Post on 28-Mar-2015
The Robert Gordon UniversitySchool of Engineering
Poster & Project Presentations
Dr. Mohamed Amish
Posters vs. Papers
• Papers are designed to appeal to editors of scholarly journals.
• Posters are designed to appeal to peers and colleagues at conferences
• A paper presents all the information; a poster presents the most important information.
• A poster presentation allows for the exchange of ideas and information regarding your research.
Poster
The ideal poster is designed to:• provide a brief overview of your research work;• initiate discussion;• attract attention;• give something useful to point to as you discuss
your work;• stand alone when you are not available to
provide an explanation;• inform people of your particular expertise.
Developing the Content
The most effective poster presentations provide minimal text but still clearly define the central message by following a standard format.
• Title and Affiliations• Introduction• Methodology• Results• Discussion / Conclusion
Planning
• You have to stand back and think about the What's, the How's and the Why's of the work.
• Critically examine both the approach taken and the results.
Gathering the information
• What is the objective of the investigation?
• How was the study conducted (method)?
• What assumptions were made? Are they justified?
• What results were obtained? Are the analyses sound?
Planning
Poster Design and Layout
• Determine what three or four key points you want to make. You want your poster to cover the key points of your work - not all the details.
• Design and lay out the poster ahead of time.
• The flow of the poster should be from top left to bottom right.
Poster Design• Title, author, supervisors, institutional affiliation.
• An "Introduction" to the project (rationale, background, clear statements about what you have set out to do, problem(s) you intend to solve, reasons why you chose to study this problem etc.). These should lead to declarations of the project objectives.
• "Methodology" or "Experimental" section to explain the basis of the techniques, procedures and data collection to be used including any assumptions made (to put your results into context).
• A "Results and Discussion" section (summary of the most important results) to explain what you have done so far and what it tells you (your interpretation). Implications of the findings.
• A "Conclusions & Further Work" section summarising your findings to date and thoughts about how the work will progress from this point. Did the study raise questions?
Elements of Your Poster
Title Abstract Introduction
Methods Data / Results Conclusions
Title
TitleSimple, able to be seen from 3.5 meters away.
Author(s)Always use first names.
InstitutionInstitution and department.
Abstract
• Identify what is being studied, how it is to be studied, what the variables are.
• Identify the hypothesis.
• State the findings.
• Be brief
Introduction
Highlight and focus on:• Questions raised and answered by previous research.
• The question you are asking and why you are asking it.
• Objectives
• Again, be brief
Less in-depth than an introduction for a paper.
Methodology
Identify:
• Type of tests used in your experiment
• Test procedure
Data / Results
• What is the central message of the results?
• This section may involve little text and more graphics.
Graphic / visual elements:
• Tables, Charts, Pictures, Graphs
Discussion / Conclusion
Be concise and clear.
Highlight:• What was found, and its importance.• Parallels and discrepancies with previous research and theory.
• The direction of future research.
Acknowledgments
• Acknowledge those professionals and research assistants that contributed to your study.
• Acknowledge your funding body• Be brief.
Note: this section is not a requirement.
Introduction
Objectives
Methodology
Table/graph
Discussion / results
Conclusions & ideas for new research
Student Name:Company Supervisor:Academic Supervisor:School of Engineering
Project Title
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East
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Organisation and Layout
Fonts
• Use the same font style throughout the poster.
• The title should be readable from 3.5m away.
• The body of the writing should be readable 1m away.
Organisation and Layout
There is ALWAYS too much text in a poster.
Look critically at the layout. 40% text, 40% graphics and 20% empty space is considered a good ratio.
Project Presentation: Slide Organisation
• Plan the layout of the presentation. Strongly consider drawing up an outline before assembling the actual slides.
• Focus on the main point(s) to be made. "What you have done", “Why” and “Your contribution”
• Practice the presentation with the company supervisor or colleagues at least once before presenting it to the audience.
The presentation should flow logically from beginning to end, as in written work. The main concepts of the presentation are to plan, focus and practice.
Presentation Guidelines – example slide list:
• Project title and your name (1 slide); • Introduction (1 slide); • Objectives (1 slide); • Methodology (1 slide); • Case study (1 slide); • Analysis & results (7 slides approximately); • Conclusions & recommendations (2 slides);
A total of approximately 10-14 slides will be sufficient for 20 minutes (maximum) presentation time. Remember, each slide should contain only a few words. Use bullet points to provide summary information. Following the presentation, there will be a short period (10 minutes) for you to answer questions from the audience and panel.