How many decimals does a mean take, is p italic, and does the table title go above or below the table? The rules you follow to report statistics in APA 7 are small individually and decisive together. An examiner who meets p = 0.000, a roman M and a table pasted with its SPSS gridlines on the first page of the results chapter reads the rest with less trust, and the comments that follow are predictable.
This article is part of our guide How to Write a Master’s Thesis by the Mastermind PhD team and relates to our Statistical Analysis service. Sources last checked: November 2026.
This guide shows how to report statistics in APA 7 in a thesis results chapter: numbers and decimals, symbols and italics, a reporting pattern for each common test, the anatomy of a table and of a figure, and a worked example that turns one SPSS output into a table and a results paragraph.
What is APA style for reporting statistics? It is the set of conventions in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition (2020), chapters 6 and 7, that govern how numbers, statistical symbols, tables and figures are presented, together with the Journal Article Reporting Standards (JARS) that list which statistics a quantitative report must contain. Universities adopt APA for theses with local modifications; where the two conflict, the thesis handbook prevails.
What are the rules for numbers and decimals?
The rules below for how to report statistics in APA 7 come from chapter 6 of the Publication Manual and from the APA Style numbers and statistics guide (2024).
| Rule | Correct form | Typical error |
|---|---|---|
| Numerals for 10 and above, for all statistics and units, for points on a scale and for table and figure numbers | 12 participants, a 5-point scale, Table 2 | “twelve participants” in a statistical report |
| Words for zero through nine in ordinary prose and for any number that begins a sentence | five items; “Sixty participants completed the survey.” | “60 participants completed the survey.” as a sentence opener |
| Means and standard deviations on integer scales (questionnaires) to one decimal; other means, correlations, proportions and test statistics to two decimals | M = 3.6, SD = 0.7; r = .42; t = 3.35 | M = 3.6214 |
| Exact p values to two or three decimals; values below .001 as p < .001 | p = .017, p = .003, p < .001 | p = 0.000, p = .0000 |
| No leading zero for statistics that cannot exceed 1 (p, r, Cronbach’s alpha, R², η²); keep it for those that can (d, SD, t, B) | p = .003, r = .42, d = 0.39, SD = 0.71 | p = 0.003, d = .39 |
| A space on both sides of =, <, > and other operators; a negative value takes a space before the minus sign only | p < .001, M = 3.4, −0.21 | p<.001 |
| Commas in numbers of 1,000 or more, except degrees of freedom and page numbers | N = 1,240; F(1, 1240) = 5.02 | N = 1240 |
| Do not repeat the same statistics in the text and in a table or figure | Text highlights the pattern; the table carries the numbers | A paragraph that reads the table aloud |
Many departments accept two decimals for means and standard deviations throughout. Either convention is acceptable when you report statistics in APA 7, if your handbook allows it and you apply it consistently within every column.
Which symbols are italic and which are not?
Latin letters used as statistical symbols or variables are italic: M, SD, Mdn, N, n, p, t, F, df, r, R², d, SE, z, U. Greek letters are not italic (α, β, η², χ²), and neither are abbreviations (ANOVA, CI, SEM, RMSEA, VIF) or numbers.
To report statistics in APA 7 correctly, use the symbol when it is followed by an operator (“M = 3.4″) and the word in prose (“the means were higher in the second group”). Standard symbols such as M, SD, p and df are not defined; other abbreviations (CFI, RMSEA, VIF) are defined at first use and in table notes.
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How do you report statistics in APA 7 for each common test?
When you report statistics in APA 7 text, degrees of freedom go in parentheses directly after the symbol, confidence intervals are written as “95% CI [lower, upper]”, and every comparison carries the descriptive statistics of the groups involved.
| Test | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Independent samples t test | t(df) = value, p, d, 95% CI of the difference | t(274.8) = 3.35, p = .001, d = 0.39, 95% CI [0.12, 0.44] |
| Paired samples t test | t(df) = value, p, d | t(89) = 2.76, p = .007, d = 0.29 |
| One-way ANOVA | F(df between, df within) = value, p, η² | F(2, 147) = 4.21, p = .017, η² = .054 |
| Pearson correlation | r(df) = value, p, with df = N − 2 | r(310) = .42, p < .001 |
| Chi-square test of independence | χ²(df, N = sample) = value, p, Cramér’s V or φ | χ²(2, N = 312) = 9.87, p = .007, V = .18 |
| Multiple regression | R², F for the model; β and p for each predictor, or B with SE and 95% CI | R² = .34, F(4, 307) = 39.5, p < .001; β = .36, p < .001 |
| Mann-Whitney U | U, z, p, r as effect size | U = 1,245.5, z = −2.41, p = .016, r = .19 |
| Reliability | Cronbach’s α (roman) | Cronbach’s α = .84 |
What is the anatomy of an APA 7 table?
An APA table, the main place to report statistics in APA 7, has five parts, in this order: the table number in bold above the table (Table 3); the title in italic title case one double-spaced line below the number; column headings, including a heading for the leftmost (stub) column; the body; and the notes below the table. Notes come in three kinds and in a fixed order: a general note that begins with Note. and explains abbreviations, scale ranges or sources; specific notes marked with superscript lowercase letters; and probability notes (p < .05, p < .01, **p < .001) if asterisks are used instead of exact p values.
Only horizontal lines are allowed: at the top of the table, below the column headings, below any spanner heading and at the bottom. No vertical lines, no shading, no SPSS gridlines. Decimals are aligned, the number of decimals is constant within a column, and the table is placed either in the text after its first mention (at the top or bottom of a page, never in the middle) or in a block after the reference list. Refer to every table by number (“Table 4 shows”), never by position.
