How to Create Effective Academic Posters: Guidelines and Tips, Schemes and Mind Maps of Literature

Download How to Create Effective Academic Posters: Guidelines and Tips and more Schemes and Mind Maps Literature in PDF only on Docsity! How To Make An Effective Poster Matthew Stuckey, PhD(c), MPH(c) Program Coordinator Tammy Hoyer Assistant Director With information kindly provided by Lolita Adkins and Jeremy Foin “The more strikingly visual your presentation is, the more people will remember it. And more importantly, they will remember you.” — Paul Arden  The implications, please... HERETICAL STATEMENT #1: conference presentations don’t really have that much to do with the research. HERETICAL STATEMENT #2: in reality, conference presentations are pretty much all about networking and shameless self-promotion.  oo IN A NUTSHELL: YOUR POSTER MUST GRAB EYEBALLS. ee Why are Academic Posters Important? • Represents you and you sponsor’s research at: • Conferences • Symposia • Hallways • Informational Days • Demonstrate expertise • Demonstrate attention to detail • Practice public speaking • Learn about most current results in field • Deepens understanding of topic • Opportunity for teaching and learning • Share ideas • Create collaborations Vital: Work with Your Sponsor • Represents their laboratory • They again need to be involved • New data available – what should be included? • Will want to make revisions (several times) • Need final approval Preparing Your Poster Keep in Mind: • Characteristic sections with expected information • Consult rules of conference/rubrics • Work in collaboration w/ research sponsor • Decide on experiments that will be presented • Create a storyboard/plan • Visually appealing • Primarily image driven but stand alone • Simply and tightly written • Know what to say for each figure • Transitions between sections • Practice for your audience • KNOW all details of project • Master questions Poster Appearance • Make rough plan of your poster • Will have “standard” headings • Poster provides visual aids as you talk • Picture worth 1K words • Carry information with colorful images and figures • Estimate space that will be needed – • How many experiments reported • How many figures needed? • What types of figures? • How much text to explain • Space for text • Poster must be “stand alone” (understandable in halls, unstaffed) • Has to have words • Word amount varies with field • Balance your text and images Poster Appearance • 36”x48” good for 3 column (Proposal or one experiment). • Intro - Can have image of existing model, or eye catching photo • Methods - can be a flow chart • Results – Figures, Line Graphs common. • Discussion – Often bulleted • Should be Visually Appealing • Understand reader “gravity” • Top left to bottom • Left to right • Have an obvious flow • Headings • Numbers • Use “white space” or color frames to organize • Unobtrusive/Neutral backgrounds • White • Lt grey • Lt beige Poster’s Appearance Which do you prefer? @_ A Randomized, Multi-Center, Prospective Analysis of Diabetic Foot Ulcers treated with TheraGauze alone or TheraGauzet+Becaplermin GOOD DESIGN = EFFECTIVE POSTER (assuming that your data isn’t crap - but there are ways to get around that as well) ee TRO URE elt law hy a visual hierarchy is constructed using some combination of the fundamental principles of graphic design * negative/positive space * contrast * repetition YOU READ THIS FIRST You will read this when skimming be proximity Unless a phrase is bolded ° color camer loteaeveelsoeta * typography (not really a principle) negative /positive space ° the balance between negative (background) and positive (foreground) space ina composition is very important — too much negative space = incomplete or disassociated appearance — too little negative space = busy, cluttered, and difficult to read cramming too much information into too small of a space is far and away the number- one mistake in academic poster designs color temperature - warm or cool? color temperature - warm or cool? color temperature warm vs. cool colors bane 0 9 00) — hues from red through yellow, including browns and tans — seem to advance or appear more active; often evoke feelings of happiness, optimism and energy, but can LAURIE men aiselctenielss ° cool — cool = blue-green through blue-violet, including most eee) — appear to recede into the background; usually calming and soothing, but can also express sadness ee Ceara * moving elements closer or farther apart to achieve a more organized look ¢ based on