Developing and Presenting Posters

This educational presentation was reviewed and endorsed by IACRN’s education committee.

August 2011

Target Audience

The Clinical Research Nurse (CRN) is a nurse who functions within a domain of practice or the specialty of clinical research nursing which includes care provided to research participants, as well as activities to support protocol implementation, data collection and human subject protection.

In this role we are positioned nicely to disseminate clinical expertise and best practices related to clinical research through presentations, publications, and interactions as nursing colleagues (Castro, et al, 2011).

ObjectivesAt the conclusion of this presentation, participants will be able to :• Identify the use of posters as a visual communication

tool that disseminates information to large group of people

• Identify an overview of advantages, purpose, design and content for posters for scientific sessions.

• Apply best practices for poster presentations and tips for success

• Apply a PowerPoint template for an easy method of poster development and printing

Advantages of Posters• More in-depth discussion of your work• More efficient- people can read about the work whether

you are there or not• Reach more people in and out of your field• Less stressful (e.g., you don’t have to stand up and give a

talk in front of a huge audience).• You can add other handouts and deepen conversations

(Hess, 2009)• Poster presentations have increased as a method of

disseminating information at scientific sessions:– 1974 approximately 20% – 2008 approximately 57% (Hess, 2009)

Purpose of Poster Presentations

• Present (disseminate) your latest work at:– Scientific Meetings– Professional Organization Meetings– Local Research Group Meetings– Local Site Highlights– Academic Presentations/University– Patient Teaching

• Network

Typical Poster Content

• Title (from Abstract)• Authors/Institution• Background• Methods• Results• Summary• Acknowledgements• Contact Information

Sometimes your posters will have a different set of

titles, that is OK!

Poster Design - Tips• Use light color background• Only 2-3 different colors• Graphics ‘heavy’; text

‘light’• Text large enough to read

from 6 ft away• Balance Black and White

Space:– 20-25% text– 40-50% graphics– 30-40% empty space

• Design should enhance reading and attract

• Don’t over-design poster• Edit text several times• Graphics- self

explanatory• Make sure take home

message is explicit• Get a proofreader other

than you!• Photos with appropriate

permission and citations

(Benos, 2010)

Poster Presenting- Tips• Professional attire• Good poster, don’t sit• Meet and greet- shake hands,

eye contact, smile• Be prepared (practice in

advance) a 30-60 second sound-bite

• Avoid taboo conversation subjects

• KNOW YOUR STUFF

• Expect these types of viewers:– Walk-by– Brief Methods Question

only– Big picture only– Main finding (bottom line)

only– Read only (don’t want to

chat)– Very interested– Multiple listeners/groups– Aggressive or critical

questioners (Benos, 2010)

Remember….

Photo taken at the SNRS meeting 2011, Jacksonville, FL. Found at www.SNRS.org.

• Meet and greet- shake hands, eye contact, smile• Be prepared (practice in advance) a 30-60 second sound-bite

IACRN Poster Session 2010

Photos from IACRN Poster Session 2010, with permission

Expect these types of viewers:

• Walk-by

• Brief Questions only

• Read Only

Things to Bring

• Extra pins for hanging poster• Business cards • Small envelope for business cards (“take

one”)• Small envelope for collecting cards• Black marking pen/white out• Notebook and pen• Small copies of poster• Breath mints and water!

Insert Graphs, tables or images here

Section Heading

Put your information here

Section Heading

Put your information here

TITLEAuthor(s)Institution Name

Section Heading

Put your information here

Section Heading

Put your information here

Section Heading

Put your information here

SAMPLE POSTER TEMPLATE

You can rearrange the sections, move

them around!

How to Develop and Print Poster Using a PowerPoint Template

• Obtain template for poster development• Cut and paste information from word document into spaces provided. • Adjust size of text insertions, etc. (40 font for text for example)• Proof and Edit• Select “File” “Print” “slide”; check box that says “scale to fit paper”

then click print. The entire poster should print onto one slide. (If you select to print in black and white – you can easily photocopy the poster to distribute).

• Send file to a poster print shop or take on a flashdrive to Kinkos to print on glossy poster paper. Size: 36” x 54” (some use slightly different sizes)

• You can design this to be vertical or horizontal• Carrying on airplane- modify a triangular UPS poster sleeve- these are

free at a UPS store!

Don’t Have Access to PowerPoint?

If you don’t have access to a PowerPoint template:

– See if you have an institutional template

– Obtain off web: http://www.postersession.com/templates.php

BEFORE Printing Use This Checklist

Did you proof-read for mistakes? Did you get a peer to review? Did you cite all required references? Did you follow institutional and sponsor guidelines

for permissions prior to submitting abstract and producing poster?

Is data correct, valid? Is authorship correct? Anyone left out? All

contributors valid?

(Jones, et al, 2011)

Note the inclusion of visuals, graphs, logos, photos can also be added.ALSO- note in this example- the acknowledgement of funding sources!

You can do it!!

• ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: I wish to acknowledge Dr. Dale Benos, PhD, UAB Department of Physiology & Biophysics, University of Alabama at Birmingham for his recent presentation on “Poster Discussions: Interacting and Networking” presented on September 21, 2010 who passed away in early October 2010. Some of the content presented here came from his wonderful presentation and we wanted to share it with you!

ReferencesBenos, D. Poster Discussions: Interacting and Networking, presented on

September 21, 2010, UAB Research Talk, Birmingham, AL.Castro, K., Bevans, M., Miller-Davis, C., Cusack, G., Loscalzo, F., et. al. (2011,

March). Validating the clinical research nursing domain of practice. Oncology Nursing Forum, 38(2), E72-E80.

Hardicre, J., Devitt, P., Coad, J. (2007). Ten steps to successful poster presentation. British Journal of Nursing, 16(7), 398-401.

Hess, G.R., Tosney, K.W., Liegel, L.H. (2009) Creating effective poster presentations: AMEE Guide no. 40. Medical Teacher, 31, 356-358.

Jones, C.J., Wilson, L., Rice, M., Joiner, C., McCall, K., LaBorde, J., Jester, P., Carter, S. (2011) Distance Education for Foreign Study Coordinators: The PERC Study. Presented June 23, 2011, CoAPCR Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL.

AcknowledgmentsCarolynn Thomas Jones, MSPH, RN

– presentation development

For questions or comments, please contact:Carolynn Thomas Jones, MSPH, RN

Faculty InstructorUAB School of Nursing

Clinical Research Management Specialtycjthomas@uab.edu

Presentation Evaluation

The Education Committee would greatly appreciate your feedback on this presentation. Please complete the evaluation found at:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2WQRPL2

Print the following slide to for a certificate of program completion.

Awarded to

_______________________________

on__________________

For successfully completing the IACRN Presentation Titled:

“Developing and Presenting Posters”