APA Styling – Tables

  • Tables are always placed on a separate page, directly after the reference list
  • Only one table is permitted per page, even if the tables are small enough to fit multiple on one page
  • Be sure to include a table note, which will hold useful information that is necessary in order for readers to fully understand the information presented or abbreviations
  • The title of the table should be brief, but provide enough information for the reader to know what the table consists of
  • Tables are useful to present complex data, such as descriptive statistics

*The following information was derived directly from Purdue OWL:https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/19/

  • Table structure
    • Numbers: Number all tables with Arabic numerals sequentially
      • Do not use suffix letters (e.g. Table 1a, Table 1b); instead, combine any related tables
      • If the document includes an appendix with tables, identify them with capital letters and Arabic numbers (e.g. Table A1, Table B3)
    • Headings: Keep headings clear and brief
      • Use abbreviations, if needed
      • All columns must have headings
    • Body of the table:  When reporting data, be sure to stay consistent
      • Example: Keeping consistent with reporting numbers with decimals; use the same number of decimal places throughout
      • Never change the unit of measurement/number of decimal places in the same column

 The following image shows the basic structuring of tables in APA format:

APA-Styling Figures 00

  • Table 2 will always appear at the top
  • The title will be italicized, and should appear flushed-left, single space
  • The header is any supplemental information
  • The subhead is, typically, the variable(s) being described
  • The column head(s) is/are the descriptives being reported

 

  • Specific types of tables
    • Analysis of variance (ANOVA) tables
      • List the source in the sub column, followed by the degrees of freedom (df) in the next column, followed by the F ratios in the next column
      • List the between-subject variables and error
      • Report the within-subject variables and any error
      • If mean square errors are being reported, they must be enclosed in parentheses
      • If necessary, provide a general note under the table that explains what all of the values mean
        • Use asterisks to identify statistically significant F ratios, and be sure to provide a probability footnote
      • An example of an ANOVA table is below

APA-Styling Figures 01

  • Regression tables
    • There are two ways to report regression analyses:
      If the study is applied, list only the raw or unstandardized coefficients (B)
      2. If the study is theoretical, list only the standardized coefficients (beta)
    • If the study was neither only applied nor only theoretical, list both standardized and unstandardized coefficients
    • Specify the type of analysis (hierarchical or simultaneous)
    • If hierarchical regression is used: provide the increments of change

APA-Styling Figures 03

  • Table notes
    • There are three types of notes for tables:
      General notes: Explain, qualify, or provide information about the table as a whole; explains abbreviations, symbols, etc.
      e.g. Note. All values are reported M(SD).
      2. Specific notes: Explain, qualify, or provide information abut a particular column, row, or individual entry; to indicate specific notes, use superscript lower letters, and order these superscripts (e.g. a, b, c)  from left to right, top to bottom; each table’s first footnote must be a superscript
      3. Probability notes: Provide the reader with the results of the texts for statistical significance; asterisks indicate the values for which the null hypothesis is rejected, with the probability (p value) specified in the probability note (consistently use the same number of asterisks for a given alpha level throughout the paper)
           Note: These notes are only required when relevant to the
                    data being presented
           e.g. *p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001
    • To distinguish between two-tailed and one-tailed tests in the same table, use asterisks for two-tailed p values and an alternate symbol for one-tailed p values
      g. *p < .05, two-tailed.
                 **p < .01, two-tailed
                  `p < .05, one-tailed

 (All information derived from https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ and http://www.apastyle.org/index.aspx)