jcr-tables-figures

Tables & Figures (jcr-tables-figures)

When to trigger

• Exhibits are cluttered, inconsistent, or not self-explanatory
• You need a clear way to summarize a multi-study experimental package
• An interaction or mediation result needs a readable plot
• You are deciding what stays in the manuscript vs. the web appendix

Remember the JCR page-counting convention

JCR caps the manuscript at 60 double-spaced pages, and crucially tables and figures are embedded and count toward that cap (the cap covers title, abstract, main text with tables/figures embedded, appendices, and references). So exhibits are not "free" the way they are at venues that exclude them — design them to earn their space. Move overflow stimuli, full instruments, additional study tables, and supplementary plots to the web appendix (max 40 MB), which is distinct from a manuscript appendix and does not count toward the cap.

Exhibits for the experimental package

• Study-summary table: one row per study with design, manipulation, key DV, N, and the result — lets reviewers see the convergent multi-study logic at a glance.
• Means/cells: report condition means with SDs and Ns; show the predicted pattern clearly.
• Mediation: present indirect effects with bootstrap confidence intervals; a path diagram with coefficients aids comprehension.
• Moderation: plot simple slopes; for continuous moderators show the spotlight/floodlight result (Johnson-Neyman region) rather than a bar chart of a median split.
• Process figure: a clean conceptual/process model (IV → mediator → DV, with moderators) orients the interdisciplinary reader.

Exhibits for interpretive / CCT work

• Data-structure or thematic display: show the path from raw data (quotations/observations) to second-order constructs and the conceptual framework.
• Representative evidence table: illustrative quotations mapped to constructs, supporting the audit trail.
• Keep displays interpretive and legible to readers who do not work in CCT.

House style and consistency

• Follow the JCR style guide; for anything it does not cover, JCR defaults to the Chicago Manual of Style (including title capitalization). Configure exhibit titles and notes accordingly.
• Each exhibit must be self-contained: title, units, N, significance notation, and a note defining abbreviations.
• Keep construct names, hypothesis labels, and study numbers identical between text and exhibits.
• Anonymize exhibits for double-anonymized review (no author-identifying file names, site names, or institution tells).

Checklist

• Each exhibit is self-explanatory (title, N, units, notes)
• Multi-study package summarized in one table
• Mediation shown with bootstrap CIs; moderation via simple slopes / spotlight
• A clean process/conceptual figure is included (experiments)
• CCT: data-structure / representative-evidence displays included
• Chicago-style titles/notes; labels consistent with the text
• Exhibits earn their space under the 60-page embedded cap; overflow in the web appendix
• Exhibits anonymized for masked review

Anti-patterns

• Median-split bar charts standing in for a spotlight analysis.
• Tables that repeat the text instead of compressing it.
• Exhibits that silently break anonymization (site/institution names).
• Padding the manuscript with figures that should live in the web appendix.
• Inconsistent labels between text, tables, and figures.

Output format

【Study-summary table】drafted? rows = studies
【Mediation/Moderation exhibits】bootstrap CI / simple slopes / spotlight: yes/no
【Process or CCT framework figure】included?
【Page-budget】embedded exhibits justified; overflow → web appendix
【House style】Chicago titles/notes; labels consistent; anonymized
【Next step】jcr-writing-style