the idea that related items in close proximity will be perceived as a unified group * your audience will respond by: a) tending to naturally group similar items that are near to each other into a single unit, and b) assuming that items that are not near each other in a design are not closely related to one another ee alignment * arranging elements so that they line up — creates order — organizes page elements; links disparate groups into a unified whole — satisfies the subconscious human desire to line things up (I’m not kidding, this is an actual thing) — creates imaginary visual connections Tagore Vira elme le Memes Boat this poster has some serious alignment issues... Salvage Archaeology at the Snake River Sandspit Site in Nome, Alaska Title: Should be seen from 4-5 feet away. Times New Roman or Arial, Bold, at 60-80 point text Name: in 44 pts., bold Department: 40 pts., bold Institution: 40pts., bold Abstract: No more than 250 words Heading: Legible font, bold, 44pts. Section: Legible font, bold, 36 pts Heading: Legible font, bold, 44pts. Section: Legible font, bold, 36 pts Heading: Legible font, bold, 44pts. Section: Legible font, bold, 36 pts Heading: Legible font, bold, 44pts. Section: Legible font, bold, 36 pts Figure 1: 32 pts, bold Figure 2: 32 pts, bold ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Legible font, 36 pts., bold REFERENCES Legible font, 36 pts., bold Poster Overview- 36” by 48” Sponsoring logo Institution Logo First Thing First: The Title and Abstract • The title of your abstract is very important • Reflect the content of the paper • Specific and Succinct • Use key words for indexing and for searches • 250 Word Max • Includes the following: • The research question or problem • The methods • The observations • Analysis, assessment and implications • Major findings, results and conclusions • REVIEW WITH MENTOR Abstract Example: Title Example: Introduction • Or Background • This is separate from your abstract! • State the research question and significance of the study • Include related current investigations • If you are there, they won’t read it so SAY IT! • Get viewers interested • Reason you chose to study • Foundation for your work (Models) • General topics to specific • Equivalent to 1 double spaced 12 pt page • Usually contain citations/references (cite!) • May have Purpose and Hypothesis embedded • Generally completes first column Results • Largest section • Vary with field • Often two middle columns • Summarizes the data and reports results of statistical tests and analyses (- or +) • Draw implications and considerations • Don’t present raw data • Make Image-based; use few words • Maximize use of Figures • Make them simple • Must be easily seen • Make all lines wide enough • All text large enough! • Consistent axes across poster • Minimize use of tables • Difficult to grasp quickly • Use figure legends/captions as text • Put text near figure it’s describing • ~1 paragraph per image/image group Conclusions/Discussion • Or discussion or summary • Very few words • Bullets good • Bigger font if needed • *Summarize “take home” results • Interpret the meaning or implications of your results • Mention any alternative explanation for results or unanticipated results • *How did hypothesis work out? • *Tie back to real world problem • *Why Important/Implications • Aim for: • Reasonable conclusions were given and strongly supported with evidence • Conclusions were compared to hypothesis and their relevance in a wider context was discussed References/ Literature Cited • Include sources/resources that supported your work • If someone’s work is cited (usually in introduction), you must include a reference • Generally “short” (title optional) • Can use smaller font if needed 1 dn Ne NS Examples of Excellent Posters Does Perinatal Exposure to DDTs and the Development of Glucose Intolerance Promote Skeletal Muscle Deficiency? iC ee ei eM el coed [lM tw Pe ne Ua ene ea ord ese MOM es reed Abstract Methods Results continued Fhe creel ebiaaly uses pesteice (OCT ards oe s3ey2:Avereee Soong ofDams at Se]. Doy: Average Sangh of Dams at Ge metabolite, DDE (together, ODTs) have been an = - br? |For a trvronmental heath concem for many decades, Recent = — Je ay i epidemiological and mechanistic data link | ODT = | : ee oe 5 exposures with devastating diseases such as obesity " = 5] rest to ated core ie cone G | 2213 i ‘Our work surrounds perinatal exposure of DDTs and a ee & ‘adult phenotyping. C57BL/6J mice were exposed to | cas —| erat a | a Ml L DDTs from