Usually, when one writes up a manuscript for a study, there is at least one table with descriptive statistics. This table normally includes all the study variables. It is very common that the variables have different measurement scales but they can still be included in the same table.

Presentation of descriptive statistics in a table

Continuous variables	Mean, median, standard deviation, min, max
Categorical variables	Percentage distribution

Checklist for tables

• The tables are numbered sequentially throughout the document.
• There is a descriptive heading placed above the table.
• The number of observations (e.g. individuals) is included in the heading.
• The table does not include any vertical lines/borders
• The table includes as few horizontal lines/borders as possible.

Some examples

Below is a simple example of a descriptive table with only categorical variables.

Below is a simple example of a descriptive table with categorical and continuous variables.