How to Prepare a Scientific Poster for BIOS 312 Dr. Mary Purugganan Cain Project in Engineering & Professional Communication maryp@rice.edu www.owlnet.rice.edu/~cainproj/

Posters Present a Challenge Posters must be lean and clean Posters must stand alone

Today’s Plan Review design principles Critique samples

What’s YOUR News? What investigation did you conduct? What was the purpose? Why does your work matter? What sets it apart? What are your methods? What are your results? What are your conclusions? What did you find out that you want to communicate to others?… What is the investigation? Why? Why does it matter? Methods? Results? Conclusions? Make sure-- objectives in purpose MATCH conlusions-- and that RESULTS support CONCLUSIONS (conclusions should not introduce any new ideas)

Connect with the Audience Why are they interested? What are their backgrounds? How will they benefit? What are their questions?

Make Key Points Accessible Create accurate, informative title Include introductory summary / abstract or objectives Use forecasting statements to introduce or summarize each section Define jargon Use message headings Design your poster to make THE NEWS ACCESSIBLE…easy to process by the audience…Typical poster audiences include participants at a scientific meeting, strolling down the the hallway of the convention center. In your case, you will have a captive audience, but they need to be guided with the key points clearly defined. Help them get to the point of your poster: Spend a good amount of time thinking about your title. What is the point of the poster? What do you want to tell audiences you did? Don’t extrapolate here! Don’t be sheepish about your accomplishments. Be accurate and informative. Include SUMMARY or ABSTRACT FORECAST CONTENT of each section USE HEADINGS AVOID JARGON or UNDEFINED ACRONYMS that will intimidate the audience (varied: water systems engineer and microbiologist in same audience)

Message headings Results of Cell Proliferation Assay Concentration of Cells Vs. Time in Different Media Conditions Cell Proliferation Increases with Serum Percentage of Media First two headings: accurate but don’t have a message. Last heading: superior--it communicates the conclusion the authors made.

For layout, visualize the key points: How do you see the information? Your information can usually be visualized. How do you see the information you want to convey? It’s usually a guide to your layout.

Match visualization to layout Left-to-right flow in vertical columns Left-to-right flow in horizontal rows Centered image with explanations Two fields in contrast Design your poster in a layout that is APPROPRIATE for your key points.

L-to-R Flow in Vertical Columns Title & Authors Most commonly seen. English readers read this way. Flows top to bottom, left to right

Title & Authors Methods Results Table 1 Fig 2 Goals Conclusions Problem Methods Results Table 1 Fig 2 Goals Conclusions

L-to-R Flow in Rows Title & Authors Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Centered Image & Explanations Title & Authors Abstract If YOUR NEWS is that you have CREATED A DEVICE or found out something unique about a CHEMICAL REACTION, you may want to HIGHLIGHT A GRAPHIC in the middle of your poster.

Two Fields in Contrast Title & Authors Have you created a new way of doing something? (OLD VS. NEW) Do you want to contrast two methods or devices?

Guide the Reader Scale expresses relative importance Indenting shows subordination As in this example White space directs gaze Color adds emphasis or coherence

Font Style and Size Title (~6 – 8 words) Headings (~3 words) Text Sans Serif font (Arial, Helvetica) 90 - 120 pt Headings (~3 words) Sans Serif (Arial, Helvetica) 36 - 48 pt Text Sans Serif (Arial, Helvetica) or Serif (Times) 28 - 36 pt. Audience will be five feet away. Font sizes should be readab le from a distance.

If you design a poster that looks like this . . .

your audience will react like this

Fat Text - - to - - Lean Text The ideal anesthetic should quickly make the patient unconscious but allow a quick return to consciousness, have few side effects, and be safe to handle. Ideal anesthetics Quick sedation Quick recovery Few side effects Safe to handle

Principles of Explanation Tag image with explanations Interpret, don’t just show, data

Protein X is located in nucleus and cytoplasm of some cells Results of immunolocalization of protein x How do I read the data? What does it mean? Audience needs guidance.

Protein X is located in nucleus and cytoplasm of some cells Cytoplasmic localization Nuclear localization was common Cytoplasmic localization was observed in some cells Nuclear localization Arrows and labels clearly indicate what was seen and help reader know why conclusions were drawn.

Common Errors in Poster Visuals Size Colors Labels Units “Chart junk” Significant figures and error bars Some don’t know how to represent results using figures and graphs (instead use words) Many of these problems stem from the fact that students don’t know how to adjust the default settings in MatLab or Excel, which they use to generate their figures and graphs (or they’re too lazy). Size of legend, points, labels, lines too small. Colors lack contrast. Most important line is in the least visible color. Gray background on graphs. Tick marks too light Labels absent from important points, units not included on axes, oddly named, imprecise Title not as descriptive as they could be. Or descriptive titles duplicated in results bullet Duplicate title, boxes, grid lines, Significant digits halfway across the paper, no error bars

Rate of seedling growth at three different temperatures This is an example of Microsoft Excel defaults used in generating a line graph. Note the duplication of title which may occur if you title your graph within the graphing program and then import that graph into your poster. “Default” design: ineffective

Rate of seedling growth at three different temperatures 30oC 25oC 20oC Improved: gray removed; gridlines removed; legend removed and lines labelled instead; box around graph removed; axes made thicker. Designed: more effective

Details Matter! Check for consistent formatting Check grammar and spelling Use a correct bibliography

Communicate with Confidence Talk to audience Stand up straight Integrate gestures Use voice to convey enthusiasm Adjust pacing

Sample Posters