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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.