7.1 Result Presentation
Principles of Effective Reporting:
| Principle | Description |
|---|
| Clarity | Results should be easy to understand |
| Completeness | All essential information included |
| Conciseness | No unnecessary information |
| Consistency | Formatting is uniform |
| Transparency | Methods clearly described |
Essential Elements of a Results Table
Table 1: Determinants of Earnings
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
(1) (2) (3)
OLS 2SLS FE
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Education 0.089*** 0.132** 0.095***
(0.012) (0.018) (0.014)
Experience 0.026*** 0.024*** 0.025***
(0.008) (0.009) (0.008)
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
N 1,000 1,000 1,000
R² 0.456 0.423 0.389
F-statistic 45.23 38.12 52.67
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Notes: *** p<0.01, ** p<0.05, * p<0.10. Standard errors in parentheses.
Column (1) uses OLS. Column (2) uses IV with QOB instruments.
Column (3) uses Fixed Effects.
Best Practices:
- Use consistent decimal places (e.g., 3 decimal places)
- Include standard errors in parentheses
- Use significance stars to highlight important results
- Include model fit statistics (N, R², F-statistic)
- Provide clear notes explaining methods and variables
7.2 Publication-Ready Figures
Types of Figures
| Figure Type | Best For | Example |
|---|
| Scatter Plot | Relationships | X vs Y |
| Bar Chart | Comparisons | Coefficients across models |
| Line Chart | Trends | Time series |
| Histogram | Distributions | Residuals |
| Box Plot | Summary statistics | Group comparisons |
| Coefficient Plot | Model comparison | OLS vs IV vs FE |
Coefficient Plot (Forest Plot)
Education
├── OLS ████████████████░░░░░░ 0.089 [0.065, 0.113]
├── 2SLS ████████████████████░░ 0.132 [0.097, 0.167]
└── FE ████████████████░░░░░░ 0.095 [0.068, 0.122]
Experience
├── OLS ████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 0.026 [0.010, 0.042]
├── 2SLS ████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 0.024 [0.006, 0.042]
└── FE ████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 0.025 [0.009, 0.041]
Residual Diagnostic Plots
1. Residuals vs Fitted
Residuals
↑
│ o o
│ o o o
│ o o o o
│ o o o o
│ o o o
│ o o
│ o o
│ o o
│ o
└─────────────────────→ Fitted Values
No pattern → Good
Funnel shape → Heteroskedasticity
2. Normal Q-Q Plot
Theoretical Quantiles
↑
│ o
│ o
│ o
│o
│ o
│ o
│ o
└─────────────────────→ Sample Quantiles
Points on line → Normal
S-shape → Heavy tails
7.3 Interactive Dashboards
An interactive dashboard allows users to explore data and results dynamically through filters, sliders, and clickable elements.
Dashboard Components
| Component | Purpose |
|---|
| Filters | Subset data |
| Sliders | Adjust parameters |
| Hover | Get details (tooltips) |
| Zoom/Pan | Explore detail |
| Export | Save results (tables and figures) |
Dashboard Layout
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ MORISTAT — Results Dashboard │
│ ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ Filters │ │ Main Plot │ │
│ │ ☑ Variable1 │ │ │ │
│ │ ☑ Variable2 │ │ ● ● ● ● │ │
│ │ ☑ Variable3 │ │ ● ● ● ● │ │
│ │ │ │ ● ● ● ● │ │
│ │ Period: │ │ │ │
│ │ [2000-2020] │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │ │ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ Lambda: │ │ Summary Table │ │
│ │ [====●===] │ │ Variable Coef SE p-value │ │
│ └─────────────┘ │ X1 0.45 0.12 0.001 │ │
│ │ X2 -0.23 0.08 0.004 │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
7.4 Automated Reporting
Automated reporting generates complete, formatted reports from your analysis with a single command or click.
Benefits of Automated Reporting
| Benefit | Description |
|---|
| Reproducibility | Exact same results every time |
| Efficiency | No manual copying/pasting |
| Consistency | Uniform formatting |
| Version Control | Track changes over time |
| Collaboration | Easy to share |
Report Structure
MORISTAT — Regression Report
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
1. Executive Summary
• Key findings
• Policy implications
2. Data Description
• Sample size
• Variable summary
3. Model Specification
• Variables
• Estimation method
4. Results
• Coefficient table
• Fit statistics
5. Diagnostics
• Assumption tests
• Outlier diagnostics
6. Robustness Checks
• Sensitivity analysis
• Alternative specifications
7. Conclusion
• Summary of findings
• Limitations
• Future research
7.5 Publication Checklist
Before Submitting
- ☐ Tables clearly formatted
- ☐ Figures professional quality
- ☐ Standard errors included
- ☐ Significance stars explained
- ☐ Sample size reported
- ☐ Model specification clear
- ☐ Diagnostics reported
- ☐ Robustness checks included
- ☐ Replication files available
Common Mistakes
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|
| Missing standard errors | Always include them |
| No significance stars | Add ***, **, * |
| Insufficient notes | Explain methods, data |
| Poor figure quality | High resolution, clear labels |
| No diagnostics | Report tests and results |
7.6 Chapter Summary
Key Takeaways
- Effective tables — Clear, complete, and concise
- Professional figures — High-quality, publication-ready
- Interactive dashboards — Allow dynamic exploration
- Automated reporting — Efficient, reproducible, consistent
- Publication checklist — Ensure all elements are present
Checklist for Reporting
- ☐ Tables formatted professionally
- ☐ Figures publication-ready
- ☐ All diagnostics reported
- ☐ Robustness checks included
- ☐ Standard errors and significance
- ☐ Complete model description
7.7 What's Next?
📘 Part IV: Putting It All Together
We will now combine everything into a complete research project:
- Research Design — Formulating the question
- Data Collection — Getting the data
- Exploratory Analysis — Understanding the data
- Model Selection — Choosing the right model
- Estimation — Running the analysis
- Diagnostics — Checking assumptions
- Robustness — Testing sensitivity
- Reporting — Presenting results
- Publication — Sharing findings