Northwest Indian College



Poster Presentation Guidelines, Instructions & Rubric

Northwest Indian College

Science Internship Program

This document contains three parts: 1) Suggested Guidelines For a Poster Presentation, 2) Using PowerPoint™ to Create Your Poster, and 3) Rubric for a Research Poster Presentation.

Part 1: Suggested Guidelines For A Poster Presentation

The poster guidelines below are those developed by the All Nations Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (ANLSAMP), which are employed for presentations at the annual AIHEC (American Indian Higher Education Consortium) and AISES (American Indian Science and Engineering Societies) conferences.

Reference:

All Nations Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation. 2007 All Nations Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation Poster and Oral Showcase for Undergraduate Research Rules & Guidelines for the Oral Presentations AISES Website: All Nations Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, 2007. 5-7. 8 p. Retrieved July 4, 2008, from

(Additional information is available from the ANLSAMP website at .)

The goal of your scientific poster is to have an organized and attractive presentation of your research findings. Posters should be self-explanatory and readable within about five minutes. In addition, when fabricating your poster, you must comply with the following guidelines.

Guidelines

1. Title: At the top of your poster you should have a title that is both short and very descriptive of your project. For empirical studies, the title should also mention the organism(s) studied. As a rule, the title should be easily readable at a distance of about 4 – 5 feet away (words are approximately 1.5 – 2.5 cm in height).

2. Name Affiliation: Directly under the title, you should have your name, your faculty sponsor’s name, and your school’s name. The name and affiliation section is usually about 20-30% smaller than the title.

3. The body of the poster:

a. The Abstract: This is a brief synopsis of the entire work, described in the poster. Most abstracts are one or two paragraphs in length. The abstract should be understandable without reading the entire poster and the reader should be able to decide if s/he would like to read the entire poster based on what they read in the abstract. The abstract should contain the following elements: (1) the purpose of the study, (2) a brief statement of what you did, (3) a concise statement of the major findings, and (4) the major conclusions. Do not include details of the methods.

b. Introduction: The purpose of the introduction is to present the question being explored by your research and to place it in the context of current knowledge about the topic. It often works well to start with the general context and work your way down to the specifics, ending with a precise statement of the question or hypothesis being addressed by your study. The introduction should convince the reader of the significance of your study. To so this well in a poster is a challenging requirement. Be brief, but include the important points to be sure the reader sees the relevance of your work.

c. Methods: In this section you should describe all procedures that you performed. Describe your methods in sufficient detail to allow a reader who works in your field to understand what you did to collect your data. Illustrations are appropriate for complex experimental design, etc.

d. Results: The purpose of this section is to summarize the data. Report the results of any statistical tests here. Present all of your results, whether positive or negative. A table or figure may substitute for a written summary as long as each table or figure has a legend that explains the graphic clearly.

e. Discussion: In this section you should interpret the meaning of your results with respect to the original question. You should interpret your results without repeating them. The discussion must include your conclusions about the answers to the questions that motivated your research that you described in the introduction. If appropriate, mention explanations for unexpected results.

f. Literature Cited: This section is optional in the poster, unless citations are used in the text. Include only those papers cited in the text. Do not cite a paper unless you have read it yourself. Cite all your references in the text and list them in the literature-cited section using a format from a major journal within your discipline.

4. Graphics, Tables, Photos and Others

Illustrations, tables, figures, photographs, and diagrams need to have unique identification numbers and legends. In the text, use the numbers to refer to specific graphics or pictures. In your legends, include a full explanation and where appropriate, include color keys, scale, etc.

5. Sample Layouts

There are an endless number of ways to put a poster together. Remember try to create a strong visual but, avoid making the poster look crowded. It is important to provide some indication of the flow of the poster (top to bottom, left to right). Some posters have numbered sections (units) to indicate the reading order.

Specific Guidelines:

One entire poster should take up a space no larger than 80cm by 120cm (approximately 32” by 48”), in either portrait or landscape format. All posters will be affixed to and displayed on a vertical surface (most likely wood, possibly cork-board). You should determine how to secure your poster to such a surface and bring whatever materials you will need to do this. You may build your poster upon a single piece of poster-board or it may be made up of several individual components that can be secured to the display surface. We encourage you to be imaginative and creative, so long as you follow the guidelines in this document. Remember that the purpose of the poster is to convey information from your research. Use care that the display does not overpower the scientific content. Also, check your text and legends for accuracy. Be sure to italicize Latin words, label graphs, tables and have several people proofread your poster.

