restud-tables-figures

REStud Tables & Figures (restud-tables-figures)

When to trigger

• A main table has more columns than a reader can hold in mind (≳ 6)
• Tables carry default software output (stars only, no economic-magnitude reading)
• The central result is buried in a table when a figure would carry it
• Figures are raster (PNG) rather than vector, or lack a self-contained notes block
• Notation, units, or sample counts are inconsistent across exhibits

REStud exhibit principles

REStud values elegance and economy, and that extends to exhibits. Two REStud-specific facts: (1) auxiliary exhibits go in the online appendix, so the main-text figure budget is tight — promote only the exhibits that carry the contribution; (2) every published exhibit must map to a line in the deposited code, because the Data Editor regenerates tables and figures from your replication package before publication (AEA DCAS check; see restud-replication-package) — so script your exhibits, never hand-edit them. The standard:

• Each exhibit carries one result. If a table is doing two jobs, split it.
• The reader can read the magnitude, not just the stars. State units; an effect of "0.034***" is meaningless until the reader knows 0.034 of what.
• Figures are first-class. A striking new fact is often best shown as a figure (event-study plot, binscatter, RD plot, model-vs-data overlay). For a new-fact paper, the headline figure may matter more than any table.
• Self-contained notes. Every table and figure has a notes block stating sample, period, unit of observation, fixed effects, standard-error clustering, and significance convention — readable without the main text.

Tables

• Use professional rules (booktabs \toprule / \midrule / \bottomrule); no vertical rules, no double horizontal rules.
• Report coefficient, standard error (in parentheses), and N; add the dependent-variable mean so magnitudes are interpretable.
• Group columns by specification with clear panel headers; indicate fixed effects with a Yes/No block at the foot, not buried in notes.
• Significance: report SEs and let the reader judge; if stars are used, define them once and consistently.
• Generate from code (estout/esttab, etable, modelsummary) so the table regenerates with the result — no hand-typed numbers.

Figures

• Vector format (PDF / EPS) — never raster for line art.
• Confidence bands on every event-study / RD / dose-response plot.
• Axis labels with units; legend inside the plot area or a one-line caption; no chartjunk, no 3-D, no gradient fills.
• For a new-fact paper, lead with the figure that is the fact.
• Color must survive grayscale printing; distinguish series by marker/line style as well as hue.

Theory exhibits

For theory and theory-with-empirics papers, exhibits earn their place too:

• A figure of the model's key mechanism (best-response curves, a phase diagram, the comparative-static frontier) can carry a proposition better than the algebra.
• A model-vs-data overlay is among the most persuasive REStud exhibits: plot the model's prediction against the empirical moments it was not fit to match.
• Numerical illustrations and calibrated simulations belong in a clearly labeled figure with the parameter values in the notes or the online appendix.

Consistency pass

Before finalizing, run one pass across all exhibits together (not one at a time):

• Variable names, units, and sample sizes match across every table and figure.
• The same coefficient reported in two places shows the same number to the same precision.
• Numbering is continuous and every exhibit is referenced in the text in order.

Inconsistent exhibits are a fragility signal — referees who spot a mismatched N start doubting the rest.

Checklist

• Each exhibit carries exactly one result
• Main table ≤ ~6 columns; longer variants moved to the appendix
• Dependent-variable mean (or comparable scale) reported for magnitude reading
• FE / clustering / sample shown in a foot block or self-contained notes
• Figures are vector; event-study/RD plots show confidence bands
• Exhibits regenerate from code — no hand-typed numbers
• Notation, units, and N consistent across all exhibits

Anti-patterns

• A 14-column table with no headline takeaway
• Reporting only stars, so the economic magnitude is unreadable
• Raster figures that pixelate in the typeset PDF
• Notes that say "see text" instead of being self-contained
• Burying the paper's striking fact in a table when a figure would make it obvious
• Inconsistent variable names or sample sizes across tables (a fragility signal to referees)

Output format

【MAIN EXHIBITS】[table/figure — the one result each carries]
【MAGNITUDE READABLE】yes / no — scale reported
【FORMAT】booktabs tables / vector figures — confirmed
【NOTES SELF-CONTAINED】yes / no
【HEADLINE FIGURE】<which exhibit is the paper's "face">
【NEXT SKILL】restud-writing-style