Generate Statistical Tables

Name: generate-statistical-tables
Rating: 92
Author: pjt222

Create publication-ready statistical tables for reports and manuscripts.

When to Use

•Creating descriptive statistics tables
•Formatting regression or ANOVA output
•Building correlation matrices
•Producing APA-style tables for academic papers
•Generating tables for Quarto/R Markdown documents

Inputs

•Required: Statistical analysis results (model objects, summary data)
•Required: Output format (HTML, PDF, Word)
•Optional: Style guide (APA, journal-specific)
•Optional: Table numbering scheme

Procedure

Step 1: Choose Table Package

Package	Best for	Formats
`gt`	HTML, general-purpose	HTML, PDF, Word
`kableExtra`	LaTeX/PDF documents	PDF, HTML
`flextable`	Word documents	Word, PDF, HTML
`gtsummary`	Clinical/statistical summaries	All via gt/flextable

Step 2: Descriptive Statistics Table

library(gt)

descriptives <- data |>
  group_by(group) |>
  summarise(
    n = n(),
    M = mean(score, na.rm = TRUE),
    SD = sd(score, na.rm = TRUE),
    Min = min(score, na.rm = TRUE),
    Max = max(score, na.rm = TRUE)
  )

gt(descriptives) |>
  tab_header(
    title = "Table 1",
    subtitle = "Descriptive Statistics by Group"
  ) |>
  fmt_number(columns = c(M, SD), decimals = 2) |>
  fmt_number(columns = c(Min, Max), decimals = 1) |>
  cols_label(
    group = "Group",
    n = md("*n*"),
    M = md("*M*"),
    SD = md("*SD*")
  )

Step 3: Regression Results Table

model <- lm(outcome ~ predictor1 + predictor2 + predictor3, data = data)

library(gtsummary)

tbl_regression(model) |>
  bold_p() |>
  add_glance_source_note(
    include = c(r.squared, adj.r.squared, nobs)
  ) |>
  modify_header(label = "**Predictor**") |>
  modify_caption("Table 2: Regression Results")

Step 4: Correlation Matrix

library(gt)

cor_matrix <- cor(data[, c("var1", "var2", "var3", "var4")],
                  use = "pairwise.complete.obs")

# Format lower triangle
cor_matrix[upper.tri(cor_matrix)] <- NA

as.data.frame(cor_matrix) |>
  tibble::rownames_to_column("Variable") |>
  gt() |>
  fmt_number(decimals = 2) |>
  sub_missing(missing_text = "") |>
  tab_header(title = "Table 3", subtitle = "Correlation Matrix")

Step 5: ANOVA Table

aov_result <- aov(score ~ group * condition, data = data)

library(gtsummary)

tbl_anova <- broom::tidy(aov_result) |>
  gt() |>
  fmt_number(columns = c(sumsq, meansq, statistic), decimals = 2) |>
  fmt_number(columns = p.value, decimals = 3) |>
  cols_label(
    term = "Source",
    df = md("*df*"),
    sumsq = md("*SS*"),
    meansq = md("*MS*"),
    statistic = md("*F*"),
    p.value = md("*p*")
  ) |>
  tab_header(title = "Table 4", subtitle = "ANOVA Results")

Step 6: Save Tables

# Save as HTML
gtsave(my_table, "table1.html")

# Save as Word
gtsave(my_table, "table1.docx")

# Save as PNG image
gtsave(my_table, "table1.png")

# For LaTeX/PDF (kableExtra)
kableExtra::save_kable(kable_table, "table1.pdf")

Step 7: Embed in Quarto Document

markdown

```{r}
#| label: tbl-descriptives
#| tbl-cap: "Descriptive Statistics by Group"

gt(descriptives) |>
  fmt_number(columns = c(M, SD), decimals = 2)
```

See @tbl-descriptives for summary statistics.

Validation

• Table renders correctly in target format (HTML, PDF, Word)
• Numbers are formatted consistently (decimal places, alignment)
• Statistical notation follows the style guide (italicized, proper symbols)
• Table has a clear caption and numbering
• Column headers are meaningful
• Notes/footnotes explain abbreviations or significance markers

Common Pitfalls

•gt in PDF: gt has limited PDF support. Use kableExtra for LaTeX-heavy documents.
•Rounding inconsistency: Always use fmt_number() (gt) or format() rather than round() for display
•Missing values display: Configure with sub_missing() in gt or options(knitr.kable.NA = "")
•Wide tables in PDF: Tables exceeding page width need landscape() or font size reduction
•APA number formatting: No leading zero for values bounded by 1 (p-values, correlations): ".03" not "0.03"

Related Skills

•format-apa-report - tables within APA manuscripts
•create-quarto-report - embedding tables in reports
•build-parameterized-report - tables that adapt to parameters