If you decide to make each of the above components of the poster a single unit, the smallest unit should be no smaller than 17.5cm by 20.5cm (approximately 7” by 8”) except for literature cited and for the title and Name sections that are, by necessity, linear in orientation. It is fine to group more than one required element on a single unit as long as your poster is clear and readable and does not look cluttered. Unless otherwise directed in the above sections, the text font size is to be no smaller than about 3-4mm in height for an upper case letter (for example: 12 point font in Times New Roman). Times Roman is difficult to read at a distance. Helvetica has sharply delineated letters (no curlicues) and thus, is easier to read at a distance. There are many other font options for you to choose from but you must make sure they are comparable to the Times New Roman 12 point font size.

Part 2: Using PowerPoint™ to Create Your Poster

Prepared by

Mark Moss

GIS Program Manager

Northwest Indian College

PowerPoint™ is one of the best poster producing software programs there is for our needs. With PowerPoint we can create a slide the exact size we want our poster to be and add text, pictures, and clipart as needed. This short lesson will show you how to create a poster in PowerPoint that will be professional looking and convey your ideas about your subject. Of course you will have to supply your own data.

Step One

First decide what size your poster will be. A suggestion of no larger than 32” by 48” should be followed. From my experience make it the maximum allowed. You want people to see your poster and to make an impression you want to be in-their-face. Note: In-their-face does not mean gaudy. You want to pleasantly focus their attention to your poster.

Get your data together. I will assume you are done with your research so this shouldn’t be a problem. Also gather any images, charts, or tables that you want to add to the poster.

Step Two

Start PowerPoint. PowerPoint is in the Microsoft Office© Suite of programs.

We need to specify a presentation and a slide layout. I would choose a blank presentation and a blank layout.

Specify what size to make your poster.

Go to File in the menu bar and click on Page Setup.

[pic]

Choose Custom in the Slides sized for: and then enter the width and the height of your poster.

Step Three

Add your data to the slide.

To add text go to Insert then choose Text Box and then orientation of the text. You can change the font, font size, color of the font, a fill color for the box as well as a border line.

Right click on a text box and choose Format Text box to add fill or borders. Right click on any object to get to the format menu.

To add Pictures, Word Art, Charts, and Diagrams go to Insert and then choose what you want.

Before:

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After:

[pic]

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Part 3: Rubric for a Research Poster Presentation

Course Number: NESC 197/297/397/497 Course Name: Internship in Native Environmental Science

Instructor(s): (Draft rubric prepared by Brian Compton for the final project of a poster presentation based on All Nations Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation [ANLSAMP] poster guidelines and reviewer score sheet)

|Presentation: Size, Content & Organization |Level of Proficiency |

|Criteria |1: Pre-Novice |2: Beginning (or: Minimum acceptable) |3: Developing |4: Accomplished |

| |(or: Unacceptable) | |(or: Good) |(or: Excellent) |

|Size |___ Size is completely inappropriate (too |___ Does not adhere to poster size |___ Adheres to poster size guidelines, but |___ No larger than 80 cm by 120 cm |

| |small to read or larger than the maximum |guidelines, but otherwise may be sufficient|size may not be completely appropriate for |(approximately 32" by 40"), in either |

| |allowable size) |for the content and layout |amount of content and layout |portrait or landscape form |

| | | | |___ Size is neither excessive nor minimal |

| | | | |for the content and layout |

|Title & Name Affiliation |___ No title or name affiliation |___ Title and name affiliation present but |___ Title and name affiliation present and |___ Title is at top of the poster, short, |

| | |incomplete, unclear or otherwise minimally |complete but not prepared according to all |descriptive of the project and easily |

| | |acceptable (e.g., misplaced, too small, or |guidelines |readable at a distance of about 4-5 feet |

| | |hard to read text used) | |(words about 1.5-2.5 cm tall) |

| | | | |___ Name affiliation includes presenter's |

| | | | |name, faculty sponsor's name, school's name|

| | | | |in a section about 20-30% smaller than the |

| | | | |title |

|Abstract |___ No abstract |___ Abstract present but incomplete, |___ Abstract present and relatively |___ Abstract present comprising a brief |

| | |unclear or otherwise minimally acceptable |complete but not prepared according to all |synopsis of the entire work described in |

| | |(e.g., does not provide accurate synopsis |guidelines |the poster |

| | |of the entire work) | |___ Abstract understandable without reading|

| | | | |the entire poster |

| | | | |___ Includes (1) purpose of the study, (2) |

| | | | |brief statement of what was done (without |

| | | | |including minor details of the methods), |

| | | | |(3) concise statement of major findings, |

| | | | |and (4) major conclusions |

|Introduction |___ No introduction |___ Introduction present but incomplete, |___ Introduction present and relatively |___ Presents question being explored placed|

| | |unclear or otherwise minimally acceptable |complete but does not address all points |in the context of current knowledge |

| | |(e.g., does not present the question being |indicated in the poster guidelines |___ Includes precise statement of the |

