 “Stand alone” summary of research  Allows for “Visually augmented” discussion ◦ ~5 minutes ◦ Few viewers at a time ◦ Interactive

 General : Symposia  Conferences ◦ Increased opportunity for presentation ◦ Time/location included in program  Hallways ◦ Often posted outside labs after presentation

 Research presentation  Idea sharing  Practice public speaking  Opportunity for teaching and learning  Deepens understanding of topic  Create collaborations

 People in your field ◦ Will read even if bad  People in related fields ◦ Easily persuaded to view  Previously uninterested passers by ◦ Can be attracted by a good poster

 Consult rules of conference  Create a storyboard  Visually appealing  Simply and tightly written

 Size Max (board size)  Abstract number  Abstract in or out  Contact Information  Section headings  Font size

 Select/design figures/tables  Estimate space that will be needed  Select number of columns ◦ Average 4  36”x54” good for 4 column  36”x48” good for 3 column  >42” tall is quite big  Choose headings desired ◦ Abstract, Introduction, Results, etc  Use bulleted or numbered lists

 Understand reader “gravity”  Have an obvious flow ◦ Headings ◦ Numbers  Use white space to organize  Neutral backgrounds

 Carry information with colorful images and figures  Balance your text and images  Use very large font for title  Format text to prevent sub- or superscripts from altering spacing

 Minimize writing and maximize visuals  Avoid long sentences and paragraphs  Can use figure legends/captions as text  Assess every sentence and word  Put related text and images near one another

 Length and text style determined by conference  Optimally, identical to “paper” title: ◦ Very brief summary of research ◦ May or may not give results  Helps people to choose which posters to view

 Names  Department, University, Centers, etc  Address (may be required)  Phone number (may be required)  Logos for Universities, Depts, Centers

 May not be required  Placed in upper left of poster body  Provide redundant information on poster  Approx. 300 words, 2500 characters  Content: Mini paper ◦ Intro with Purpose (2-3 sentences if possible) ◦ Methods ◦ Results  Important data  Significance, mean values, n, SD ◦ Discussion/Conclusions

 Very information-dense, but simply formatted  Write “long” if needed  Analyze one sentence at a time ◦ Each sentence has purpose ◦ Each sentence logically follows another  Use plain English wherever you can  Use active voice when you can  State only your most important conclusion(s)  There is not good writing, only good rewriting

 Get viewers interested!  Reason you chose to study ◦ Foundation for your work ◦ General topics to specific  Make as brief as possible  Usually contain citations/references  Include hypothesis  Generally completes first column

 Objective, Aim, Goal  Why are you doing?  May include a hypothesis here or in Introduction

 Text with subheadings  Can include a flow chart to summarize  May include citations  Make sure to include: ◦ subjects ◦ experimental design ◦ drugs and equipment used ◦ statistical methods

 Largest section  Often two middle columns  Experiments- what you found  Don’t present raw data  Make Image-based; use few words  Maximize use of Figures ◦ Make them simple ◦ Must be easily seen ◦ Make all lines wide enough ◦ All text large enough!

 Minimize use of tables  Can use figure legends/captions as text

 Or discussion or summary  How did hypothesis work out?  Tie back to real world problem  Why Important  Very few words  Bullets good  Bigger font if needed

 If cited, must include reference  Generally “short” (title optional)  Can make smaller if needed

 Actual layout: ◦ Powerpoint (one big slide) ◦ Pagemaker ◦ Canvas ◦ Illustrator  Ask print shop about requirements ◦ Print directly or convert to pdf  Images ◦ Photoshop ◦ MS Photo editor  Tables/Graphs ◦ Directly from Office (Excel or Word)

 Sample posters can be seen online ◦ google search  A “template” can be found at: ◦

 Use standard formats ◦.jpg,.gif,.tiff,.tif,.bmp  Watch resolution of photos ◦ 72 dpi  Insert high dpi photos  Make them relatively large  Stretch to correct size

 Opening sentences ◦ Name, school, degree seeking, laboratory mentor ◦ What circumstances for research?  Flow to introduction ◦ Don’t refer to text, do refer to images ◦ Why important? ◦ Hypothesis

 Move to Methods ◦ Briefly summarize ◦ Point at figures  Move to Results ◦ Longest section ◦ Indicate at beginning if did not work ◦ Walk thru all figures  Transition to Conclusions  Say Conclusions  Acknowledgements (optional)  Any Questions?

 MAKE SURE TO PRACTICE!  Develop 5-10 minute presentation  Know first sentence  What to say for each figure  Transitions between figures  What to point at for each figure

 Mini-poster printed out  Poster repair kit  Pins  Business cards  Water  Notebook

 Stand to side of poster  Take initiative  Smile, but stay near poster  If they come closer Say, “Hello” and shake hands  Give name  Ask them, “Would you like me to walk you through my poster,” or similar  Give title  Mention mentor’s lab and context of research.  (Optional) Ask if they are familiar with this field of research ◦ No- More introduction, careful with acronyms ◦ Yes- Can go more quickly through intro ◦ Then…Move into Introduction…

 Proceed as planned, above  Be friendly  Don’t sound like you’ve memorized  Be excited about your work  Remember to refer to your poster!  They may interrupt with questions  Give extra information only if they ask

 Keep promises that you’ve made  Drop s to folks whom you’ve met  Hang poster outside of lab