If you've made your way to this PowerPoint Research Poster Tutorial, you're probably already familiar with scientific posters, but need some helping making one yourself. If this is your first time creating a research poster or just need some pointers to take your poster to the next level, you've come to the right place.
The Basics
Scientific posters are usually pretty large posters that students and professionals use to effectively communicate information. Remember those poster boards you used to make in elementary school for your book report? Research posters are generally a bit larger and designed on a computer with software such as PowerPoint, and then printed out on a wide-format printer such as we do here at MakeSigns.com.
"Scientific posters" is a term used loosely since not all contain scientific information or even research. Regardless of the content, the presenter's goal is to display information in a clear, concise manner while generating interest to engage in a discussion. Poster conferences usually host rows and rows of research posters. Your poster should be easily scanable, so your viewers can quickly grasp the concept and go back to discuss those of most interest. Most poster conventions suggest that the poster should be readable from six feet away and able to be completely read in ten minutes.
One of our very own award-winning customers at a poster conference. Want your photo here? Upload a photo of you with your poster to our Facebook page and tag yourself! Drop us a Facebook message with your address and t-shirt size, and we'll even send you a free t-shirt!
Research Poster Content
The content on a research poster is generally broken up into a few sections. The heading usually contains the title, author, and affiliation. A school, company, or organization logo is also a nice touch. Depending on what applies to your topic, you could break the content into:
- Introduction, Background, Overview, or Objective
- Measures, Materials & Methods, or Procedure
- Results
- Conclusion, Discussion, or Summary
Don't forget to include any references or acknowledgement of a funding source or other contributions.
Once again, regardless of the content, keep it simple and don't overload with text. Brevity is key! Summarize points and use bulleted lists which are easier to scan. While you may not be a graphic designer, think about how you could present the information in a more visually interesting way. When giving results consider using charts and graphs where possible. Creative infographics have become increasingly popular and are a great way to convey information more attractively.