Research Presentation Template Training and Mentoring Subcommittee Professional Development Initiative Center for Research & Evaluation Missouri Institute of Mental Health March 2013

Objectives Describe content, organization and format of effective slide presentations ─Focus on research and evaluation ─Use MIMH template Improve quality and consistency of presentations by MIMH faculty/staff

Best Practices A presentation is not a paper ─Use headings ─Summary statements only o No complete sentences o Do not cut/paste from narrative Spell check slides Stay within your time limit Be animated

Things to Avoid Visual clutter from too many colors Un-bolded, serif fonts like Times New Roman ALL CAPS (HARD ON THE EYES) Pseudo-3D charts and graphs Animation Clip art and stock photos

Things to Avoid (cont’) Unnecessary grid lines in figures Necessary lines that are too thin Slides full of small numbers and words that cannot be read Offer details on website or by

Content and Organization

Structure of Presentation Title Background Study Questions Methods Results Discussion Questions and Answers Selected References Acknowledgements

Title Slide 1 slide for title slide Presenters’ names and titles Presenters’ affiliation Appropriate logos

Background Introduce topic ─Explain importance of planned study or program ─Establish relevance in evaluation/research ─Detail program or intervention o Target population o Site size & location o Funding o Intended outcomes

Study Questions State primary study hypothesis Enumerate evaluation questions List program issues or concerns

Methods Study Design −Survey, experimental, or quasi-experimental? −Formative or summative? −Qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-methods? −Cross-sectional or longitudinal?

Methods (cont’) Participant characteristics −Inclusion/exclusion criteria Sampling frame, procedures, and size −Randomization, power analysis, pipeline study results Measures used −Self designed, established, or modified instruments −Validity, reliability, appropriateness

Methods (cont’) Describe data analyses employed −Descriptive −T-tests −Correlation −ANOVA −Logistic regression −Hierarchical modeling −Survival analysis −Propensity scoring

Results Present significant findings only ─Hypothesis testing ─Demographics ─Descriptive data ─Correlations Use mixture of text, tables, and figures as appropriate to data

Discussion Interpretation of findings −Don’t repeat results −Prioritize findings from most to least important −Link findings to study questions −Put findings into context with previous studies Conclusions based on findings

Discussion (cont’) Limitations - only most important Recommendations ─Significance of results for practice, policy, and further research

Formatting Effective Slides

Effective Slides Are uncluttered, clear, visible Use informative titles Use bolded, sans serif font ─Calibri, Arial, Tahoma Have simple, high-contrast, consistent, color schemes ─Avoid red lettering (may cause problems for color- blind persons) Use MIMH template provided

Example of Font and Sizes For Arial (bolded): ─Titles 36 pt ─Main bullets 28 pt ─Sub-bullets 26 pt ─Avoid sub-sub bullets, if possible, & reformat instead o Use 24 pt if using sub-sub bullets

Effective Slide Wording Order of slide text matches order of presentation Text should reinforce, not match narrative Text should be as concise as possible ─Use key words only, not complete sentences ─Avoid use of articles (i.e., “a” and “the”) if possible Bullets better than numbers in most cases

Practice Review

What are strong/weak points of slide? ×Poor color selection— prefer light background ×Too much text – summarize

What are strong/weak points of slide? Good content ×Background too busy ×Do not use parentheses around numbers – use bullet points instead

What are strong/weak points of slide? Good research questions ×Pale slide ×Points need to be spaced out more

25 What are strong/weak points of slide? Good content ×Summarize points ×Eliminate period

What are strong/weak points of slide? Clear and concise points ×Light background, dark letters preferred ×Sub-bullets too small

What are strong/weak points of slide? Clear, concise points ×Slide too busy ×Poor contrast ×Light background, dark headings preferred

What are strong/weak points of slide? Concise points ×Remove clip art ×Prefer light background and dark letters

What are strong/weak points of slide? Good content but busy slide ×Background too dark ×Text hard to see ×Photo not necessary and distracting

What are strong/weak points of slide? ×Slide too pale— minor points fade away ×Needs stronger contrast and bolder bullet points Good content Text concise Citations should be eliminated

What are strong/weak points of slide? Text concise Good content ×Slide pale and cluttered ×Text too small ×Graph too small

What are strong/weak points of slide? ×Repetitive title ×Poor contrast ×Lines too thin ×Scale not labeled ×Graph too small Use blank slide

What are strong/weak points of slide? Good content ×Slide too pale and cluttered ×no contrast ×needs spacing ×text needs summarizing

What are strong/weak points of slide? Simple, clear, concise text ×Dark background ×Font size too small

How can this slide be improved? Change background —too busy —needs more contrast Summarize text Create sub-bullets

Delivery Tips

Preparation Flesh out bullet points into sentences Practice is key to making presentation flow Time presentation Be sure to bring a back-up of presentation Bring business cards Get there early

Delivery Do not look at projected image ─Breaks presenter-audience link Stand up straight ─Don’t hang onto the podium like it’s a life preserver Check if correct slide is projecting

Delivery (cont’) Speak slowly with sufficient volume Be careful with humor Explain charts and graphs Pause before advancing to next slide

Questions & Answers

Q & A Do’s When asked a question… Do take a moment to think Do give short, direct answers Do say you don’t know, if you don’t know

Q & A Do’s (cont’) When asked a question… Do ask for clarification, if needed Do write down multi-part questions Do have a definite end to your answer Do use Q&A to fill in points not previously discussed

Q & A Don’ts When asked a question… ×Don’t be defensive even if a question is hostile ×Don’t ask, “Did that answer your question?” ×Don’t thank the questioner for the question ×Don’t feel you have to answer every question ×Don’t criticize a question

Summary

Selected References Reference slide useless except as a handout ─Text cannot be read ─Text cannot be copied fast enough Display web address for paper download Share your address

Acknowledgements 1 slide Recognize coauthors, contributors, and collaborators Organize by agency Same logos as on the title slide

Acknowledgements Presentation developed by the CRE Professional Development Initiative, Training & Mentoring Subcommittee ─Jean Campbell, facilitator ─Mary York, research assistant ─Other input by MIMH faculty & staff o Matthew Hile, Joel Epstein, Suzanne McCudden