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30.4.2007 Alina Leinonen

HOW TO MAKE A SCIENTIFIC POSTER: TIPS FOR BEGINNERS

The aim of the poster

The aim of the poster is to describe ones research and main results shortly and concisely

as well as to stimulate scientific discussion. A poster is also an interactive way to

communicate, through it a researcher can receive feedback from his/her research and

generate new contacts.

Structure of a poster

A poster usually includes the following short sections:

Title, authors, author affiliationA title is relevant; an apt and concise title stimulates peoples interest

Introduction/Background

A short introduction to the topic, a few references; a short description of the aim

of the study and main hypotheses

Methods

A precise and short description of used methods and stages of the research; avoid

too much details, use figures if possibleIf the study is not finished, describe the methods you are planning to use

Results

Describe the results from your study shortly, preferably with figures

If the research is not finished, describe the results you expect to get

Discussion/Conclusion/Summary

Discussion of the results in relation to the introduction and the theories described

Discussion of the possible results etc.

References

All references used in the poster

Acknowledgement

Acknowledgement of the financier of the research

Correspondence to

Own e-mail address or web page

Planning the poster

Decide on one concept or question. Think what things are absolutely essential forconveying your message. One of the biggest problems is too much concentration on the

methods. Minimize the size of the text, use figures and tables instead. Think how you

could describe the things in your poster in a few sentences.Make it easy to read. Make

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it easy to understand. People only have a few minutes per poster. Poster should standalone.

Choose poster style

one large poster (A1)individual pages (such as 8 x A4)

Poster layout

- Typically, use 3 to 5 columns- Arrange material vertically from top left corner to bottom right corner

- This makes it easier for people to read, without having to move back and forth

- Determine logical sequence for material- Organize material into sections

- Arrange material into columns (e.g. text might be in the first and third column, figures

can be situated in the second column) (see Figure 1). Size of the column might be about40-60 characters.

Figure 1. Example of a poster layout

Some tips:

- Left align text- Double space- Pick one font and stick to it

- Avoid italics

- Use larger/colored font for emphasis

Recommended font size:

Title: 96 pt

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Authors: 72 ptAffiliations: 36-48 pt

Section headings: 36 pt

Text: 24 ptAcknowledgements: 18 pt

Making a poster using Power Point

Making one large poster (A1):

1. Start PowerPoint: Make a New presentation a blank one.2. Choose the size of your poster: File>Page setup > Slides sized for > Custom.

Width: 84.1 cm, Height: 118.9 cm (for A1 sized posters). Choose Portrait.

3. Adding text: In order to add text, the text needs a "container" a Text Box. Makea text box by clicking on the Text Box tool or selecting Text Box under the Insert

menu.

4.

Adding images: The two ways to add images are with Insert/Picture>From File

Making a poster using single A4 sheets (see Appendix 1)

For more information about making a poster, click the following links:

http://faculty.washington.edu/robinet/poster.html www.cmer.wsu.edu/~yonge/ce465/poster.pdf

http://www.helsinki.fi/atk/av/posteriohjeet.htmlhttp://www.ncsu.edu/project/posters/examples/

http://www.ncsu.edu/project/posters/NewSite/

http://faculty.washington.edu/robinet/poster.htmlhttp://www.cmer.wsu.edu/~yonge/ce465/poster.pdfhttp://www.cmer.wsu.edu/~yonge/ce465/poster.pdfhttp://www.cmer.wsu.edu/~yonge/ce465/poster.pdfhttp://www.helsinki.fi/atk/av/posteriohjeet.htmlhttp://www.ncsu.edu/project/posters/examples/http://www.ncsu.edu/project/posters/NewSite/http://www.ncsu.edu/project/posters/NewSite/http://www.ncsu.edu/project/posters/examples/http://www.helsinki.fi/atk/av/posteriohjeet.htmlhttp://www.cmer.wsu.edu/~yonge/ce465/poster.pdfhttp://faculty.washington.edu/robinet/poster.html

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8*A4 (A1)

aut hor(s)

author affiliations

Tit le

Introductiontext...

Methodssubtitles, text, diagrams

etc...

Aim(s) of the studytext...

(logo)

Resultsfigures with legends,

tables, text etc...

(Results cont.)

Conclusionstext...

References

text...

Acknowledgements

text...Correspondence to:

e-mail address etc.

Liite 1. Posterimalli (koko A1)