Q: Does the topic of ‘Automatic discharge of bankruptcy in Malaysia: a legal analysis’ need tables and figures?

Answer:

Without seeing the basic paper, it would not be practical to determine this. Also, as you would know the topic closely, you would be in the best position to decide. Nevertheless, we can provide some pointers.

• While it’s great that you are already thinking of tables and figures for your paper, it might help to complete the first draft or the basic paper (textual content only) before seeing whether or not you need to present some data as tables and figures.
• There are several factors determining the use of tables and figures in a paper. For instance, once you’ve written the first draft, you might see that there is information such as the number of instances of automatic discharge of bankruptcy in the country that could be presented in a table. Similarly, to present the total instances of bankruptcy in the country versus the instances of automatic discharge, you may decide to use a pie chart. So too, to show the different reasons for allowing automatic discharge, you may decide to use a pie chart or a bar graph. Note that these are only examples, and you will need to decide the exact data presentation method based on the specific content you decide to include in your paper. To help you, here is an excellent resource that details the various factors: Tips on effective use of tables and figures in research papers
• If you are planning to submit the paper to a journal, you also need to go through their guidelines for the use of tables and figures in the paper. Journals have very specific guidelines for the number of tables and figures permitted and the amount of space allowed, which you need to adhere to.
• If there are similar published papers, you may go through them to see if/how they have used tables and figures.

You may refer to the following resources for more help on the use of tables and figures in papers:

• Referring to tables and figures in text
• Quick tips on writing titles for tables and figures in scientific papers
• A step-by-step guide to formatting tables and figures in your manuscript [Video]

All the best for your paper!