Explain the parts of a Table.
Or
What are the essential parts of a Statistical Table? 3 Explain any four.
Main Parts of a Table—The structure of a statistical table can be identified as :
(1) Title of the table : A title is a brief explanation of the contents of a table. It explains what the f data in the table is about, the place and the period to which the data relates. A title should be brief and should be placed in a prominent place, usually below the table number
(2) Table number : When there are many tables then these tables should be numbered in a logical sequence. The number of the table can be used for reference. Normally the number is placed on the top of the title such that it comes in the centre of the title.
(3) Captions : A word or a phrase which explains the contents of a column of a table is called the caption. A caption should be placed at the middle of the column. Under a caption there may be sub-heads. When the items in different columns are expressed in different units of measurement, the corresponding unit should be mentioned with the captions.
(4) Stubs : As captions explain the contents of column, the stubs explain the contents of a row. Thus, stubs are the designations of the rows.
(5) Body of the table : The body of the table is the most important part of the table. The data is arranged in this part according to the description given by the captions and stubs.
(6) Headnote : An explanatory to the title which is presented below the title, within the brackets, is the headnote. In a table the title, caption and the stubs are to be brief. The head note is used to explain certain points relating to the whole table that have not been included in the title nor in the captions or stubs.
(7) Footnote : Any clarification on the table is given in the form of a footnote. Any additional information required to understand the table is supplied in the footnote. When there are more than one footnote, the sequentially numbered footnotes are placed directly below the body of the table.
(8) Source note : When secondary data is used
the source of the data is given in the form of source note. If a reader desires to refer the original data, the source note helps to locate the primary data. (Any four).