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| I have difficulty dealing with figures, tables and textboxes (E14). Tables, figures and boxes can clarify a text considerably, provided they are used properly. This Skill Sheet discusses the structure and the lay-out of these three instruments. A table usually consists of columns/rows, a figure is made up of drawings, and a box contains texts. • Always repeat the research question(s) and also the sub-questions tackled in the respective chapters;
Table Figure Box
Main aspects tables / figures / boxes A reader should be able to understand a table, figure or box without having to go through the whole text. A reader should always understand three important aspects of tables/figures/boxes: their status, aim and contents.
The status Is the information your own invention or taken from somewhere else? • Always identify the source accurately, beneath the table; note ‘Source:’ followed by an exact reference according to the Harvard reference system without parentheses and without a full stop (for example ‘Source: Coase, 1937: 25’). • No source indication reveals to the reader that it is your own invention. (E2)
The aim This always requires a clear heading/title containing information about: • the topic: in clear, short and unambiguous phrasing; • the place or region: ‘European Union’, ‘Argentina’, ‘Rome’; • the timeframe: applicable for most information in the table/figure (period or year).
The main contents What do the columns, the rows, or symbols in the table or figure mean: • use clear abbreviations for column and row indicators, or use notes to explain; • distinguish column and row indicators from the other information by bold, italics or underlines; • always include a legend if your figure has arrows and other symbols. The legend is often placed in a separate box to distinguish it from the rest of the figure; • under the table/figure, include explanations of the symbols used in the table/figure to point at exceptions to the information in the title.
Basic rule: Tables / figures / boxes should largely ‘speak for themselves’, but should always be explained and referred to in the text.
The basic rule stated above seems contradictory, but it is not. Figures, tables or boxes are used in support of a text, they can never act as a substitute for well-formulated text and analysis. Figures, tables and boxes can have various functions: a complement, an illustration, a more detailed elaboration. The function should always be clear from the adjoining text. But the text should concentrate on the analysis and not on lengthy explanations, which means that the figure/table/box should be presented in a way that is largely self-evident. If the information contained in figure, table or box does not have a function in your analysis, it should not have been included in your text. The practical application of the basic rule can also be elaborated as follows: without any major alterations you have to be able to use the figure/table as a transparency for a presentation.
Qualitative tables Tables do not need to be quantitative. Tables can also include qualitative information. Useful applications of qualitative tables consist of (1) summarising your own argument; (2) summarising the arguments of others. By using a table format you are organising your information and argumentation along clearly identifiable lines (the rows and columns). Putting your argument in a table increases the clarity of your writing substantially. If you do this before you begin your research, it can also improve the clarity of your analysis. This technique is also known as argumentation through schematization (E6).
Lay-out: Tables and figures • Always spell ‘Figure’ and ‘Table’ in full. Also do this in the text. • Number tables and figures, preferably by chapter: first number is the chapter, second number the indication of the sequence of the table/figure in the chapter: ‘1.1’, ‘3.5’; ‘10.1’. Tables and Figures follow separate sequences. You could have a ‘Table 4.3’ and a ‘Figure 4.3’ in the same chapter. • Always begin the heading/title with a capital letter. With shorter titles the whole title can be capitalised. This is a matter of taste and preference. Headings/titles should be printed ‘bold’. • Full stop. Do not use a full stop at the end of items in a list of tables or figures. Use ‘;’ to mark the difference between separate items in the same category in the table or figure. Do not use a full stop either at the Table or Figure number. Do not use a full stop at the end of the heading, nor at the end of the sources and notes, unless the latter contain an explanatory sentence. • In the case of a table always place the number and description above the table. Always place the ‘Source(s):’ indication below. Sometimes, the number and title of figures are placed below the image. • This is done because figures and the like are very often originals drafted by the author. If this is the case, there need not be a source below the figure either. A title and a source at the same position is messy. • Use a capital letter for the ‘Source’ and ‘Note’ indication. • Add explanatory notes below the Sources. Do not use footnotes. Do not number the notes. It can be confusing because the table already consists of numbers. For a single note use an asterisk (*); for more than one note you can use other signs: °, §; or: you can use letters: a, b, c... • Make clear what belongs to the Table/Figure and what belongs to the main text. Insert sufficient space (preferably two hard returns) between the title and the source/notes and the running text. • When you refer to the Table/Figure in the text, refer by number - ‘Table 4.5 illustrates...’ - rather than ‘the figure on the next page illustrates...’ or ‘the table following’. • Be aware of copyright provisions when you copy complete tables, pictures or figures! • Whenever possible position the table/figure on the relevant page, i.e. where it is discussed. • Only use the landscape (vertical printing) option if the table has many columns. • If the table runs onto another page, repeat a short title indication. For instance: ‘(Table 6.1, continued)’ • With a thesis, add a list of Tables/Figures after the contents, and before the preface (E3).
Lay-out: Boxes The use of boxes is often aimed at presenting information, which the author could not really find an appropriate place for in the analysis itself, but nevertheless found ‘interesting’. Boxes are often (ab)used for this purpose, like lengthy footnotes (B11) or annexes (B5). When included, boxes: • should have a clear function in the text; • often serve illustrative and/or lay-out purposes (like the boxes in these Skill Sheets); • should, if appropriate, identify a source which can be placed in or below the box; • should preferably be • no longer than one page;
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