| name | demog-tables-figures |
| description | Use when building tables and figures for a Demography (PAA / Duke University Press) manuscript so exhibits are self-contained, accessible, and within the journal's limits (Research Articles up to ~8 tables and figures; Research Notes up to 4). Covers distinctive demographic graphics — population pyramids, Lexis surfaces, survival curves, age schedules. Designs exhibits; it does not run the analysis. |
Tables & Figures (demog-tables-figures)
Exhibits are where an expert demographer checks whether the result is real — and where demographic
data communicates best. Demography also limits exhibit counts: Research Articles allow roughly
8 tables and figures, Research Notes 4 (confirm current limits on the official page). Every
exhibit must earn its place.
When to trigger
- Designing the main results table/figure or a key descriptive exhibit
- Deciding what belongs in the article vs. the online appendix
- A reviewer found an exhibit unclear, mislabeled, or non-self-contained
- Trimming to the table/figure limit
Principles
- Self-contained. A reader should understand each exhibit from its title, axis/column labels, and
note alone. State the population, period, age range, source/vintage, units, and N or exposure.
- Use the right demographic graphic for the quantity. Don't default to a bar chart when the data
call for an age schedule or a Lexis surface (see below).
- Show uncertainty. Confidence bands on rates, life-expectancy contributions, hazard/survival
curves, and decomposition components — not bare lines or point estimates.
- Accessible. Colorblind-safe palettes; legible in grayscale; no chartjunk, no 3D. Reviewers and
readers must parse it quickly.
- Main text vs. appendix. Keep the few exhibits that carry the argument in the article; move full
life tables, sensitivity grids, and supplementary detail to the online appendix. This also
keeps you within the exhibit limit.
- Reproducible. Each exhibit is generated by the master script; numbers match the deposited
materials (see
demog-data-and-reproducibility).
Distinctive demographic exhibits
- Population pyramids for age-sex structure and its change over time.
- Lexis surfaces / diagrams to show age x period x cohort patterns (e.g., mortality surfaces).
- Survival and hazard curves (Kaplan-Meier, cumulative-incidence for competing risks).
- Age schedules of fertility (ASFR), mortality (mx/qx), and migration; tempo-adjusted curves.
- Decomposition bar/stacked plots showing component contributions that sum to the total.
- Small-multiple maps for spatial demographic variation.
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. Demography is formal + empirical demography; the causal chain serves its reduced-form lane, while formal demographic modeling uses its own tools — decomposition (oaxaca / gelbach) is often central.
- 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.
Anti-patterns
- Tables that require the prose to be intelligible (not self-contained)
- A generic bar chart where a Lexis surface or age schedule would reveal the pattern
- Rates or e0 contributions plotted with no uncertainty
- Cramming every robustness exhibit into the main text (blows the table/figure limit — use the appendix)
- Exhibit numbers/values that don't match the deposited code output
Exhibit pass for Demography
Run this as a concrete capability pass. First lock the demographic process, data source, time scale, selection/migration/mortality issue, and uncertainty; then test whether the manuscript addresses population-science reviewers who inspect demographic process, measurement, cohort/period logic, and population validity.
- Primary move: For every table or figure, state the object, sample/case base, uncertainty display, and one sentence the exhibit proves for this venue.
- Decision ledger: return
claim / evidence / blocker / next edit rows so the next pass can patch the manuscript directly.
- Sibling comparison: compare against Population and Development Review for policy synthesis, JMF for family process, Social Forces for broader sociology; if the neighboring outlet has the stronger audience claim, recommend re-routing before polishing.
- Verification floor: before submission-ready advice, re-open
resources/official-source-map.md for volatile rules and name the one unresolved fact that could change the recommendation.
Output format
【Main exhibit】what it shows + which demographic graphic + why
【Self-contained?】title + labels + note + population/period/source/N present? [Y/N]
【Uncertainty shown?】bands/intervals on rates/curves/components? [Y/N]
【Accessible?】grayscale-legible + colorblind-safe? [Y/N]
【Article vs appendix】split decided, within exhibit limit?
【Reproducible?】generated by master script, matches package? [Y/N]
【Next】demog-writing-style
Supplementary resources
