Preparing An Effective Scientific Poster

1. Preparing An Effective Scientific Poster July 11, 2008 Summer Program in Computational Biology (SPCB) Seminar SeriesKathy Lee Sutphin UMBC College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences

2. What is a scientific poster? A scientific poster is a method of professional communication that visually tells the comprehensive, but condensed, story of a research project. While a poster can be effective alone, a presenter at a planned gathering enhances the poster by engaging interested visitors in dialogues that • explain the research, • expand the provided information, and • ensure the visitor leaves with the desired take-away message about the project.

3. Why share the information? “Criticism and testing are of the essence of our work. This means that science is a fundamentally social activity, which implies that it depends on good communication.” -Hermann Bondi1 1Quoted by Robert A. Day in How to Write & Publish a Scientific Paper. The Oryx Press (1998) p. ix.

4. Why give Scientific Posters? • To serve as a basis for structured communication • To convey findings in scientific research • To share ideas with colleagues • To get criticism and constructive input to the project • To serve as an alternative to longer oral presentations • To learn how to organize and effectively present research data

5. Two Types of Posters One Sheet Poster Banner-style title Multiple Panel Poster - which can be mounted on colorful poster board Large documentprinted on a special printer or a …

6. What is the best format? • Various formats can be used successfully • There is no single ‘ideal’ format for all poster presentations

7. How to produce a poster • Software programs, such as Microsoft PowerPoint™, can be helpful in creating a professional display • Posters that do not use dark-colored backgrounds save ink and take less time to dry • UMBC Illustrative Services offers a template to use for one sheet posters and another template for 36” banners to use with the multiple panel posters

8. Effective posters share the following traits: • Viewer-friendly style with large (not small) typeface & informative subheadings • Use pictures, drawing and cartoons to present the majority of the information • Small offerings of information vs. long paragraphs of text (bullets not sentences) • Logical and orderly progression of presentation of information • Summary statement(s) of key aspects • Easily understood language without jargon or undefined acronyms

9. STEP 1 - Begin with an Abstract Most opportunities to present a poster begin with the requirement to submit an abstract of a defined length and style summarizing the research that will be presented The suggested content of an abstract may vary but often includes: • Background • Research question • Approach and experiments • Results of key experiments • Conclusion It is critical that student researchers work with their mentors to write, review and submit the abstract

10. Interpretation and discussion of findings Summary of major findings and Conclusions Future directions, if appropriate Acknowledgements STEP 2 - Plan the Core Poster Elements • The title of the poster with author(s) & affiliations • Overview/Background of the topic area • Statement of the project’s purpose • Citations and Definitions of technical terms, as needed • Methodology/Materials • Findings/Data/Results

11. Include the Author(s), department(s), affiliations and/or institutions, and, often, contact information The student researcher’s mentor determines who will be listed as the poster author or coauthors and if contact information should be included. THINK BIG - can the title be read from 15-20 feet away? Poster Title The title of the poster is important - make it interesting!

12. Do not just repeat the abstract, which will be too wordy for this purpose Overview and Background The project overview and background of the topic area are always important (The abstract will probably be included in an event program book - so save space and avoid redundancy)

13. Is the research question for the investigation included? Provide a statement of the project’s purpose Statement of Purpose Think of the audience and their level of expertise on the topics presented Why is the research relevant to the audience?

14. Check with the research mentor for guidance Do not plagiarize - always use citations Definitions & Citations If technical terms are used, provide definitions

15. Include brief notes onmaterials and resources, like special equipment, used in the investigation Methodology and Materials Provide the methodology or approach used for the investigation

16. Avoid the TMI Trap - too much information clutters a poster presentation Limit the Legends Findings, Data & Results Charts, graphs and figures of key points are most appropriate Please remember: data always‘are’ (not ‘is’)

17. Were there expected or unexpected outcomes? Interpretation and Discussion of Findings What does it all mean and why does it matter? Explain why the results were significant or not.

18. Conclusions will pull the information presented together for the audience Research Summary and Conclusions Summarize the major findings What is the take away message of this research project report?

19. Will the researcher or his/her successor continue work on this investigation? Future Directions Include the future directions of this research, if appropriate Future directions are optional but often appropriate for a poster reporting on a limited-duration project

20. Acknowledge individuals who contributed comments and ideasto the project Acknowledge organizations and agencies that contributed fundingto the project, especially through extramural support Acknowledgements The Research Mentor and/or Program Coordinator can provide guidance

21. Plan using the size allotted for each poster presentation; the 2008 SURF preferred maximum size is 36” wide by 44” long Plan the layout of the elements It is not necessary to fill all of the space - do not “clutter” your poster STEP 3 - Planning the Poster

22. Two Basic Poster Layouts Vertical- sequential elements in columns

23. Two Basic Poster Layouts Horizontal - sequential information in rows

24. Two Basic Poster Layouts Which layout is best?

25. Two Basic Poster Layouts Vertical - When information is presented in columns, this layout enables the poster elements to be viewed in progression and helps to prevent traffic jams

