Characteristics of a Good Scientific Poster

Dr. Gail P. Taylor University of Texas at San Antonio Rev 8/2004

Acknowledgements

ABRCMS poster Guidelines. http://www.abrcms.org/posterguidelines.asp

Colin Purrington: Advice for designing scientific posters. http://www.swarthmore.edu/NatSci/cpurrin1/posteradvice.htm

Knowledge Management in Health Services; HSERV 590A: Creating a Poster Using MS PowerPoint – University of Washington http://courses.washington.edu/~hs590a/weblinks/poster.html

Creating Effective Poster Presentations – Hess and Liegel. http://www4.ncsu.edu/~grhess/posters/ University of Buffalo- Designing effective poster presentations http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/units/sel/bio/posters.html

University of Kansas- Jeff Radel http://www.kumc.edu/SAH/OTEd/jradel/Poster_Presentations/PstrStart.

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Why a Poster?

Great for scientific meetings/sessions Quick display of your research Promotes communication – Longer timeframe than talk – More interactive than talk

A poster is designed to:

Provide a brief overview of your work Engage/initiate discussion Attract attention Reach as many people as possible.

Serve as visual aids as you speak stand alone when you're not there to provide an explanation let people know of your particular expertise

Who is Your Audience?

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

Making Your Poster

Follow rules of conference Visually inviting Simply and tightly written

Follow Rules of Conference

http://www.abrcms.org/posterguidelines.asp

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

Should be Visually Appealing

Divide onto 4 (range 3-5) columns Make text large enough to read ~5 ft away Understand reader “gravity” Have an obvious flow- Use headings and number as needed Use white space to organize Carry your information with colorful images and figures Neutral backgrounds (not too dark)

Visually Appealing II

Balance your text and images Use very large font for title (1 2” high) Use at least 24 pt text for body text (including in figures!) Don’t use “all caps” Some recommend “sentence case” in titles Format text to prevent sub- or superscripts from altering spacing

Simply and tightly written

Minimize writing and maximize visuals Avoid long sentences and paragraphs Put closely related text and images near one another – Can use Figure legends/headings as text Can use handouts to supplement *** Your Mentor is Always Right ***

Software

Actual layout: – Powerpoint (one big slide) – Pagemaker – Canvas – Illustrator – Quark Print directly or convert to pdf Images – Photoshop – MS Photo editor Tables/Graphs – Directly from Office (Excel or Word)

Getting Started:

Create a storyboard – Rough paper sketch of your poster – Choose headings desired – Select figures/tables – Can use bulleted or numbered lists – Top left to bottom right

Abstract

May not be required Preferably that turned in for abstract book Will provide redundant information Preferably 150 words (up to 250)

Purpose

Or…Objective, Aim, Goal Why are you doing?

Introduction

Or Background Get viewers interested!

Reason you chose to study Foundation for your work Make very brief Equivalent to 1 double spaced 12 pt page

Materials/Methods

Can include a flow chart to summarize Make sure to include subjects, experimental design, statistical methods, drugs and equipment used

Hypothesis

Can include in Intro section Could also be associated with Purpose

Results

Experiments- what you saw. Indicate at beginning if it worked Make Image-based; use few words Can have 1-2 paragraphs to go along with images Can use figure legends/captions as words Largest section

Conclusions

Or discussion, or summary (can be divided) Tie back to real world problem (from intro) Very few words Bullets good Bigger font if needed

References

Required Standard format Can make smaller if needed

Acknowledgements

Should be included Thank people for technical assistance, etc.

Must contain one of the following: – Supported by NIGMS MBRS-RISE GM 60655 – Supported by NIGMS MARC-U*STAR GM 07717

Supplemental Materials

Mini-poster printed out Single-sheet handout – Text – Graphics – highlight the major findings/implications – Include your name, phone, address, and e mail.

Some Example Posters

UTSA Template: – http://www.utsa.edu/mbrs/resources.htm

More Posters: – http://www4.ncsu.edu/~grhess/posters/ Free templates: http://www.megaprint.com/medical.html

http://miu.med.unsw.edu.au/downloads.htm

http://ibscore.dbs.umt.edu/toolkit.htm

Additional References

http://ibscore.dbs.umt.edu/makeposter.pdf

Go there for Review!