Layout of columns
Think carefully about how to arrange the rows and columns.
Values that you are interested in comparing should be close to each other.
Reordering the rows and columns should be considered. Judicious use of white space can help to separate different groups of values and therefore bring related values closer together.
Annotation
When a table is included in a report, the main information that can be gained from the table should also be summarised in the body of the report in words.
Do not simply repeat the values in the table. The annotation should summarise and interpret.
UN survey responses
The table below was published in a United Nations report describing the results of a survey of countries about implementation of a set of 'Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics' by their National Statistics Offices. The table summarises which countries responded to the survey questionnaire.
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This table contains:
Because the columns of frequencies are not adjacent and the columns of percentages are not adjacent, comparisons are harder. A better format for the table groups together the columns of related values and separates these groups with white space.
(We have also made improvements to the column headings and replaced the first two rows of the table with the country categories Least developed and Other developing to form a standard frequency table.)
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Textual summary
A description of the table in the report should point out the much higher
response rates in the developed countries, and particularly in Asia and
Europe. As a result, the
least developed countries (especially Oceania, the Americas and Africa)
are under-represented in the survey and in the remainder of the report.