Presenting Tables, Figures and Appendices
Five placement rules for non-textual elements — in the text or at the back but never both, numbered in order of reference, and clearly separated from raw data. Five slides of rules, and not one element shown.
The five rules
THE FIVE RULES AND WHAT EACH ONE IS FOR
| Rule | What it prevents |
|---|---|
| In the text or at the back, never both | A reader hunting for an element that exists in two places, and a document where the two copies drift apart across drafts |
| Refer to each element in the text, in numbered order | Elements that nobody reads because nothing sends the reader to them |
| If at the back, separate them from appendix material | A chart filed among raw data, where it reads as working rather than as a finding |
| Number consecutively; caption under; add a heading | Ambiguous cross-references and elements that cannot be cited |
| Each element must stand on its own | A table whose meaning lives in a paragraph three pages away |
The right column is this library's reading of what each rule is for; the source states the rules without rationale.
Numbered in order of reference — the rule people get wrong
The second rule carries more weight than its wording suggests. Elements are numbered in the order the text refers to them, not in the order they happen to sit on the page. If your text discusses the response-rate table before the demographics table, the response-rate table is Table 1 even if it appears lower down.
The source gives its examples with a semicolon between series — "Table 1, Table 2; Chart 1, Chart 2; Map 1, Map 2" — which is the whole convention in one line. Each type carries its own consecutive series. You do not have a Table 1 followed by a Chart 2. You have Table 1 and Table 2, and separately Chart 1 and Chart 2.
Caption and heading — a requirement the source does not explain
Standing alone, and being referred to
The fifth rule and the second rule pull gently against each other, and the source states both flatly without noticing.
Rule 5 — stand on its own
- Each element must be intelligible "separate from the text"
- Implies a caption that says what the element shows, not merely what it is
- Implies units, sample sizes and dates inside the element
- The test: could a reader who opened the thesis at that page understand it?
Rule 2 — refer to it in the text
- Every element must be referred to, in numbered order
- Implies the text does interpretive work the element does not
- The element carries the data; the text carries the reading
- The test: does the text tell the reader what to look at and why?
Separating elements from appendix material
The third rule applies only if you place your elements at the back. It requires them to be clearly distinguished from appendix materials such as raw data — because a chart filed among transcripts reads as working rather than as a finding, and will be treated accordingly.
If your elements go at the back
Keep them in one block, before the appendices
A list of figures and a list of tables in the front matter, then the elements themselves as a distinct section, then the appendices.
Label the sections differently
"Tables" and "Figures" are not "Appendix A". If your format requirements make them appendices, give them their own lettered appendix rather than mixing them into one.
Keep raw data separate again
Raw data is a third category, distinct from both your finished elements and your instruments.
Refer to all of it from the text
The requirement to refer in numbered order does not relax because the element moved to the back.
Reading this against the rest of the library
This material gives placement and labelling rules. It gives nothing about the construction of the elements themselves. That sits elsewhere, in a different week, and the two were never written against each other.
WHERE EACH PART OF THE PROBLEM IS TREATED
| Question | Where the library treats it |
|---|---|
| How do I build a table that reads well? | Presenting data in tables — effective digits, row and column order, accumulated percentages |
| How do I choose and build a chart? | Presenting data in graphs — the data-to-ink principle and the one formula the material supplies |
| Where do I put it and how do I label it? | This page |
| What goes in an appendix instead? | Appendices and research instruments |
| What must the surrounding text do? | Writing the results section |
The construction rules and the placement rules come from different weeks of the supplied source and neither refers to the other.
Getting it right
Before submission
- Every element appears in exactly one place — in the text or at the back, not both
- Every element is referred to in the text at least once, at the point it becomes relevant
- Numbering runs consecutively within each type, in order of first reference
- Captions carry what the element shows, its units, its sample size and its date
- Caption and heading placement follows your institution's format requirement, uniformly
- Cross-references are generated, not typed, and were regenerated after the last cut
- Elements at the back are clearly separated from appendices and from raw data
What to carry forward
- In the text or at the back, never both — and numbered in order of first reference, not order of appearance.
- Each type carries its own consecutive series. Table 1 and Table 2; separately Chart 1 and Chart 2.
- The element must stand alone; the text must direct the reader inside it. Neither sentence can do the other's job.
- The source requires both a caption and a heading and never distinguishes them. Take the convention from your institution's format requirements.
- Renumber once, at the end, using generated cross-references — never mid-revision.
Frequently asked questions
Should captions go above or below?
The source requires a caption under the element and separately requires a heading, without saying where the heading goes or how it differs. Two standard academic conventions disagree on this and the material names neither. Take it from your institution's thesis format requirements and apply it uniformly.
Do tables and figures share one numbering series?
No. The source's own example makes this explicit — Table 1, Table 2; Chart 1, Chart 2; Map 1, Map 2 — with each type running its own consecutive series.
Can I put a table in the text and also in an appendix?
The first rule forbids it: place elements in the text or at the back, not both. The practical reason is drift — the two copies diverge as you revise, and a reader who finds both cannot tell which is current.
What does it mean for an element to stand on its own?
That a reader opening the thesis at that page could tell what it shows without reading the surrounding text: the caption states the subject, and units, sample size and time period are inside the element. It does not mean the text can skip discussing it.
Where do the rules for actually building a table come from?
A different week of the supplied material, treated at the library's page on presenting data in tables. The placement rules on this page and the construction rules there were written separately and neither refers to the other.
References and source attribution
- The supplied teaching source: weekly study notes, slide decks and assessment activities for a master's-level research methods subject in project management. Author, institution and year not stated in the supplied files.
- The non-textual-element rules in the supplied slides are attributed by the source to a university library research-guide website; no author, title or date is given.
Suggested questions for Ask KEVOS
- Where should I place tables and figures in my thesis?
- How do I number tables and figures correctly?
- Should a caption go above or below a table?
- What makes a table able to stand on its own?
- How do I separate figures from appendix material at the back of a report?