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jm-tables-figures

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Use when building the tables and figures for a Journal of Marketing (JM) manuscript — exact-statistic result tables, interaction/mechanism plots, and managerial-takeaway exhibits in AMA house style, all counting against the 50-page limit. Finalizes exhibits; it does not run the analysis (jm-data-analysis) or polish the prose (jm-writing-style).

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Source SKILL.md: https://github.com/brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills/blob/HEAD/Journal-of-Marketing-Skills/skills/jm-tables-figures/SKILL.md

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Tables & Figures, AMA Style (jm-tables-figures)

When to trigger

  • Results are settled and exhibits need to be built or cleaned up
  • Tables show stars only, with no exact p-values, standard errors, or effect sizes
  • A figure could carry the managerial takeaway better than a paragraph
  • You are over the 50-page limit and exhibits are part of the budget

JM reporting carries into the exhibits

JM's statistical-transparency mandate is not just a text rule — it governs every table. Result tables must show actual p-values (not "p < .05" or stars alone), standard errors, and effect sizes / magnitudes. A reader should be able to judge the substantive importance of an effect from the table, because JM evaluates managerial relevance, not significance counts. Prefer reporting coefficients with SEs and exact p-values, and add a column or note giving the effect in interpretable units (elasticity, lift, WTP, welfare) wherever feasible.

Mind the 50-page budget

JM enforces a 50-page maximum that is inclusive of title, abstract, keywords, text, footnotes, references, tables, figures, and print appendices; only web appendices are excluded. Every table and figure therefore spends pages. Design exhibits to earn their space: consolidate redundant tables, move secondary results to a web appendix, and ensure each remaining exhibit answers a question a reviewer or manager actually asks.

What each exhibit type should do

  • Descriptives / correlation table: sample composition and construct relationships at a glance; reliabilities on the diagonal where multi-item scales are used.
  • Main results table(s): coefficients, SEs, exact p-values, effect sizes; clearly labeled models/specifications; the identification design legible from the table.
  • Interaction / mechanism figure: simple-slopes or marginal-effects plot for moderation; a mediation diagram with indirect-effect estimates and CIs for process.
  • Managerial-takeaway exhibit: a figure that converts the result into a decision-relevant quantity (e.g., predicted sales/CLV across a manipulated lever) — this is where JM's dual mandate shows in the exhibits.
  • Study-design / conceptual figure: a clean model or multi-study roadmap when it aids comprehension.

AMA house-style essentials

  • Author-date conventions in notes; consistent decimal places; defined abbreviations.
  • 12-point font; tables and figures may be single-spaced; 1-inch margins; no page numbers, line numbers, headers, or footers in the file.
  • Each exhibit self-contained: a title, complete notes (N, estimator, SE type, significance reporting), and units, readable without the text.
  • Number consistently and reference every exhibit in the text in order.

Execution bridge (StatsPAI / Stata MCP)

Generate exhibits from the fitted result, not by retyping numbers (the usual source of body-vs-appendix drift). Full map: execution-with-mcp. JM is empirical marketing — field experiments, panel/CRM data, and quasi-experiments; randomization inference for experiments, DiD / IV for observational claims.

  • 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.

Checklist

  • Tables report exact p-values, SEs, and effect sizes (no stars-only)
  • At least one exhibit conveys the managerial magnitude in real units
  • Interaction plotted; mediation shown with indirect effects + CIs
  • Each exhibit self-contained (title, full notes, N, estimator, units)
  • Redundant tables consolidated; secondary results moved to web appendix
  • Total exhibits fit within the 50-page inclusive budget
  • AMA formatting: 12-pt, no page/line numbers/headers/footers

Anti-patterns

  • Stars-only tables with no exact p-values, SEs, or magnitudes.
  • Significance without managerial meaning — no units a decision maker reads.
  • Exhibit bloat that pushes the manuscript over 50 pages.
  • Non-self-contained exhibits that require the text to interpret.
  • Inconsistent numbering / undefined abbreviations.

Output format

【Tables】exact p / SE / effect size present? specifications labeled?
【Managerial exhibit】magnitude in real units shown? where ...
【Interaction/mediation】simple slopes / indirect-effect plot present?
【Self-containment】titles + full notes + units complete?
【Page budget】exhibits fit 50-page inclusive limit? web appendix used?
【AMA format】12-pt, no page/line numbers/headers/footers: ok?
【Next step】jm-writing-style