Graphics and statistics for cardiology: designing effective tables for presentation and publication
Open accessAbstract
Research is of little use if its results are not effectively communicated. Data visualised in tables (and graphs) are key components in any scientific report, but their design leaves much to be desired. This article focuses on table design, following two general principles: clear vision and clear understanding. Clear vision is achieved by maximising the signal to noise ratio. In a table, the signal is the data in the form of numbers, and the noise is the support structure necessary to interpret the numbers. Clear understanding is achieved when the story in the data is told effectively, through organisation of the data and use of text. These principles are illustrated by original and improved tables from recent publications. Two special cases are discussed separately: tables produced by the pharmaceutical industry (in clinical study reports and reports to data safety monitoring boards), and study flow diagrams as proposed by the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses initiatives.
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The PRISMA 2020 flow diagram design is adapted from flow diagrams proposed by Boers, Mayo-Wilson et al., and Stovold et al.
“The new design is adapted from flow diagrams proposed by Boers [55], Mayo-Wilson et al. [56] and Stovold et al. [57]”
From The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews (2021) · cites this paper as [55]
Cites
CONSORT 2010 statement: updated guidelines for reporting parallel group randomised trials
Schulz, K. F., Altman, D. G., Moher, D., & for the CONSORT Group (2010) · PLoS Medicine · doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000251 · Cited by 2,296 · see citing works
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The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews
Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., et al. (2021) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.n71 · Cited by 108,283 · see citing works
The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews
Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., et al. (2021) · Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1186/s13643-021-01626-4 · Cited by 13,874 · see citing works
Page, M. J., Moher, D., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., et al. (2021) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.n160 · Cited by 11,883 · see citing works
The PRISMA 2020 Statement: An Updated Guideline for Reporting Systematic Reviews
Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., et al. (2021) · International Journal of Surgery · doi:10.1016/j.ijsu.2021.105906 · Cited by 11,748 · see citing works
The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews
Page, M. J., McKenzie, J., Bossuyt, P., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T., mulrow, C., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J., Akl, E., Brennan, S. E., et al. (2020) · doi:10.31222/osf.io/v7gm2 · Cited by 5,177 · see citing works
The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews
Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., et al. (2021) · PLoS Medicine · doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1003583 · Cited by 5,148 · see citing works
The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews
Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., et al. (2021) · Journal of Clinical Epidemiology · doi:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2021.03.001 · Cited by 4,265 · see citing works
Updating guidance for reporting systematic reviews: development of the PRISMA 2020 statement
Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., & Moher, D. (2021) · Journal of Clinical Epidemiology · doi:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2021.02.003 · Cited by 3,490 · see citing works
Declaración PRISMA 2020: una guía actualizada para la publicación de revisiones sistemáticas
Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., et al. (2021) · Revista Española de Cardiología · doi:10.1016/j.recesp.2021.06.016 · Cited by 2,095 · see citing works
Declaración PRISMA 2020: una guía actualizada para la publicación de revisiones sistemáticas
Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., et al. (2021) · Revista Española de Cardiología (English Edition) · doi:10.1016/j.rec.2021.07.010 · Cited by 1,313 · see citing works
“[55] Boers M. Graphics and statistics for cardiology: designing effective tables for presentation and publication.”
MethodPage, M. J., Moher, D., Bossuyt, P., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T., mulrow, C., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J., Akl, E., Brennan, S. E., et al. (2020) · doi:10.31222/osf.io/gwdhk · Cited by 916 · see citing works
Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., & Moher, D. (2020) · Journal of Clinical Epidemiology · doi:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2019.11.010 · Cited by 211 · see citing works
- Authors
- Boers, M.
- Affiliations
- Amsterdam UMC Location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (NL)
- Corresponding author
- Boers, Maarten
- ORCID
- Boers, Maarten
- Venue
- Heart
- Publisher
- BMJ
- Published
- 2017-10-13
- Volume
- 104
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 192-200
- ISSN
- 1355-6037 (ISSN-L)
- 1468-201X
- OpenAlex
- W2762974940
- Cited by
- 56
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 2
- FWCI
- 1.25
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Heart (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Amsterdam UMC (VU Amsterdam) - Institutional Repository (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- Pure Amsterdam UMC (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition › Data Visualization and Analytics
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History and Philosophy of Science › Academic Writing and Publishing
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty › Meta-analysis and systematic reviews
- Keywords
- table design, data visualization, signal-to-noise ratio, science communication, clinical study reports, data safety monitoring board, CONSORT flow diagram, PRISMA flow diagram, cardiology research, statistical tables
- MeSH terms
- Cardiology, Communication, Data Display, Data Interpretation, Statistical, Documentation, Humans, Periodicals as Topic, Publishing, Biomedical Research
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