Module 5

Poster Creation

poster creation

Let's put it all together! Think of your poster as a way to display/present your study process and the key findings of your study (i.e. what you've accomplished each week up until now)!

The template above demonstrates the key sections that every scientific poster should have.
While you have some room for creativity in your design, you'll want to be sure to include each of these sections in order to offer your audience an easy roadmap through your work.
Each section serves a key purpose---to outline each "step" of your study process!

Watch this video to learn more about how to communicate your results using a poster!

Here are the Main Sections that should be on your poster. Click on the link to learn more about this section:

A. Title

1. SPECIFIC and INFORMATIVE Title

- - Your title should clearly "hint at" (or be) your research question.
  - Your title should offer a clear explanation of what the main goal of your study was

2. Author Names and School Names

- - This part goes directly under your title.
  - You are the main author, so first write your full name and the name of your school.
  - Also include your mentor as an author, as they helped you with your study!

B. Introduction

What's the purpose of an Introduction?

This section offers your audience the key background information they need to better understand your current study, explains what your "goals" for your current study are (in other words, what do you hope to investigate?), and clearly states your research question and hypotheses. Below you can find the two main sections you should include in your Introduction: Background Information and Research Question and Hypothesis.

Background Information

You should have two short paragraphs (~2-3 sentences each) about background information.
- In the first paragraph, you will have an introductory sentence, followed by 2-3 sentences that give background information on your topic.
  - - The introductory sentence usually introduces your topic and why it is generally important for people to learn more about.
    - The next 2-3 sentences should talk about what researchers have already found out about the topic. Tip: Refer back to what you learned about your topic during Module 1. In Module 1, you learned about the topic and what researchers have found so far!
- In the second paragraph, you will talk about what we don't know about the topic (which scientists call "A Gap in our Understanding", because we don't know the answer yet!). This will be 1-2 sentences.
  - - - Note: Usually you conduct a research study in order to begin to "fill this gap in our understanding" of a topic . However, we almost never fill this gap completely. An important thing to remember about science is that we cannot ever know anything with absolute certainty. However, the scientific method can help us to improve our understanding.

2. Research Question and Hypothesis

- Right underneath your Background Information paragraphs, Clearly write out what your Research Question and Hypotheses are (Refer back to your work from Module 2)

C. Methods

The Methods section describes the "Who, What, Where, and How" of your research study.

Below is what you should include in your Methods Section:

1. Participants:

Describe who completed your study? You can include:

- - - - Age
      - Gender
      - The state they live in

Report how many people participated in your study

Describe where you did you study. This could be:

- - - At a school
    - In a classroom
    - In a research lab
    - Online

2. Materials/Measures:

- What materials did you use to collect data?
- What did you "measure" (observe, collect, count, compare) in order to answer your research question?

3. Procedure:

- How did you collect data?

D. Results

The results section presents the "raw" data you collected (such as your observations, counts, etc.) as well as any results from the analyses you conducted (for example, were there differences in the "raw data" between your experimental conditions when you compared them?). First, think critically about the type of data you collected---what might be the best way to present the data you collected so that your audience can best understand what it means? What pattern/story are your data telling?

Here are the different sections you should include in your Results section:

1. Analyses

What types of analysis did you conduct? What were the results of those analyses?
- Descriptive Statistics
  - - The "average" (mean, M) of your data points
      - How to calculate an average: add up all your data points up and divide by the number of data points you have total
    - Standard Deviation (SD) describes, on average, how "spread out" each data-point is (i.e. approximately how far away any given data point is from the mean)
Comparing averages allows you to make more informed claims about whether there might be a difference between the experimental conditions you tested. For example, does one group have a higher counts or performance scores on average?
- If so, state BOTH what that difference/comparison is by reporting what the mean score/count was for each condition AND describe how the two conditions differ. (For example, is one greater than the other? Are they equal?) You will explain this finding in your discussion section.

2. Graphs and Tables:

Graphs help you demonstrate ("visualize") the overarching trends or patterns of your data when you look at all of your observations collectively.
Does there appear to be a pattern? If so, what is it? Is there a relationship between your variables that might offer a potential explanation?
Are any of your data-points "outliers"?

In other words, are they drastically different from many of your other observations and/or do not follow the general pattern?
- If so, can you think about a reason that helps explain why they might be different?
  - Was there measurement error? Was there something different about that participant? Was something else happening in the environment/setting that might have influenced this observation?
  - Tables can be helpful for comparing and articulating differences between experimental conditions.

E. Discussion

What role does the discussion play?

This section helps you "unpack" your results and findings. This is your chance to tell your audience why your research is important!

"What did you find out?" + "Why should we care about it?" = Discussion Section

What should I include in this section?

1. Explanation and Significance of Key Findings

- What are the implications of your results? Could they be meaningfully applied or used?
  - If so, who might benefit from this understanding? how might they use it?

2. Limitations of your Research Study

- As scientists we need to be really careful to ensure that people understand the ways we can and cannot use our findings.
- You studied this topic/phenomena in a very specific way (using a particular method)--- What claims can you make? How can you help your audience understand them effectively and prevent them from making generalizations from your results that are incorrect or uncertain?
  - Think about potential "Caveats" and make those crystal clear to your audience
    - For example, if you did not run an experiment, you could not make claims about "cause and effect" relationships

3. Future Directions

- Given your findings, what do we want to know next?
- What else do we need to know in order to better understand this phenomena?

F. Conclusion

What are the key messages you want your audience to walk away from your poster having learned?

These are often presented as 3 to 4 succinct bullet points (the"key take-aways" of your research)

When you're thinking about your key take-aways, remember this helpful formula for an effective conclusion:

Why did you do this study? + What did you find? + Why is it Important? = CONCLUSION

To put another way, offer your readers:

A brief reminder of why your study was conducted (1 sentence)
Next, reiterate what you found out!
- Present each of your Key Results/Findings + Importance (2 to 3 sentences total)
  - - How does your research contribute to our understanding of .... (your topic/phenomenon)?
    - Why are these findings significant/impactful?

G. Visuals

This is where you get to be a lot more creative! A poster with a lot of text and no pictures will be very boring to look at. Make sure to draw your audience in by using pictures!

Some Visual Tips:

You can take photos of yourself doing the experiment or of your participants (but make sure to get permission from your participants, and their parents too if they are under the age of 18).
You can find images on the internet to use also, but be careful of copyright issues! Sometimes, photos are available that you can use for free, but sometimes there are laws that prevent you from using them legally on your poster. Ask your mentor to help you find photos that are okay to use. If you take the photo yourself, then it is okay for you to use on your poster.
The graphs you use in the Results section to present your data are also very important! Make sure to use bright colors and big enough text so that someone can read it from a couple of feet away. They should also be simple and not too complex. This is often the first thing your audience member will look at.
Although pictures make your poster a lot more fun, be careful to not use too many pictures! Use enough to tell a story of what you did. They shouldn't be overly distracting and make it harder to read the text. One way to do this is to make sure your background is very simple, like in the example, and add the photos around the text!

Preparing for the Conference:

Presenting your poster:

When someone comes by your poster, you'll want to be able to give them a brief 2 to 3 minute explanation of your research process and key findings. You don't need to cover every detail (that's outlined on your poster), but try to discuss at least a bit about each major section as you walk them through your poster.

Now that you've piqued their interest, they'll likely have a few questions for you! (These conversations are often the most fun parts of being at a conference! )

Good luck!!

Great work, Scientists!

Page updated

Report abuse