---
name: demog-tables-figures
description: Use when building tables and figures for a Demography (PAA / Duke University Press) manuscript so exhibits are self-contained, accessible, and within the journal's limits (Research Articles up to ~8 tables and figures; Research Notes up to 4). Covers distinctive demographic graphics — population pyramids, Lexis surfaces, survival curves, age schedules. Designs exhibits; it does not run the analysis.
---

# Tables & Figures (demog-tables-figures)

Exhibits are where an expert demographer checks whether the result is real — and where demographic
data communicates best. Demography also **limits exhibit counts**: Research Articles allow roughly
**8 tables and figures**, Research Notes **4** (confirm current limits on the official page). Every
exhibit must earn its place.

## When to trigger

- Designing the main results table/figure or a key descriptive exhibit
- Deciding what belongs in the article vs. the online appendix
- A reviewer found an exhibit unclear, mislabeled, or non-self-contained
- Trimming to the table/figure limit

## Principles

1. **Self-contained.** A reader should understand each exhibit from its title, axis/column labels, and
   note alone. State the population, period, age range, source/vintage, units, and N or exposure.
2. **Use the right demographic graphic for the quantity.** Don't default to a bar chart when the data
   call for an age schedule or a Lexis surface (see below).
3. **Show uncertainty.** Confidence bands on rates, life-expectancy contributions, hazard/survival
   curves, and decomposition components — not bare lines or point estimates.
4. **Accessible.** Colorblind-safe palettes; legible in grayscale; no chartjunk, no 3D. Reviewers and
   readers must parse it quickly.
5. **Main text vs. appendix.** Keep the few exhibits that carry the argument in the article; move full
   life tables, sensitivity grids, and supplementary detail to the **online appendix**. This also
   keeps you within the exhibit limit.
6. **Reproducible.** Each exhibit is generated by the master script; numbers match the deposited
   materials (see `demog-data-and-reproducibility`).

## Distinctive demographic exhibits
- **Population pyramids** for age-sex structure and its change over time.
- **Lexis surfaces / diagrams** to show age x period x cohort patterns (e.g., mortality surfaces).
- **Survival and hazard curves** (Kaplan-Meier, cumulative-incidence for competing risks).
- **Age schedules** of fertility (ASFR), mortality (mx/qx), and migration; tempo-adjusted curves.
- **Decomposition bar/stacked plots** showing component contributions that sum to the total.
- Small-multiple **maps** for spatial demographic variation.

## Anti-patterns

- Tables that require the prose to be intelligible (not self-contained)
- A generic bar chart where a Lexis surface or age schedule would reveal the pattern
- Rates or e0 contributions plotted with no uncertainty
- Cramming every robustness exhibit into the main text (blows the table/figure limit — use the appendix)
- Exhibit numbers/values that don't match the deposited code output


## Exhibit pass for Demography

Run this as a concrete capability pass. First lock the demographic process, data source, time scale, selection/migration/mortality issue, and uncertainty; then test whether the manuscript addresses population-science reviewers who inspect demographic process, measurement, cohort/period logic, and population validity.

- **Primary move:** For every table or figure, state the object, sample/case base, uncertainty display, and one sentence the exhibit proves for this venue.
- **Decision ledger:** return `claim / evidence / blocker / next edit` rows so the next pass can patch the manuscript directly.
- **Sibling comparison:** compare against Population and Development Review for policy synthesis, JMF for family process, Social Forces for broader sociology; if the neighboring outlet has the stronger audience claim, recommend re-routing before polishing.
- **Verification floor:** before submission-ready advice, re-open `resources/official-source-map.md` for volatile rules and name the one unresolved fact that could change the recommendation.

## Output format

```
【Main exhibit】what it shows + which demographic graphic + why
【Self-contained?】title + labels + note + population/period/source/N present? [Y/N]
【Uncertainty shown?】bands/intervals on rates/curves/components? [Y/N]
【Accessible?】grayscale-legible + colorblind-safe? [Y/N]
【Article vs appendix】split decided, within exhibit limit?
【Reproducible?】generated by master script, matches package? [Y/N]
【Next】demog-writing-style
```

## Supplementary resources

- [`../../resources/external_tools.md`](../../resources/external_tools.md) — plotting, Lexis-surface, life-table, and mapping packages
- [`../../resources/official-source-map.md`](../../resources/official-source-map.md) — table/figure limits by article type