designing scientific research posters by dan kenzie and mary mccall
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Designing Scientific Research Posters By Dan Kenzie and Mary McCall. Designing a Scientific Poster. Content of a Scientific Poster. Title An effective title should clearly communicate the subject of the poster in a way that appeals to a reader. Keep the length of your title to 1 to 2 lines. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Designing Scientific Research Posters
By Dan Kenzie and Mary McCall
Designing a Scientific Poster
Content of a Scientific Poster
• Title– An effective title should clearly communicate the
subject of the poster in a way that appeals to a reader. Keep the length of your title to 1 to 2 lines.
• Abstract – An abstract is often not necessary, because a poster
presents similar material as an abstract. Refer to the guidelines for your conference.
• Introduction– Generate interest in your topic with a minimum of
background detail and jargon.
Content of a Scientific Poster
• Materials and Methods– Include a rationale for why you chose the methods
you did and, if they would help, tables or figures.
• Results– Start with a summary of your results. Then, discuss
the relationship between the data and your research question.
• Conclusions – Explain the significance of major findings.
(Connecting this study to previous research can help).
Content of a Scientific Poster
• References – See conferences guidelines for appropriate format.– If this section becomes too long, decrease the font
size.
• Acknowledgements – Acknowledge anyone who gave you feedback or
otherwise contributed to the project, including financial contributors. This section can also disclose any conflicts of interest or commitment.
Visual Design of a Scientific Poster
• Layout– Maintain sufficient white space, keep column
alignments logical, and provide clear cues to your readers how they should read your poster elements.
• Content– Do not overload the poster with text. It should be
roughly 20% text, 40% figures, 40% space.– Left-align your text. (Fully justified creates
gaps)
• Font– Use a non-serif font for the title and headings and
a serif font for body text to promote readability.
Visual Design of a Scientific Poster
• Color– Use 2-3 colors for your poster design and make sure
the background and text have a high contrast.– Do not chose a dark and/or busy background. – Avoid very bright color combinations.
• Diagrams– Give your graphs titles and labels for each axis. – Never give your graphs colored backgrounds, grid
lines, or boxes. – Avoid displaying 2-D data in 3-D graphs. – Make sure that details on graphs and photographs
can be comfortably viewed from 6 feet away.
Considering Conference Guidelines
• Always carefully read conference guidelines, which may or may not give specifics on:– What to include– Size of the poster– Available materials (Should you post to a
board yourself?)– Which documentation style to use– Other expectations
Where Can Students Find More Help?
Purdue University Writing Lab
Heavilon 226
• Web: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/• Phone: (765) 494-3723• Email: [email protected]
Works Referenced
Design and Layout. (2011). Retrieved from:https://www.makesigns.com/tutorials/poster-design-layout.aspx
Graves, L. Scientific poster design [PDF document]. Retrieved from: www.cns.cornell.edu/documents/ScientificPosters.pdf
The Parts of a Scientific Poster. (2011).Retrieved from: https://www.makesigns.com/tutorials/scientific-poster-parts.aspx
Purrington, C. (n.d.) Designing conference posters. Retrieved fromhttp://colinpurrington.com/tips/academic/posterdesign
Schlamadinger, D. How to make a scientific research poster. [PDF document]. Retrieved from: acssa.ucsd.edu/forms/ACSSA_posters_howto2_DES.pdf
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