How to Prepare for a Poster Presentation Shared by Kristy Cooper Building off Materials from Professors Nancy Hill & Barbara Pan February 22, 2010

Why give a poster presentation? Opportunity for the presenter and the audience to engage in one-on-one discussion Opportunity for the presenter to get feedback and insight from the audience More genuine exchange of ideas than a panel presentation

What happens during a poster session? Posters are displayed in an exhibit area for a designated time period Presenters stand by their posters to engage with audience members as they walk through the exhibits Audience moves through the displays stopping at posters related to their interests Presenters discuss their work with visitors to their posters

What will happen during the SRC poster session? Posters will be displayed on tables in the Gutman Conference Center (using tri-fold board displays) during a dedicated poster session Presenters will stand by their posters at designated portions of the poster session Presenters will discuss their work with visitors to their posters Presenters will visit other posters when they are not sharing their poster

Preparing Your Poster Materials for a Poster: Conference posters are typically 3.5-4 feet by 5.5-6 feet, and are typically printed on expensive, glossy paper For the SRC, posters must be on tri-fold boards so they can be displayed on tables (and expensive, glossy printing is unnecessary) Tri-fold boards are available at many copy stores

Preparing Your Poster Contents of a Research Poster: Title Sheet Introduction Research Question(s) Methods Results Discussion/Conclusion References

Title Sheet Should include Presentation Title Author’s Name(s) Affiliation

Introduction Introduce the general issues your research covers Present what is already known about these issues in existing research Best to include citations in small font at the bottom of this sheet

Research Question(s) State the specific research questions you address

Methods Describe your data sources Describe how you collected your data Examples: surveys, observations, interviews,existing dataset, etc. Give specifics such as number of participants, length of interviews, etc. Describe how you analyzed your data Coding scheme, quantitative methods, etc.

Results Present what you found in your data Connect the data to each of your research questions Exhibits are powerful here: Tables, Graphs, Figures, Pictures Interview quotes Passages from field notes

Discussion/Conclusion Link your findings to broader issues State the implications of your work for students, parents, teachers, administrators, and/or policymakers. Note directions for future research

References List references in APA format This is the one piece of your poster that can be in very small font

Making Your Poster Effective Plan your poster in the same way you would plan a powerpoint presentation

Making Your Poster Effective Be selective and focus on the major points from your research Minimize detail Avoid jargon Have a clear organization Go for visual appeal

Making Your Poster Effective Be thoughtful about graphics: Capitalize on the informative nature of tables, graphs, figures, and pictures Create a display that enhances conversation Utilize color - particularly to highlight key takeaways Use large lettering

Some Design Tips Powerpoint slides make for great templates, but avoid busy, distracting backgrounds Standard-size tri-fold boards hold about 15 slides in horizontal orientation You can trim some slides to smaller than 8.5x11 size You might mount slides on colored paper Use a minimum of 20-point font, and use a consistent font throughout Black text is easiest to read

Use a handout 1-2 Pages (single sheet of paper) Might supplement the poster with additional information Might summarize the poster Might duplicate the poster content exactly Include your contact information for follow-up

Preparation Tips Prepare a 3-5 minute explanation of your poster to share with audience members who stop at your poster Practice your spiel with a few folks ahead of time to work out the kinks

Other Resources Nicol, A.A., & Pexman, P. (2003). Displaying your findings: A practical guide for creating figures, posters, and presentations. Washington: American Psychological Association. Nicol, A.A., & Pexman, P. (2003). Presenting your findings: A practical guide for creating tables. Washington: American Psychological Association.