Q.In a well-constructed statistical table, which part states where the data was originally obtained from?

A good table must let a reader trace its figures back to where they came from, which is the job of one specific part placed at the bottom of the table.

A statistical table has several standard parts: the table number and title identify it; the box head names the columns; the stub names the rows; the body holds the actual figures; the footnote explains any exception within the body; and the source note, placed at the very bottom, states the origin of the data (e.g., 'Source: Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Government of Gujarat').

• (a) The stub is the row-heading column, not a statement of data origin.
• (b) The box head is the column-heading row, not a statement of data origin.
• (c) The body is where the actual numbers sit, not where the source is recorded.

Only the source note exists specifically to answer 'where did this data come from' — important for verifiability and honesty in any statistical report.

A footnote and a source note are often mixed up: a footnote explains something inside the body of the table (an exception or a special figure); a source note is about where the whole table's data came from.