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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. Preparing Your Poster Materials for a Poster:
Conference posters are typically feet by 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

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

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

8. 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

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

10. 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.

11. 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

12. 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

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

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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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.