Footnotes for Academic and Scientific Tables to Present Research Data

Footnotes for Scholarly Tables: General Notes

What to include, how to format, and how to keep your tables clear, compliant, and reviewer-proof

Scholarly tables compress complexity. They hold dense measurements, codes, abbreviations, and analytical breadcrumbs that would overwhelm running text. The price of that compactness is documentation: readers need an explanation layer that travels with the table, not in a distant paragraph. That layer lives in the footnote block—beginning with general notes. Done well, general notes make a table self-explanatory, reproducible, and safe to lift into slide decks or systematic reviews without losing meaning.

1) Purpose and scope of general notes

General notes capture information that affects the interpretation of any part of the table:

• Abbreviations and symbols: “ANOVA = analysis of variance; CI = confidence interval; ES = effect size; † = data censored.”
• Units and measurement frames: “Mass in kg; SBP in mmHg; costs in 2023 USD; times in UTC.”
• Sample and design context: “N = 742 adults, 18–65 y, three urban clinics; cluster-randomized, 12 sites.”
• Inclusion/exclusion rules and handling of missing data: “Excludes participants with >20% missing items; missing values imputed via MICE (m=20).”
• Transformations and derived metrics: “Log10(x+1) applied to counts; Cohen’s d computed using pooled SD.”
• Time windows and baselines: “Pre = 4 weeks before index date; Post = 8 weeks after.”
• Rounding and display conventions: “Means (SD); medians [IQR]; percentages rounded to 1 decimal; may not sum to 100% due to rounding.”
• Protocol deviations and caveats: “Site 7 paused recruitment for 2 weeks due to outage; see methods §2.3.”

2) Placement, typography, and spacing

• Width & size: Set the note block at full table width, in a font size 0.5–2 pt smaller than the table body. This visually separates notes from cells.
• Lead-in: Start with a consistent lead-in on a new line—either Note. (sentence case + period) or Notes: (with colon). Apply the same choice to every table.
• Line breaks: Each note may start on a new line. To conserve space, chain short items with semicolons; reserve full sentences for complex content.
• Spacing: Leave a modest gap (e.g., 6–12 pt) below the notes before the next element (e.g., the following table caption) to prevent visual collisions.

3) Ordering rules and consistency across tables

There is no universal mandate for note order, but reviewers expect consistency. Choose an order at manuscript setup and reuse it verbatim. A robust pattern:

1. Study/sample/period (“N, setting, timeframe”).
2. Measurement units and formats (“units, mean/SD vs median/IQR, rounding”).
3. Abbreviations and symbols (alphabetized).
4. Data processing (transformations, imputation, weighting).
5. Protocol deviations and caveats.
6. Source note (if not presented separately).

If your journal prefers “Source:” lines to precede general notes, adopt Source → General → Specific → Probability and keep it through all tables.

4) Abbreviations and symbols: how to define them

• Alphabetize abbreviations; this speeds lookup (ANOVA, CI, ES, HR, OR, SD, SE, VIF).
• Use “X = expansion” with semicolons between items; avoid surrounding quotes and terminal periods unless your style guide mandates them.
• Define first use: If an abbreviation appears first in the table and not in text, the general note is the right place to define it.
• Symbols: Map symbols succinctly: “*, **, *** = p<.05, p<.01, p<.001; † = censored; ‡ = post hoc comparison.”

5) Style-guide snapshots

• APA (7th): Place general notes first, introduced by Note. Use lowercase superscript letters (a, b, c) for specific notes, and asterisks for probability notes. Abbreviations defined in the general note; alphabetize. Example lead-in: Note. Means are unweighted unless stated.
• AMA (11th): Often prefers concise phrases; units in SI; probability symbols via asterisks or exact p values; source lines permitted. Example: Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; HR, hazard ratio.
• Chicago/MLA: More flexible; prioritize clarity. Use full sentences where needed; include source as separate line if the table is adapted.
• IEEE/ACM: Technical tables may place footnotes under the table with markers (a, b, c). Probability notes less common; focus on units, standards, and data sources.

