Style (7th edition; 检索于 2026-06;以官网为准) — table titles and notes, figure captions, decimals and statistics formatted per APA — because JCP formats manuscripts to APA and non-conforming exhibits create friction at every stage.

What each exhibit type should carry

Exhibit Must show Common failure
Condition means M, SD (or SE), n per cell; the focal contrast a sea of numbers with no highlighted comparison
Mediation path figure a→b paths with coefficients, the indirect effect + bootstrap CI only c/c′ shown; CI omitted
Moderation / interaction plot the interaction with probed simple effects (spotlight values) bar chart with no simple-effect annotation
Moderated mediation conditional indirect effects by moderator level + index a single mediation figure that hides the moderation
Multi-study summary a study-by-study row: design, N, key result, effect size inconsistent metrics across studies

A path diagram for the focal study and an interaction plot for the key moderation are usually the two highest-value figures; they carry the process argument visually.

Reporting conventions (APA + rigor era)

  • Report effect sizes and CIs in tables, not asterisks alone; readers must judge magnitude.
  • Keep decimal places consistent and follow APA for statistics (e.g., italic test letters, leading zeros per APA convention).
  • Note Ns before and after exclusions in the table or its note.
  • Each exhibit must be interpretable standalone — title, note defining abbreviations, and units.
  • Do not duplicate the same result in a table and a figure; pick the form that shows the mechanism best.

Execution bridge (StatsPAI / Stata MCP)

Generate exhibits from the fitted result, not by retyping numbers (the usual source of body-vs-appendix drift). Full map: execution-with-mcp. JCP is experimental consumer psychology; randomization inference, mediation done right (mediate, not naive controlling-away), and family-wise corrections matter most.

  • Tables: etable (multi-model columns) or did_summary_to_latex straight from the result_id.
  • Figures: plot_from_result / enhanced_event_study_plot / event_study_table — axis units and the SE/clustering note baked in.
  • Every note names the estimator + clustering and states the effect size in interpretable units.

See a full fitted-result → exhibit chain in the JF execution walkthrough.

Checklist

  • Every table/figure earns its place by making the effect or process clearer than prose would
  • Mediation shown as a path figure with coefficients and the bootstrap CI
  • Interaction shown with probed simple effects (spotlight/floodlight annotated)
  • Effect sizes and CIs present; not asterisk-only
  • APA formatting for tables, figures, notes, and statistics
  • Ns (before/after exclusions) reported; abbreviations defined in notes
  • Metrics consistent across the multi-study exhibits so the chain reads cleanly

Anti-patterns

  • Asterisk theater: stars instead of effect sizes and CIs
  • Buried mediation: the indirect effect described in text with no figure and no CI
  • Naked interaction: an interaction plot with no simple-effect probing shown
  • Decorative figures: a chart that repeats a table and adds nothing about the mechanism
  • Non-APA exhibits: formatting that the JCP copyeditor will return
  • Inconsistent multi-study tables: different metrics per study, hiding convergence

Output format

【Key exhibits】which table(s)/figure(s) carry the effect and the process
【Mediation figure】paths + coefficients + bootstrap CI shown? [Y/N]
【Interaction plot】simple effects probed/annotated? [Y/N]
【Reporting】effect sizes + CIs (not asterisk-only)? APA format? [Y/N]
【Multi-study table】consistent metrics across studies? [Y/N]
【Next skill】jcp-writing-style
Info
Category Data Science
Name jcp-tables-figures
Version v20260724
Size 5.19KB
Updated At 2026-07-28
Language