Msc Project - Poster Presentations

Poster & Project Presentations The Robert Gordon University School of Engineering Dr. Mohamed Amish

Posters vs. Papers • Papers are designed to appeal to editors of scholarly journals. • Posters are designed to appeal to peers and colleagues at conferences • A paper presents all the information; a poster presents the most important information. • A poster presentation allows for the exchange of ideas and information regarding your research.

Poster The ideal poster is designed to: • provide a brief overview of your research work; • initiate discussion; • attract attention; • give something useful to point to as you discuss your work; • stand alone when you are not available to provide an explanation; • inform people of your particular expertise.

Developing the Content The most effective poster presentations provide minimal text but still clearly define the central message by following a standard format. • • • • •

Title and Affiliations Introduction Methodology Results Discussion / Conclusion

Planning • You have to stand back and think about the What's, the How's and the Why's of the work. • Critically examine both the approach taken and the results.

Planning Gathering the information • What is the objective of the investigation? • How was the study conducted (method)? • What assumptions were made? Are they justified? • What results were obtained? Are the analyses sound?

Poster Design and Layout • Determine what three or four key points you want to make. You want your poster to cover the key points of your work - not all the details. • Design and lay out the poster ahead of time. • The flow of the poster should be from top left to bottom right.

Poster Design • Title, author, supervisors, institutional affiliation. • An "Introduction" to the project (rationale, background, clear statements about what you have set out to do, problem(s) you intend to solve, reasons why you chose to study this problem etc.). These should lead to declarations of the project objectives. • "Methodology" or "Experimental" section to explain the basis of the techniques, procedures and data collection to be used including any assumptions made (to put your results into context). • A "Results and Discussion" section (summary of the most important results) to explain what you have done so far and what it tells you (your interpretation). Implications of the findings. • A "Conclusions & Further Work" section summarising your findings to date and thoughts about how the work will progress from this point. Did the study raise questions?

Elements of Your Poster Title Abstract Introduction

Methods Data / Results Conclusions

Title Title Simple, able to be seen from 3.5 meters away.

Author(s) Always use first names.

Institution Institution and department.

Abstract • Identify what is being studied, how it is to be studied, what the variables are. • Identify the hypothesis. • State the findings. • Be brief

Introduction Less in-depth than an introduction for a paper. Highlight and focus on: • Questions raised and answered by previous research. • The question you are asking and why you are asking it. • Objectives • Again, be brief

Methodology Identify: • Type of tests used in your experiment • Test procedure

Data / Results • What is the central message of the results? • This section may involve little text and more graphics. Graphic / visual elements: • Tables, Charts, Pictures, Graphs

Discussion / Conclusion Be concise and clear. Highlight: • What was found, and its importance. • Parallels and discrepancies with previous research and theory. • The direction of future research.

Acknowledgments • Acknowledge those professionals and research assistants that contributed to your study. • Acknowledge your funding body • Be brief.

Note: this section is not a requirement.

Student Name: Company Supervisor: Academic Supervisor: School of Engineering

Project Title

Introduction

Methodology

Discussion / results

Objectives

Table/graph

Conclusions & ideas for new research

100 80 60

East

40

West

20

North

0 1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Qtr

Qtr

Qtr

Qtr

Organisation and Layout Fonts • Use the same font style throughout the poster. • The title should be readable from 3.5m away. • The body of the writing should be readable 1m away.

Organisation and Layout There is ALWAYS too much text in a poster. Look critically at the layout. 40% text, 40% graphics and 20% empty space is considered a good ratio.

Project Presentation: Slide Organisation The presentation should flow logically from beginning to end, as in written work. The main concepts of the presentation are to plan, focus and practice. • Plan the layout of the presentation. Strongly consider drawing up an outline before assembling the actual slides. • Focus on the main point(s) to be made. "What you have done", “Why” and “Your contribution” • Practice the presentation with the company supervisor or colleagues at least once before presenting it to the audience.

Presentation Guidelines – example slide list: • • • • • • •

Project title and your name (1 slide); Introduction (1 slide); Objectives (1 slide); Methodology (1 slide); Case study (1 slide); Analysis & results (7 slides approximately); Conclusions & recommendations (2 slides);

A total of approximately 10-14 slides will be sufficient for 20 minutes (maximum) presentation time. Remember, each slide should contain only a few words. Use bullet points to provide summary information. Following the presentation, there will be a short period (10 minutes) for you to answer questions from the audience and panel.

Good Luck [email protected]