Organize
Your Presentation
|
-
Choose a topic
-
Know your audience (general or specialized)
-
Research the topic
-
Outline the information to be put into the
poster (double check for accuracy and gaps)
-
Write the presentation
-
Edit -- Is the presentation clear and concise?
-
Choose an easy to read and attractive format
for the presentation
|
Choose
a Topic
|
-
All of your work should directly relate to
your topic thesis, hypothesis, objective or question.
-
If you are presenting a research poster then
the topic is naturally your research. Your title should directly state
the hypothesis you were testing or the key result of the research.
-
If you are giving a poster in a course then
you may be assigned a topic, or asked to pick a topic. It is important
to choose a topic with enough available
background material to make the poster factual and interesting, but not
so broad that you cannot discuss the topic well in just a few minutes.
|
| Research
Your Topic |
-
If you are doing a research poster you should
do
a thorough survey of the current literature related to your research
and integrate this into the background section of your talk.
-
If you are doing a course poster, first collect
the data relevant to your hypothesis or thesis and then sit down and analyze
the data.
-
Which studies support your hypothesis?
-
Do other studies support alternative hypotheses?
-
Is there controversy in the scientific community
over this topic, or general agreement?
-
Collect relevant graphs, figures or tables
that can be used in your presentation.
|
| Outline Your
Poster: |
|
| Research Posters |
Research Posters typically
include an Introduction, Objectives, Methods, Results, Summary, and Conclusions.
Literature cited is optional. |
|
|
Background material that provides
justification for the study. |
|
|
A bulleted list of the objectives
of the study or the hypothesis being tested. |
|
|
A brief description of the
techniques used in the research being presented. These can also be placed
into the figure legend of appropriate figures. |
|
|
Graphical depiction of the
experimental results. Graphs and diagrams provide a clearer statement of
your research results than do tables. If you cannot graph your data
use bulleted lists. |
|
|
A bulleted list of the key
findings. Each bullet is limited to 1-2 sentences. |
|
|
Draw legitimate conclusions
instead of speculating. |
|
|
May or may not be used. |
| Classroom Posters |
Classroom Posters typically
include an Introduction, the Body of the Poster, Summary, and Conclusions.
Different courses may have specific items to include in your poster. The
order of topics in these posters are not as clearly defined as in traditional
research posters. |
|
|
A summary of key points in
current research and figures or images to support these points. It is important
to always keep the topic thesis, hypothesis, or question in mind as
a common theme during the body of the poster. If you wander from the
main point, you may lose your audience. |
| Poster
Preparation: |
|
|
|
-
Balance between figures, tables and text.
Figures and tables should occupy approximately half of the viewing area.
If you have only a few illustrations, make them large. Use text to state
the problem, frame the problem in the appropriate context, summarize results,
and state major conclusions.
-
A poster is not ot a copy of your written
paper glued onto a poster board.
-
It should be quickly readable from a distance.
Lower Case is easier to read (Readability vs. READABILITY).
|
|
|
-
Check ahead of time to see what size
your poster can be. Large meetings often allow 4 by 8 feet for each poster.
In classrooms you may only have 4 by 4 feet.
-
Some posters are attached to easels or dividers
by velcro or tacks. Others require free-standing 3-fold posters. All supplies
necessary for poster construction are available at the Cartwright Center.
-
The easiest way to prepare figures and text
for posters is using Powerpoint, printing out individual 8x11 pages and
either attaching them to a poster board, or tacking them individually to
a poster stand.
-
Each component piece can be mounted individually
or several pieces can be grouped together on a single backing board. Using
a different color for the backing board can effectively highlight selected
elements.
|
|
|
-
Use characters 1 inch high (Geneva or Arial
96 point bold works well).
|
|
|
-
Use limited text to convey the essential information
-
Use a serif typeface (Palatino, New York,
Bookman)
-
Point size should be between 24 and 36
-
Use plain text
|
|
|
-
Use a sans-serif typeface (Geneva, Helvetica,
Arial)
-
Point size of font should be larger than text
-
Use Bold
|
|
|
-
Design figures
that can be understood without reading the entire poster
-
Information in figures should not be duplicated
in text or elsewhere.
-
State the key results in a complete title
for each table.
-
Set up columns for ready comparison of data
from left to right in a logical order.
-
Each column should have a heading, include
symbols of the unit of measurement.
|
|
|
-
Reading order: down columns instead of across
rows
-
Line length: do not exceed 60 characters across
|
| Critique
Poster Before Production |
-
Is the poster appropriate for your audience?
-
Does it fit on the poster board?
-
Is it readable from five feet?
-
Has it been carefully edited and proofread?
-
Does the title accurately reflect the study?
-
Does the background establish the need for
the study?
-
Does the objective adequately state the purpose
of the study?
-
Do the methods and results tie back to the
objectives?
|
| Presentation |
Stand by your
poster at all times during your session. Dress professionally and ask people
if they would like you to "walk them through" your poster. Viewers appreciate
having important information pointed out to them.
-
Do you display a professional appearance and
demeanor?
-
Are you responsive to questions about your
research?
-
Are you willing to approach people who appear
interested in your poster?
-
Are you able to talk about your study with
different audiences?
-
Are you enthusiastic about your work? Can
you convey this to others?
|
| Grading |
Typically instructors
grade based upon the quality of the poster and the author's presentation.
Categories can include Organization, Appearance, Content,
and Student's Understanding of the Topic (based upon ability to
answer questions). |
