Designing readable and persuasive tables
Purchase
Purchase Print Copy
| Format | List Price | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Add to Cart | Paperback88 pages | $30.00 | $24.00 20% Web Discount |
Tabular presentations in research reports and technical studies often fail their expository purpose because they are poorly designed. The reader may find them confusing because the entries are poorly labeled, may miss significant patterns in the data because the layout is clumsy, or may doubt the reliability of the data because they are incoherently presented or lack authoritative credentials. This essay offers practical guidance for designing tables that will be read, understood, and believed. It includes a glossary to help researchers communicate with editors, an appendix of exemplary solutions to common layout problems, and an index to help readers locate relevant examples.
This report is part of the RAND Corporation Paper series. The paper was a product of the RAND Corporation from 1948 to 2003 that captured speeches, memorials, and derivative research, usually prepared on authors' own time and meant to be the scholarly or scientific contribution of individual authors to their professional fields. Papers were less formal than reports and did not require rigorous peer review.
This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.
The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.