7. Preparing Poster and Presentation

• Title (10 words or less) – This should only include the essential number of words, be meaningful, and catchy. The title should be approximately 4 cm tall (~68 pt font size)
• Authors and affiliation (~48 pt font size)
• Acknowledgements (~18 pt font, bottom of poster)
• Body of the poster (Headings ~48 pt font, body of text at least 24 pt font, figure captions ~18 pt font)
  • Introduction (<150 words) – Provide a framework of the information that you will discuss – what is your species, what relevant information do we need to know to understand WHY you are doing your experiment. Bring in 1-2 peer-reviewed references here.
    • Your research question (objective), hypothesis, and prediction should stand out (i.e., viewers should be able to identify the objective without reading the whole introduction). Your hypothesis needs to have a peer-reviewed reference.
  • Methods – be brief but informative – a flow chart with photos and descriptions may be appropriate, include information about what you measured
  • Results – graphically represent your data – your figure should have a minimal caption (unlike your other assignments). Limit it to one line saying what is plotted (e.g., Mean speed of pill-bugs in red and blue light conditions) – include a short paragraph/bullet list to point out the trend in the data.
  • Implications and conclusion – compare to your hypothesis – did you see what you expected. Briefly explore explanations for any unexpected results (remember, it is ok to talk about limitations, but don’t apologize and try to focus on the biology). How does this relate to the article(s) you found [≥1 peer-reviewed article]? Provide a brief “what is next” statement here.
  • References cited in CSE – 5-10 references at most; for this poster, you want ≥4 peer-reviewed articles (no websites or textbooks will be counted here)

7.2 Video recording of your poster presentation (i.e., the elevator pitch)

As part of the poster presentation assignment, your team will make a video recording of your practiced presentation for introducing your poster (i.e., your elevator pitch). The goal of the elevator pitch is to provide a very brief overview of your study ultimately to engage the audience and be the start of a conversation. Presenting a poster at a conference is a great way to network and to share ideas with peers. The video is due 1 day prior to the SAC and should be the final draft of your presentation which means it should be rehearsed.

7.2.1 Video Requirements:

• 2-3 minutes (this means it must be concise and rehearsed!)
• All members need to participate relatively  equally in the presentation
• You want to introduce the poster – who you are, what did you do, why did you do it, how you did it, what did you find, and what is the take home message. For example:
  • Introduce yourselves
  • Topic: “In this project, our team looked at [insert research question].”
  • Context: “we chose this question because [insert importance] and we expected to find that [prediction]”
  • Brief methods: “we set up a choice experiment where we…”
  • Major finding: “we found that…”
  • Take home message: what does it mean (i.e., why do we care)

7.2.2 Guidelines for Making the Video: 

You have 2 options for making the video of your group presenting your poster (i.e., your elevator pitch):

1. Standing in front of your poster: Set up your recording device (e.g., tablet, phone, laptop) so that your poster as well as all team members are visible

2. Recorded with Zoom or other video conferencing software (e.g., Google Meet): One student shares their screen with the poster and records the presentation. All students must have their video turned on throughout the presentation.

Regardless of the recording method: 

• Ensure that all team members can be heard
• The lighting should also be bright enough that faces are not shadowed (we want to see how you present)
• Upload the video to YouTube (make sure it is unlisted) and submit the link on eClass.