---
name: joap-tables-figures
description: Use when building tables and figures for a Journal of Applied Psychology (JAP) manuscript in APA 7th-edition style — correlation/descriptives tables, CFA/SEM path diagrams, multilevel (HLM) result tables, and meta-analytic forest/funnel plots. Exhibits must carry effect sizes, CIs, and reliabilities and be self-contained. Designs exhibits; it does not run the analysis.
---

# Tables & Figures (joap-tables-figures)

In JAP, exhibits do a lot of the evidentiary work: the **means-SD-correlation-reliability table**, the
**path/CFA diagram**, the **multilevel result table**, and (for syntheses) the **forest/funnel plot**.
They follow **APA 7th-edition** conventions and must be **self-contained** and consistent with the
reported analysis. Good exhibits show **effect sizes, confidence intervals, and reliabilities**, not
just stars.

## When to trigger

- Designing the descriptives/correlation table or the main results exhibit
- Drawing a CFA/SEM path diagram or a multilevel result table
- Building a meta-analytic forest/funnel plot
- A reviewer found an exhibit unclear, non-APA, or inconsistent with the text

## Principles

1. **The Table 1 standard.** The first table is almost always means, SDs, and the full correlation
   matrix with **reliabilities on the diagonal** and level-of-analysis noted. Reviewers scan it for
   construct distinctness, multicollinearity, and red flags before reading the model.
2. **Show estimates with uncertainty.** Path tables and figures report standardized/unstandardized
   coefficients **with confidence intervals** (and fit indices for SEM); report indirect effects with
   their bootstrap/Monte Carlo CIs.
3. **Self-contained + APA 7th.** Titles, notes, Ns at each level, units, what the error bars/CIs are,
   and significance conventions make each exhibit intelligible alone; follow APA table/figure format.
4. **Make the model legible.** A path diagram should show the hypothesized structure, levels (L1/L2),
   standardized estimates, and which paths are significant — not a decorative box-and-arrow sketch.
5. **Earn the space; defer the rest.** Push secondary exhibits (full invariance tables, alternative
   models, manipulation checks) to **online supplemental materials**; summarize in one sentence.
6. **Reproducible + accessible.** Generated by the shared analysis script so values match; colorblind-
   safe and grayscale-legible.

## Worked micro-example — the core exhibits (illustrative)

For the servant-leadership package, two exhibits carry the argument.

```
Table 1. Means, SDs, correlations, reliabilities (team level, k = 74).
  Diagonal: ω reliabilities (.91, .88, .87); note ICC(1)/ICC(2) for aggregated vars,
  N at L1 and L2, and the significance convention. Self-contained.

Figure 1. Multilevel mediation path model (2-2-2).
  Geometry:  leadership (L2) → safety (L2) → performance (L2), with the L1
             voice mediator shown; standardized estimates + 95% CIs on each path.
  Annotate:  indirect = .13, 95% CI [.05, .23]; direct path ns; fit indices in note.
  Note:      defines levels, estimator, Ns at L1/L2, and that intervals are 95% CIs —
             readable without the main text.
  Source:    rendered from the deposited Mplus/R script so values match exactly.
```

## Exhibit triage — article vs. supplemental materials

| Exhibit | Home | Reason |
|---------|------|--------|
| Descriptives / correlations / reliabilities (Table 1) | main text | reviewers read it first |
| Primary path model with CIs + fit | main text | this is the contribution |
| Measurement-invariance / alternative-model tables | supplement | needed for rigor, not the headline |
| Manipulation / attention-check results | supplement | credibility, not the main claim |
| Robustness / sensitivity grid | supplement | summarized in one main-text sentence |
| Meta-analytic full coding sheet | supplement (deposited) | transparency, not a printed table |

## Exhibit-stage reviewer pushback and the venue fix

- "No reliabilities on the diagonal" → add ω/α to Table 1; reviewers check construct distinctness there.
- "Path table reports only betas and stars" → add CIs and fit indices; report the indirect-effect CI.
- "Figure doesn't show levels" → label L1/L2 and the cross-level paths in the diagram.
- "Table 3 doesn't match the text" → regenerate both from the single deposited script.
- "Forest plot has no weights / CI scale" → add study weights, CIs, and the pooled estimate with its CI.

## Exhibit calibration anchors

- Table 1 is a credibility signal: a clean, complete descriptives/correlation table with reliabilities
  reassures reviewers before they reach the model.
- The path figure should let a hurried editor reconstruct the hypotheses, the levels, and the result
  from the exhibit alone.
- Accessibility is part of rigor: colorblind-safe palettes and grayscale-legible encodings so evidence
  survives printing and reuse.

## Execution bridge (StatsPAI / Stata MCP)

Generate exhibits from the fitted result, not by retyping numbers (the usual source of
body-vs-supplement drift). Full map: [`execution-with-mcp`](../../../shared-resources/empirical-methods/execution-with-mcp.md). JAP is organizational psychology — multilevel survey/field data and experiments; cluster at the right level and apply mediation/moderation discipline.

- **Tables:** `etable` (multi-model columns) or `did_summary_to_latex` straight from the
  `result_id`.
- **Figures:** `plot_from_result` / `enhanced_event_study_plot` / `event_study_table` —
  axis units and the SE/clustering note baked in.
- **Every note** names the estimator + clustering and states the effect size in
  interpretable units.

See a full fitted-result → exhibit chain in the [JF execution walkthrough](../../../Journal-of-Finance-Skills/resources/worked-examples/02-execution-walkthrough.md).
## Anti-patterns

- A correlation table without reliabilities or level-of-analysis notes
- Path tables/figures reporting only coefficients and stars (no CIs, no fit)
- Path diagrams that hide level of analysis or which paths are significant
- Exhibits requiring the prose to be intelligible (not self-contained)
- Exhibit values that don't match the shared analysis script

## Output format

```
【Table 1】means/SD/correlations + reliabilities + level notes? [Y/N]
【Main exhibit】path model/table with estimates + CIs + fit indices? [Y/N]
【APA 7th + self-contained?】[Y/N]
【Article vs supplement】split decided
【Reproducible + accessible?】matches script, grayscale/colorblind-safe? [Y/N]
【Next】joap-writing-style
```

## Supplementary resources

- [`../../resources/external_tools.md`](../../resources/external_tools.md) — `papaja`, `semPlot`/`tidySEM`, `metafor` plots, APA table tooling
- [`../../resources/official-source-map.md`](../../resources/official-source-map.md) — APA 7th style and exhibit expectations