Table 4 Descriptive Statistics and One-Way ANOVA for Burnout by Teaching Experience (N = 312)
| Experience group | n | M | SD | 95% CI for M |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Less than 5 years | 74 | 3.21 | 0.78 | [3.03, 3.39] |
| 5 to 10 years | 118 | 3.44 | 0.70 | [3.31, 3.57] |
| More than 10 years | 120 | 3.58 | 0.66 | [3.46, 3.70] |
Note. Burnout was scored from 1 to 5. F(2, 309) = 6.12, p = .002, η² = .038. CI = confidence interval.
What is the anatomy of an APA 7 figure?
A figure has the same skeleton: the figure number in bold above (Figure 2), the italic title in title case on the line below the number, the image, an optional legend placed inside the figure’s borders, and notes below the figure.
Text inside the image, including axis labels, uses a sans serif font between 8 and 14 points; axes are labeled with their units; and the figure must be understandable without the surrounding text.
When you report statistics in APA 7, use a figure only when it shows what a table cannot: a distribution, an interaction, a trend over time. Export charts from SPSS without the default chart title (the figure title replaces it), convert decorative colors to shades that still differ in grayscale, and call out every figure by number before it appears.
Worked example: from SPSS output to a results paragraph
A thesis compares burnout across three teaching-experience groups (N = 312) with a one-way ANOVA. The SPSS output contains four tables. Descriptives gives the group values in Table 4 above. Test of Homogeneity of Variances gives Levene’s statistic, F(2, 309) = 1.56, p = .21.
The ANOVA table gives between-groups SS = 5.62 with 2 df (MS = 2.81), within-groups SS = 141.9 with 309 df (MS = 0.459), F = 6.12 and Sig. = .002; eta squared is computed by hand as 5.62 ÷ 147.5 = .038 because the one-way procedure does not print it.
Multiple Comparisons (Tukey HSD) gives three rows: more than 10 years versus less than 5 years, mean difference 0.37, p = .001, 95% CI [0.13, 0.61]; 5 to 10 years versus less than 5 years, 0.23, p = .066, 95% CI [−0.01, 0.47]; more than 10 years versus 5 to 10 years, 0.14, p = .30, 95% CI [−0.07, 0.35].
The paragraph: “A one-way ANOVA compared burnout across three experience groups. Levene’s test indicated equal variances, F(2, 309) = 1.56, p = .21. Burnout differed significantly by experience, F(2, 309) = 6.12, p = .002, η² = .038, a small-to-medium effect. Tukey HSD comparisons showed that teachers with more than 10 years of experience (M = 3.58, SD = 0.66) reported higher burnout than teachers with less than 5 years (M = 3.21, SD = 0.78), mean difference = 0.37, 95% CI [0.13, 0.61], p = .001. The two remaining comparisons were not significant (p = .066 and p = .30). Table 4 presents the group statistics.”
Four things make this paragraph pass review and show how to report statistics in APA 7: the assumption check comes first, the omnibus test carries its effect size, the only means repeated from the table are the two that the significant comparison needs, and the non-significant comparisons are reported with their exact p values rather than dismissed.
Which mistakes are most common when students report statistics in APA 7?
- p = 0.000 copied from SPSS; the correct form is p < .001.
- Leading zeros on p, r and alpha, or missing zeros on d and SD.
- Different numbers of decimals within one column.
- SPSS output pasted as the thesis table, English column labels and gridlines included.
- Tables referred to as “above” or “below”, or not referred to at all.
- “Highly significant”, “marginally significant” or “a trend toward significance”; APA asks for the exact p value and an effect size instead of adjectives.
- Test statistics without descriptives, or p values without effect sizes and confidence intervals.
- Statistics repeated in full in the text and the table.
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Frequently asked questions
Should I write p = .000 because that is what SPSS prints?
No. SPSS rounds to three decimals; a probability is never exactly zero. To report statistics in APA 7, write *p* < .001 in text and tables, and give exact values for everything at or above .001.
Does the table go before or after the paragraph that discusses it?
After its first mention, at the top or bottom of the page on which it is called out or on the next page, with one blank double-spaced line between the table and the text. Some universities allow all tables in an appendix; the handbook decides.
Are Greek letters such as η² and β italic?
No. APA 7 sets Greek letters in roman type; only Latin letters used as symbols (*M*, *SD*, *p*, *t*, *F*, *r*) are italic. Subscripts that are words or abbreviations are also roman.
How many decimals do percentages take?
Whole numbers or one decimal, always with the count they were computed from: 189 women (60.6%). Keep the same precision in every row of a table.
Can I use asterisks instead of exact p values?
In tables, yes, with a probability note that defines them (*p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001), or a column of exact *p* values, which APA prefers. In the text, report statistics in APA 7 with exact *p* values.
Sources
- American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://apastyle.apa.org/
- American Psychological Association. (2024). APA Style numbers and statistics guide (updated September 11, 2024). https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/numbers-statistics-guide.pdf
- American Psychological Association. Table setup and Figure setup, APA Style guidelines. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/tables-figures
- American Psychological Association. Journal Article Reporting Standards (JARS): Quantitative. https://apastyle.apa.org/jars/quantitative
- Field, A. (2018). Discovering Statistics Using IBM SPSS Statistics (5th ed.). SAGE.
- Nicol, A. A. M., & Pexman, P. M. (2010). Presenting Your Findings: A Practical Guide for Creating Tables (6th ed.). American Psychological Association.
- Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum.
Sources last checked: November 2026. This article is general educational guidance and does not replace your university regulations or your supervisor’s instructions. How we prepare our content.