Poster Presentation for the Poster Presentation for the SciencesSciences

by Christopher Teh Boon Sung, Ph.D.Fac. of Agriculture, UPM

christopherteh.comchristeh@yahoo.com

Tel: 03-89474858

• You can download these slides from:• www.christopherteh.com/poster-presentation.ppt

What is a scientific poster?What is a scientific poster?

• Highlights key results and findings at a scientific conference or seminar• concise and direct presentation of information

• Not a reproduction of your research paper or thesis!• Should be understandable just by reading your

poster and without needing you or anyone else to explain

http://www.utar.edu.my/images/H&A/BestPost.jpg

http://www.cityu.edu.hk/ap/nru/AndyPoster.JPG

http://www.manipal.edu/institutions/medicine/mmmcmanipal/publishingimages/gallery/09oct2012gal13.jpg

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• Benefits of poster presentation:• allow one-to-one interaction with people regarding

your work• people can have more time to go through your

work than during an oral presentation

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Who are your audience?Who are your audience?

• Conference venue usually crowded and noisy• People can be distracted

• many other posters there too

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• Your poster should immediately attract your audience to approach closer and read about your work• You have 30 seconds to attract readers!

• Strategies:• Use a statement, photograph, or diagram as a

focal point• Provide a clear flow of information from

introduction to conclusion• Focus on key/selected major findings – not

everything you did during your research!• Text should be concise that can be completely

read within 10 minutes

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http://www.pices.int/meetings/annual/Pices13/BestPresent_2004/ppt_best_2004/KS_PICES2004.png

Organize your informationOrganize your information

• Title of poster• Author(s) and affiliations

• especially the contact/corresponding person• email, telephone number

• Introduction• Research problem• Justification of work• Research questions• Objectives• Hypothesis (expected results)

• Materials and methods• brief description of procedures and analyses• experimental design / field layout• sampling location and frequency• sample size• what was collected/measured/observed

• Results and discussion• Analysis• Findings• Explain the results (i.e., give reasons for observed

results)

• Conclusion• not a summary of work• answering your objectives

• References• Acknowledgements

• research grant• individuals who helped you

Preparing your posterPreparing your poster

• Determine the maximum poster size• The conference organizers will inform you and

provide basic guidelines for poster presentation• Unfortunately, in conferences/seminars, posters can

only be pinned on the board if the posters are in portrait mode• sometimes this information is not told to

presenters

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Preparing your posterPreparing your poster

• Use software applications like PowerPoint to prepare poster• Change the page size to the desired size• Use Zoom feature to work on your poster

• Where are you going to print the poster?• Find out what is the maximum size the printer can

handle

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http://www.nursing.vcu.edu/education/technology/images/posterPrinterPic.jpg

Check if the printer in your department can print the desired poster size

TitleTitle

• Pick a good title• concise and accurate title

• Most prominent feature• titles will often make people decide if to read the

poster• Avoid use of ALL CAPS in titles

LayoutLayout

• Landscape• Divide into 2 or more columns (not necessary to

have equal widths)• Portrait

• May also be divided into 2 or more columns• Have clear discernable sections or blocks of text• Easy, clear, and smooth flow or orientation of text

• Easy to read• Use blank spaces for clear demarcations

• Do not crowd/cram the text and pictures

http://huttenhower.sph.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/csb_poster_06-14-05.png

https://instaar.colorado.edu/uploads/people/471/cole_and_all_hmgwp_2013.jpg

http://www.larch.umd.edu/news/Images/Bioscience_SF_2003_poster.gif

http://www.reiher.ethz.ch/talks_posters/posters/modetrack.jpg

http://www.materials.ox.ac.uk/uploads/images/news/SETposter2.jpg

http://carlsbad.health.unm.edu/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/GZK_SmartGraph_poster_SRD_CUP_portrait_Small.png

http://www.evidencelive.org/sites/default/files/posters/images/2013-poster-charalampopoulos-d.png

http://www.marthabianco.com/Courses/Cities/Present/Preparing%20the%20Presentation.htm

https://research.utep.edu/Portals/592/images/posters.jpg

ColourColour

• Choose colour combinations that make reading and understanding your work easy

• Avoid “giddy” colours or combination of colours that make text “disappear” in the background colour

http://www.ga.lsu.edu/Effective%20Poster%20Design%20for%20Academic%20Conferences.pdf

http://www.makesigns.com/images/MakeSigns/SciPosters/tutorials/highcontrast-bad.jpg

BackgroundBackground

• Use cool, muted colours as background• Avoid bright and warm colours• Colours can be

• solid• shaded/gradient

• You can have pictures as the background• But can be risky as they tend to obscure text

What do you think of this poster?

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http://d32ogoqmya1dw8.cloudfront.net/images/NAGTWorkshops/assess/wagner_poster.jpg

http://wipophealthfellows.blogspot.com

http://staff.washington.edu/klaidre/docs/KL_mms99poster.jpg

Figures, diagrams, and photosFigures, diagrams, and photos

• All figures must have captions• Figures, in particular photographs, must be 300 DPI

(dots-per-inch)• For charts, use Excel and a free add-in called XL

toolbox to export hi-res charts• http://xltoolbox.sourceforge.net/

Scale photos to at least 300 DPI

XL Toolbox to create publication-ready charts

Figures, diagrams, and photosFigures, diagrams, and photos

• Resize pictures using correct proportions (i.e., maintain same aspect ratio)

Lost weight orgrown taller ?

LetteringLettering

• Title - >72 pt, BOLD• Section headings - >48 pt, BOLD• Body text – at least 24 pt• NO CAPS! ARE YOU ANGRY WITH YOUR RESEARCH?• Use conservative fonts

• not exotic or cursive fonts which can make reading hard

http://lincnic.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/fonts.jpg

Looks nice, but no!

• Use bulleted lists where possible instead of paragraphs

• Use italics instead of underlining• Use dark or black coloured lettering on light

background is easier to read when printed than light or white lettering on dark background

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Finishing touchesFinishing touches

• Proofread• check for mistakes in speling, gram;marand

ForMatting• Glossy or matte paper?

• Glossy• Photos appear clearer• Colours more vibrant• More durable• Expensive, glaring

• Matte• No glare, less expensive• Colours less vibrant (more “flat”)

Good sources of informationGood sources of information

• Effective poster design for academic conferences by Mary Lee Eggart • www.ga.lsu.edu/Effective%20Poster%20Design

%20for%20Academic%20Conferences.pdf• Tips on poster presentations at professional

conference by Scott W. Plunkett• www.csun.edu/plunk/documents/

poster_presentation.pdf• Ten simple rules for a good poster presentation by

Thomas C Erren and Philip E Bourne• www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1876493/

THANK YOUTHANK YOU