6) Specific vs general vs probability notes: keep roles distinct

• General notes apply to the entire table; no marker.
• Specific notes explain a particular cell/row/column; use superscript letters (a, b, c) or symbols keyed in the table body.
• Probability notes decode significance markers or report exact tests (e.g., “*p<.05; **p<.01 (two-sided t test with Satterthwaite correction)”).

7) Source notes: when and how to include them

If a table is adapted, compiled from multiple datasets, or reproduced with permission, include a Source: line (and permission language if required):

8) Wording patterns you can copy

9) Layout in Word and LaTeX

Microsoft Word

• Insert footnotes inside the table, not as page footnotes. Add a final row of merged cells (table width) for the note block.
• Reduce font size by 1–2 pt; set spacing “Before: 6 pt, After: 0–6 pt.”
• Use a paragraph style (e.g., “Table Note”) so formatting is consistent across tables.

LaTeX

• Use threeparttable or threeparttablex:

  \begin{table}
  \begin{threeparttable}
  \caption{Outcomes by arm}
  \begin{tabular}{...} ... \end{tabular}
  \begin{tablenotes}[para,flushleft]
  \footnotesize \textit{Note.} N = 742; CI = confidence interval; ...
  \end{tablenotes}
  \end{threeparttable}
  \end{table}

• For specific notes, use \tnote{a} with matching \item[a] in tablenotes.

10) Accessibility and portability

• Screen readers: Avoid symbol-only explanations (“*p<.05”) without text; include a verbal legend in the notes.
• Copy/paste safety: Ensure general notes include everything needed if the table is excerpted (e.g., unit definitions, abbreviations).
• Color dependence: If colors encode groups, explain them in notes (“Blue = control; Orange = treatment”) and consider redundant encodings (patterns).

11) Common pitfalls—and fixes

12) Cross-table consistency checklist (before submission)

• [ ] Every table with special content has a Note. or Notes: block, styled consistently.
• [ ] Abbreviations in notes are alphabetized and match the body text.
• [ ] Units and rounding conventions are stated and applied uniformly.
• [ ] Missing-data handling, transformations, and weighting are disclosed where relevant.
• [ ] Source lines included for adapted or compiled tables; permissions handled.
• [ ] Order of note types is identical across tables.
• [ ] Probability notes decode all symbols or provide exact tests/p-values.

13) Mini-examples across disciplines

Psychology (APA-style)

Note. N = 312 undergraduates; values are M (SD) unless noted; CI = 95% confidence interval; RT = reaction time (ms); scores range 0–40; missing items (<3%) imputed by person-mean.

Clinical medicine (AMA-style)

Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared); HR, hazard ratio; ICU, intensive care unit. Note. Outcomes are reported at 28 d; costs in 2023 USD.

Economics (Chicago)

Notes: All monetary values in 2015 PPP-adjusted USD; robust SEs clustered at district level; sample restricted to households with complete panel (2010–2015); see appendix B for survey weights.

Engineering (IEEE)

Note. Load in kN; strain in µε; signals filtered (4th-order Butterworth, 50 Hz); “Yield” defined at 0.2% offset; FE = finite element; S–N curves per ASTM E466.

14) Bringing it together: a worked table note

15) FAQs

• Do general notes need markers? No. They apply to the whole table; specific notes use markers.
• Where do I put ethics or trial registration? In the caption or a source note if the table is a key results table; avoid overloading the note block.
• Should I repeat the same general note across similar tables? If the same conventions apply (units, rounding, abbreviations), yes—repeat for clarity and extraction safety.

Conclusion

General notes turn a dense table into a dependable one. They document units, definitions, sample boundaries, and data handling in a compact, standardized block that travels with the table wherever it goes. Decide on your order and lead-in once, write notes that are concise but complete, and enforce consistency across all tables. Your readers—and your reviewers—will understand precisely what they are seeing, and your results will be easier to check, trust, and reuse.