Creating a Professional Research Poster

a workshop for students Lorrie Evans

Social Science Research and Instruction LibrarianAuraria Library

Research and Creative Activities SymposiumUniversity of Colorado Denver

Undergraduate Research Conference:

a symposium of scholarly works and creative projects

Metropolitan State University of Denver

What your poster should do:

• Communicate• Promote• Inform• Engage

Your poster should make people stop, read, think and talk to you!

Software: two of the most common options

PowerPoint

PublisherMore functionality than PPT (for posters) but there might be a slightlearning curve if you have never used it.

Under the Design tab, click “Page Setup”. Set your single slide to the size of your poster.

Required elementsTitle & authors

Introduction & Hypothesis• Objectives

Results• What did you learn?

Conclusions

Acknowledgments are optional

Title and Authors• Title: Should be the same as that stated on the

abstract you submitted

• Authors: all individuals contributing to the work and their institutional affiliations.

– The student presenting the poster is listed first and the faculty member directing the research is listed last.

– If you have any question about whom to list in the title, discuss this with your faculty sponsor.

Introduction/Hypothesis:Introduction/Hypothesis:• Provide background on the research area,

including brief mention (citation) of related work by others. State your hypothesis.

• If this research is not hypothesis driven, then state why you are doing your research, i.e., what do you hope to learn.

Materials and Methods:describe the methodology, materials and procedure

– The reader should be able to understand what you did by looking at this section.

– How did you do your project? What did you use to create your project or perform your experiment? What steps did you follow?

– A single figure showing the study or experimental design can be helpful.

– You can also include this information in figure captions or results. Again, ask your faculty mentor how he/she likes to see this done.

Results• Major section of the poster! Include figures and/or tables, as

appropriate for the data.

• Graphs: clearly labeled axes, all variables shown must be identified, either as a key on the figure or in the legend.

• Photographs: annotate to identify important elements.

• Both tables and figures need to have detailed legends that should contain highly abbreviated experimental details.

• The results are also often summarized in text form at the end of this section.

Conclusions/Discussion

• Succinctly list the conclusions drawn from the results. – What key things were learned? Why are the

results important?

• Future directions:– What should follow from your work? Suggest

ways to expand on the current research.

AcknowledgementsAcknowledgements

• List funding sources, internal or external.

• Acknowledge technical or other types of non-financial support by individuals who are not listed in the title.

Clarity and Readability• Font large enough to see from 4 – 6 feet away

• Keep text to a minimum

• Label all graphs and charts completely

• Use a clean design and a logical flow of information.

• Color: two or three different colors. Use to draw attention, should not clash.

Tips on design• Consistency: font

type, font size, text boxes, color

• Flow: What should the reader see first?

• Learn by looking at posters

Examples of good posters and bad are all over the Web

Poster design (Colin Purrington) great examples – good and bad - with criticism. Funny too. http://colinpurrington.com/tips/academic/posterdesign

Pimp my poster: Flicker group where you can view other posters and comments from peer reviewers. Post your own draft poster for feedback.

Then ask a friend…

To read your poster and

be critical

Present your work

• Anticipate questions about your methods and conclusions.

• Discuss your research with confidence and accuracy.

• Be enthusiastic. Over prepare!

Oral presentations: 10 minute limitPosters: prepare a 2 – 3 minute summary

Download the template below from: http://www.slideshare.net/LorrieEvans/ucd-presentation-template

Printing optionsSave your presentation as a PDF before sending it to a printer!

Departmental printing: not all, but some departments might have printers available that can produce posters. Ask!

Commercial print shops: Quotes for 3’ X 4’ posters: 36” x 48” •Ricoh - (Tivoli) $72 on matte paper. 24 hour notice.

•Speedpro – $51.00/poster paper or $68.00 laminated paper. Various Denver area locations. 48 hours notice.

•AlphaGraphics – print ready PDF: $49.00 without laminate, $99 laminated. Design work is $30/hour if requested.

•FedEx – printing/mounting services - they are running a sale, $65.00, normally $120.00. But the sale just goes until 4/1/14.

Information Metropolitan State University of Denver

Undergraduate Research Conference: A symposium of scholarly works and creative

projects

Date: April 25th, 2014

Location: Student Success Building, Auraria Campus

University of Colorado Denver

Research and Creative Activities Symposium

Date: April 25th, 2014

Location: Anschutz Medical Campus, RC2 Trivisible Room.