Tables

Here are some basic rules about tables.

• Use tables to compare and categorise large amounts of information.
• Do not construct a table unless repetitive data must be presented.
• If you only need to present a few items of data, consider explaining them in the text rather than in a table.
• Limit the range of values shown in the table. If the values of variables do not change much, consider grouping the data into ranges.
• Tables have both left and right (horizontal) dimensions and upand- down (vertical) dimensions. Ideally, tables should read down a column, not across rows. However, much will depend on the purpose of the table.