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How to Format Tables & Figures in Your Document

Vancouver/NLM does not provide guidelines for formatting tables/figures. Below are our recommendations based on the AMA Style.

Tables

  • Tables should be labelled as "Table," numbered consecutively, and include a title.
  • In the title the first letter of nouns and verbs should be capitalized. Do not use a period at the end of the title.
  • Tables should be placed as close as possible to the first instance that they are mentioned in the text.
  • Add a superscript lowercase letter to the title or to any element in the table to include a footnote at the bottom of the table.
  • To acknowledge credit and permissions for the reproduction of a table, give credit in the footnote.
  • Reference numerals should be added to the end of a short footnote describing the context of the citation (see example).

Example:

Table 2. Laboratory Tests with Normal Rangesa

  Values Normal Range
Glucose 75 mg/dL 74-109 mg/dL
Ureab 39 mg/dL 17-49 mg/dL
Creatinine 1.23 mg/dL 0.5-0.9 mg/dL
Sodiumc 138 mEq/L 136-145 mEq/L

aReproduced/adapted with permission from Tesfaye and Gundry.[4]

-or- Reproduced with permission of the Guidelines for Blood Tests. Center for Effective Practice, 2021.

bRange applicable to adult patients.

cSee Chalmers et al for validation.[5]

 

For a detailed description of how to organize information in a table, see section 4.1.2 of the AMA Manual of Style.

Figures

  • A "figure" refers to any graphic used to present information or data, including:
    • Illustrations, images, photographs;
    • statistical graphs, matrices, algorithms;
    • maps, diagrams, and infographics.
  • Figures should be labelled as "Figure," numbered consecutively, and include a title.
  • In the title the first letter of nouns and verbs should be capitalized. Do not use a period at the end of the title.
  • Figures should be placed as close as possible to the first instance that they are mentioned in the text.
  • Include a caption/legend below the figure to provide clarifying information.
  • Include reproduction/adaption permissions and copyright information in the caption/legend below the figure.
  • If the original source in which the figure has been published is included in the reference list, include the reference number in the title or caption/legend corresponding to the number initially used for the source. If not previously listed, you may include a new reference number in square or curved brackets corresponding to a new reference in which the figure appears.
  • Add a superscript lowercase letter to the title or to any element in the table to include a footnote in the caption/legend.
  • For a detailed description and examples of how to format specific types of figures, see section 4.2 in the AMA Manual of Style.

Examples:

           Figure 1. CT Perfusion in M1 Artery Occlusion

           

            CT of adult patient post ischemic stroke. Reproduced from Mirza and Gokhale [4] under Creative Commons license CC BY 4.0.

 

           Figure 2. Catheter Entering Left Coronary Artery

           

               aThe left coronary entry point is recommended, especially for patients aged over 70 years.

             Adapted from Bruce Blaus [24] under Creative Commons license CC BY-SA 4.0.

 

Formatting image references? See Images, Infographics & Videos.