Characteristics of a Good Scientific Poster Dr. Gail P. Taylor University of Texas at San Antonio...
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Transcript of Characteristics of a Good Scientific Poster Dr. Gail P. Taylor University of Texas at San Antonio...
Characteristics of a Good Scientific Poster
Dr. Gail P. Taylor
University of Texas at San Antonio
Rev 8/2004
AcknowledgementsABRCMS poster Guidelines. http://www.abrcms.org/posterguidelines.aspColin Purrington: Advice for designing scientific posters. http://www.swarthmore.edu/NatSci/cpurrin1/posteradvice.htmKnowledge Management in Health Services; HSERV 590A: Creating a Poster Using MS PowerPoint – University of Washington http://courses.washington.edu/~hs590a/weblinks/poster.htmlCreating 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.htmlUniversity of Kansas- Jeff Radel http://www.kumc.edu/SAH/OTEd/jradel/Poster_Presentations/PstrStart.html
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 ***
SoftwareActual layout:– Powerpoint (one big slide)– Pagemaker– Canvas– Illustrator– Quark
Print directly or convert to pdfImages– 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!