International Symposium on the
Science and Conservation of Horseshoe Crabs – 2007
Poster Preparation Guidelines
The board on which you will mount your poster has dimensions of 4' x 5' (121.9 cm x 152 cm). The posters should be displayed vertically (i.e., 4’ wide and 5’ high). Posters will be attached to the poster boards with push pins, which will be provided.
Each poster will be assigned a poster presentation number that will be printed in the symposium program along with the title. The assigned numbers correspond to the poster board you will use for displaying your poster.
Posters are scheduled to be displayed on Tuesday and Wednesday (12-13 June) with times in the evening when the authors will present their posters.
Posters are an effective method for communicating scientific and technical ideas. Posters promote personal contact and individual exchange of ideas. Such individual contact is not possible during an oral presentation, but it comes naturally in a good poster session -its one on one! With this in mind the following information is provided to ensure that the ISSCHC's poster session is lively, informative, and enjoyable.
Please contact Dr. Martin Schreibman, Poster Session Chair, MartinS@brooklyn.cuny.edu if you have any questions.
Poster Preparation and Presentation Guidelines
(Guidelines are adapted from recommendations by Dr. Gwenn Volkert, Kent University)
A poster is a great way to get feedback from other symposium participants, especially those most interested in your work. Design your poster to take advantage of the interactivity and discussion that is typical of poster sessions. The most successful posters:
1. Attract attention
2. Provide a brief overview of the work
3. Initiate discussion
The rest of this guide is divided into two sections, the DO section and the DO NOT section.
Do Consider All of the Following Suggestions for Preparing Your Poster:
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The title of your paper and the author names should be printed in large characters at the top of the poster presentation. The remaining text in the poster presentation should be easily visible from a distance of about one meter.
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Avoid putting too much material and text on the poster.
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Make the organization obvious -- If you want viewers to follow a particular order when looking at your poster, consider using numbers or arrows to lead the viewer through your poster.
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Use graphs, charts and/or tables (color if possible) to show results. Graphics help make your poster interesting.
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Be simple and concise with your written material. Cover the key points of your work and save elaborate points for discussion/interaction with viewers.
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For your conclusions, focus on a central finding that lends itself to informal discussion.
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Consider using variety of formats -- A poster can be formed from several separate sheets of paper, but that paper can be in a variety of formats. Sheets of different sized paper can be posted individually or joined together into separate sections.
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Tell a good research story --
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You could for example divide your poster into sections such as: Introduction, Objectives, Methods, Results, Discussion and Conclusions.
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In other words make your poster as self-explanatory as possible. You might consider organizing your poster around the following questions:
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What problem do you address? (Objectives)
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Why is this problem important? (Background)
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How did you address the problem? (Methods)
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What did you discover as a result of your work? (Results)
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What are the conclusions or greater implications of your work? (Discussion and Conclusion)
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Make your poster visible and easy to read by ensuring that the text and graphics on your poster are readable from a distance. Some conference participants may be browsing titles from across the room and larger groups of viewers will often congregate around a popular poster.
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List the title and authors prominently -- Give the title of your poster in large letters, e.g., 1" (2.54 cm) high or 72 point. Below the title, list the authors' names and affiliations in slightly smaller letters.
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Use small text sparingly -- State the main conclusions of your work in six lines or less, in letters about 5/8" high (48 point). The smallest text on your poster should still be large, around 3/8" high (24 point). It is not necessary to write in complete sentences; sentence fragments may be easier to comprehend. Bulleted lists are often effective.
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Use graphics and color -- Use graphics and color for highlighting and explanation. Use graphs, diagrams, and photographs (horseshoe crabs are very photogenic, as you know) wherever possible. A heading, placed just above or below the figure, should provide a brief textual description of the figure and its implications.
Do Not Even Consider Doing the Following:
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DO NOT mount the text of your paper as the poster
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DO NOT use less than a 16pt font for any text you mount. Most viewers will be at least a couple of feet away from your poster and will not be able to read print in a smaller font.
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DO NOT miss your scheduled poster time! The poster session allows you to interact with other researchers interested in your work. Be prepared to walk your viewers through your work (hopefully many times).