Andrew J Vickers1, Melissa J Assel2, Daniel D Sjoberg2, Rui Qin3, Zhiguo Zhao4, Tatsuki Koyama4, Albert Botchway5, Xuemei Wang6, Dezheng Huo7, Michael Kattan8, Emily C Zabor8, Frank Harrell4. 1. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY. Electronic address: vickersa@mskcc.org. 2. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY. 3. Janssen Research & Development, Raritan, NJ. 4. Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN. 5. Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, IL. 6. MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas, Houston, TX. 7. University of Chicago, Chicago, IL. 8. Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH.
Abstract
In an effort to improve the presentation of and information within tables and figures in clinical urology research, we propose a set of appropriate guidelines. We introduce 6 principles (1) include graphs only if they improve the reader's ability to understand the study findings; (2) think through how a graph might best convey information, do not just select a graph from preselected options on statistical software; (3) do not use graphs to replace reporting key numbers in the text of a paper; (4) graphs should give an immediate visual impression of the data; (5) make it beautiful; and (6) make the labels and legend clear and complete. We present a list of quick "dos and don'ts" for both tables and figures. Investigators should feel free to break any of the guidelines if it would result in a beautiful figure or a clear table that communicates data effectively. That said, we believe that the quality of tables and figures in the medical literature would improve if these guidelines were to be followed. PATIENT SUMMARY: A set of guidelines were developed for presenting figures and tables in urology research. The guidelines were developed by a broad group of statistical experts with special interest in urology.
In an effort to improve the presentation of and information within tables and figures in clinical urology research, we propose a set of appropriate guidelines. We introduce 6 principles (1) include graphs only if they improve the reader's ability to understand the study findings; (2) think through how a graph might best convey information, do not just select a graph from preselected options on statistical software; (3) do not use graphs to replace reporting key numbers in the text of a paper; (4) graphs should give an immediate visual impression of the data; (5) make it beautiful; and (6) make the labels and legend clear and complete. We present a list of quick "dos and don'ts" for both tables and figures. Investigators should feel free to break any of the guidelines if it would result in a beautiful figure or a clear table that communicates data effectively. That said, we believe that the quality of tables and figures in the medical literature would improve if these guidelines were to be followed. PATIENT SUMMARY: A set of guidelines were developed for presenting figures and tables in urology research. The guidelines were developed by a broad group of statistical experts with special interest in urology.