| | |explored, statement of the hypothesis, is | |question of hypothesis being addressed by |

| | |unconvincing in terms of the significance | |the study |

| | |of the study, is excessively lengthy and | |___ Convinces the reader of the |

| | |detailed lacking important points and | |significance of the study |

| | |relevance of the work) | |___ Is brief but includes important points |

| | | | |indicating the relevance of the work |

|Methods |___ No methods |___ Methods present but incomplete, unclear|___ Methods present and relatively complete| ___ Describes all procedures performed |

| | |or otherwise minimally acceptable (e.g., |but does not address all points indicated |___ Contains sufficient detail to allow a |

| | |lacking sufficient information and detail |in the poster guidelines |reader who works in the field to understand|

| | |with inappropriate illustrations) | |what you did to collect your data |

| | | | |___ Illustrations are appropriate for |

| | | | |complex experimental design, etc. |

|Results |___ No results |___ Results present but incomplete, unclear|___ Results present and relatively complete|___ Includes summary of the data |

| | |or otherwise minimally acceptable (e.g., |but does not address all points indicated |___ All results presented, whether positive|

| | |incomplete summary of data, poor |in the poster guidelines |or negative |

| | |explanation of graphics, etc.) | |___ If present, table or figure subtitles |

| | | | |for written summary and includes legend to |

| | | | |explain the graphic clearly |

|Discussion |___ No discussion |___ Discussion present but incomplete, |___ Discussion present and relatively |___ Includes interpretation of results with|

| | |unclear or otherwise minimally acceptable |complete but does not address all points |respect to the original question |

| | |(e.g., no interpretation of results with |indicated in the poster guidelines |___ Results interpreted without being |

| | |respect to the original question, | |repeated |

| | |unnecessary repetition of results, no | |___ Includes conclusions about answers to |

| | |conclusions about answers to the questions | |questions that motivated the research as |

| | |that motivated the research as indicated in| |indicated in the introduction |

| | |the introduction, etc.) | |___ If appropriate, includes explanations |

| | | | |for unexpected results |

|Literature Cited |___ No literature cited (appropriate only |___ Literature cited present but |___ Literature cited present and relatively|___ Includes only sources cited in the text|

| |if no citations used in the text) |incomplete, unclear or otherwise minimally |complete but does not address all points |___ Includes only papers if you read it |

| | |acceptable (e.g., lacking sources cited in |indicated in the poster guidelines |yourself |

| | |the text, including superfluous entries, | |___ Is prepared according the American |

| | |not prepared according to approved style | |Psychological Association (APA) style |

| | |guidelines, etc. | |guidelines |

|Graphics, Tables, Photos and Other Images |___ No graphics, tables, photos or other |___ Graphics present but incomplete, |___ Graphics present and relatively |___ Illustrations, tables, figures, |

|(and layout) |images (the poster should include at least |unclear or otherwise minimally acceptable |complete but do not address all points |photographs or diagrams have unique |

| |some images) |(e.g., lacking explanation, units, keys, |indicated in the poster guidelines |identification numbers and legends |

| | |misplaced or excessively large, | |___ Text includes references to specific |

| | |inappropriate or confusing, etc.) | |graphics or pictures |

| | | | |___ Legends include full explanation and |

| | | | |where appropriate, color keys, scale, etc. |

| | | | |___ All images presented in appropriate |

| | | | |layout and size relative to text |

|Subject: Problem, Research Design & |Level of Proficiency |

|Conduct, Student Involvement in Planning & | |

|Execution | |

|Criteria |1: Pre-Novice |2: Beginning (or: Minimum acceptable) |3: Developing |4: Accomplished |

| |(or: Unacceptable) | |(or: Good) |(or: Excellent) |

|Problem |___ No value of information to the |___ Value of information to limited members|___ Value of information to many members of|___ Value of information to scientific and |

| |scientific or Native American communities |of the scientific and Native American |the scientific and Native American |Native American communities in broadest |

| |___ No clear objectives |communities |communities |sense |

| | |___ Objectives present but incomplete, |___ Objectives present and relatively |___ Objectives present and relatively |

| | |unclear or otherwise minimally acceptable |complete |complete |

|Research Design & Conduct |___ No answers to questions raised by the |___ Answers presented not clearly related |___ Some answers presented clearly relate |___ All answers presented clearly relate to|

| |objectives as research was conducted |to objectives or obtained by the research |to objectives and the research |objectives and the research |

| |___ Research techniques not adequate |___ Research techniques minimally adequate | | |

|Involvement |___ No student involvement in planning and |___ Student involvement minimal |___ Student involvement in some aspects |___ Student involvement in all aspects |

| |execution of the research project | | |where reasonable or possible |

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