embryonic day 11 to postnatal day 5, raised es 25 ltd Day ea ee ae ‘on normal chow, and switched to high fat diet (HFD) at 4 pws so months to initiate obesity. Three months after exposure, se dams exposed to ODE during pregnancy were glucose Neeser napalm om = intolerant, while their female offspring displayed elevated [ie Pee Neer fasting insulin. Disruptions in peripheral glucose pees comet ote eecrene Utitzaton prompted us to explore wheter tissues thal Last Third + [86 Soy 2a) Oar 3 Wan Last Te oo rely heavily on glucose uptake were displaying a Oey 300 Phenotypic defect. One month after being put on HED (5 months after exposure), we measured muscle strength Results ee ieee To assess muscle deficiency, we tested forelimb grip strength (GS) Using Chatillon’ Machinery Grip Strength stromag Sumagh eft ides ane O)AWIQR TONG Fema sttme ©) Avenge Seung Dams smo Max Strength Machine (Largo, FL). GS was tested over three days with owl 6 "| S A Top 5 hax Sheng oF Female Sob) Top 3 Mac Stengh ef Darm atmo Figue 5. Maximum 18 Wiaday. On days two and thee, overall gip | 5 3 = Seng oe et strength, max strength, and frst and last third of each i : feats (a) ang FO Radlweie eel nal bape siciesin sacos mE] Fw y cee ee strength between days two and three, however Fi § | | $ I seanzed to inte offspring had no significant change between treatment ool 11 | wel Lie wit : we ce math groups. Although, we did not find conclusive evidence u nr ores Dee ciorre alpen” tkaletel mole cicnton a hatieg Fggn 2 Average xp Sega 1 al (Ff a ss (whan sparta by aH “ = research is needed to examine potential indict effects that DDTs may have on skeletal muscle. ronae Ban Conclusion s)oky Awrage Stange et" Female ame} DAY: Average Sng Dans te + ALS mos, DDTs did not effect GS regardless of sex, exposure type, or Introduction on * GS criteria (Avg. GS, Day, Third, & Max Strength), : r + Dam GS on Day 3 (Fig 3b.) decreased compared to Day 2. + DDTs are apart of a group of toxicants named te 4 . Given smaller SE and CV (data not shown) we conclude Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) that Day 5 oe that GS measured on Day 2 is more robust than Day 3 due to accumulate in animal tissues, : : possible decrease in endurance of Dam Oay 3. + DDTs are a risk factor for glucose intolerance. os w : Optimizing the Last Third on Day 2 is the best strategy to collect + One symptom to glucose intolerance is impaired Grip Strength cose uptake in tissues + There is no prior evidence suggesting DDTs directly Semele 6 Rae 9 effecting Grip Strength in skeletal muscle Acknowledgements Hypothesis Perinatal exposure to DDTs causes impaired glucose uptake in skeletal muscle resulting in a decrease in GS. Extreme gratitude to Michele La Merrill Ph. for giving me this opportunity to work in her lab. She has encouraged me to build novel skils as well as . ‘add upon existing. McNair Scholars Program and California Aliance for a Ge Minority Participation (CAMP) Program for providing me the resources for my future career in research Flgwe 2. Data om 1 female (lf column) ad FO dam fight column) engerege GS at Smo In respect (Oay prow) aT Ybotom row) tenia. Examples of Excellent Posters Expression, purification, and crystallization of recombinant mouse phospholipase c-zeta (PLC-C) C : Pang, Allan BSc Genetics | School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales CF10 3US ABSTRACT ; EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS CONCLUSION fom fe bonteres te mine gene! Boo! The Flow of Things • Start with Intro that will catch them • No pointing if you have no figure! • Move to Methods • Briefly summarize • Move to Results • Longest section • Indicate at beginning if did not work • Walk thru all figures • Transition to Conclusions • Say Conclusions • Acknowledgements (optional) • Any Questions? The Just in Case Items: • Carry your poster with you at all times (do not leave as checked baggage) • Dress for situation • Follow culture of conference • Student conference – suit…or minimally khaki's • Comfortable shoes • Be there on time! • Don’t leave unless it is very important to do so (if so, leave a friend there momentarily) • Mini-poster printed out • Pins • Water • Business cards (check your email!) • Notebook • Networking – write down ideas and names! Remember • If you network please remember to email them! • Keep promises that you’ve made • Hang poster outside your lab • Sample posters can be seen online • google search • A “template” can be found at: • http://urc.ucdavis.edu/conference/i ndex.html