26. Poster Layouts Helpful Hint: The most important elements of a poster should be displayed at the viewer’s eye level - which is often about one foot from the top of the poster board

27. Poster Layouts When the layout is finalized, sketch it on a piece of paper to use as a helpful reminder when assembling the poster

28. Tips for Effective Posters Use a minimum font size of 18 If it is too small, people will move to next poster

29. Tips for Effective Posters Colors and Font sizes - • Titles: 90 pt for long titles & 100 pt for short titles • Typical Affiliation line: 65-70 pt • Text: 24-36 pt • Font: Use normal, dark colors. No light colors • Background: Avoid dark background colors

30. Tips for Effective Posters Make the poster presentation understandable to educated laypeople

31. Tips for Effective Posters Identify and give the ‘take home’ message for the poster - the one thing the presenter would like a visitor to remember about the project

32. Tips for Effective Posters Include a summary of the poster’s most important points Use bullets and/or boldface to emphasize important information

33. Tips for Effective Posters Define all technical terms used throughout a poster (Hint: An element listing these definitions can be very helpful to visitors.)

34. Tips for Effective Posters Minimize Text - Maximize Illustrations and Cartoons (Hint: A poster is not a research paper.)

35. Tips for Effective Posters Avoid long blocks of text and Use small chunks of information (Hint: Edit, Edit, Edit to get to the core messages of the poster.)

36. Tips for Effective Posters ~ 2 inch Border For Multiple Panel Posters: Mount each element on a piece of colored cardboard. Some presenters use page protectors, which guard against moisture and allow for quick revisions.Consider having a 36” banner printed with your title information for your presentation. (Hint: Some presenters number the backs of the mounted elements in sequential order) Panel #1 Panel #2 Panel #3

37. Tips for Effective Posters For One Sheet Posters: Use the 36” x 44” template available on the UMBC SURF & Graphics Studio websites

38. Tips for Effective Posters • Reed over for errrors nd ommisssions • Use the cheek sppellling feetures on youre komputer Remember that errors are most readily corrected at the last minute on panel posters vs. one sheet posters

39. Tips for Effective Posters • Make sure to include an approved acknowledgement statement at the conclusion of your presentation, such as: EMBARC: “This investigation was supported, in part, by UMBC and the National Science Foundation’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Sites Program Award DBI-0453294.” OR SPCB: “This investigation was supported, in part, by UMBC and the National Science Foundation’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Sites Program Award DMS-0354034.”

40. Presenting the Poster • Dress in business attire (no jeans) • Chewing gum and baseball capsdetract from your presentation • Stand beside your poster during your entire scheduled session to invite discussion - don’t block the view of your work • Be aware of all visitors • Relax and enjoy the opportunity to share your research project

41. Presenting the Poster • Prepare a 10-30 second introduction to your research to engage visitors • Explain why your research project matters, especially to the general population • If there is interest, offer a quick tour of one-to-two minutes and • Remember to point to relevant poster elements during the quick tour • Don’t forget to emphasize your “take-home” message in a 30-second summary.

42. Presenting the Poster If you have additional supporting data that cannot be included in your poster due to space limitations, consider handouts to share with engaged visitors. Also, some presenters provide business cards or summaries with contact information to interested persons. (This is optional!)

43. What to Expect - Scenes from Past Conferences

47. Important Notes http://www.umbc.edu/SummerResearchFest/Registration08/index.php Participants will use the SURF website to register for the CNMS Summer Undergraduate Research Fest at UMBC and to submit their abstracts by the submission deadline of midnight, Wednesday, July 23, 2008. Research Mentors, UMBC faculty, guests and other guests are asked to use the website to register their planned attendance as soon as possible and by July 30, 2008 - so that an approximate number of attendees can be given to UMBC’s caterer.

48. Important Notes Eleventh Annual UMBC Summer Undergraduate Research Fest Wednesday, August 6, 2008 First Floor Gallery of the Albin O. Kuhn Library Details and poster assignments will be posted on the SURF website closer to the event. Please visit: http://www.umbc.edu/SummerResearchFest/

49. Abstract Submission All participants must prepare their abstracts using Microsoft Word (using the extension ‘.doc’) The abstract should fit on one 8.5” x 11” page and use 12-point text and one inch margins on all four sides. There is a 300-word maximum for the body of the abstract not including the acknowledgement. Abstracts can be less than 300 words but abstracts longer than 300 words will be returned to the student for rewriting.

50. Abstract Submission All abstracts must be reviewed and approved by each student’s research mentor or by an individual authorized by the mentor to review and approve the abstract. The mentors must confirm to the SURF Review Staff that they have reviewed and approved the abstract with the understanding that the abstract will appear in an event program book and may be posted on-line. This can be done on-line at:http://www.umbc.edu/SummerResearchFest/registration07/facultyresponse.php DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACT SUBMISSION Wednesday, July 23, 2008