教学材料《科学海报》-Lecture 13 How to create scientific posters

contents1.Definition

2.Components3.Format

4.Colors5.Software6.Presenting

1.Definition

Ascientificposterisavisualpresentationofresearchworkbyanindividualorresearchteamsinaninteractive(face-to-face)andsocialsettingatacongressorconferencewithanacademicorprofessionalfocus.

Postersectionsconcentrateonlyonthemainpointsandpresentthesesectionsbrieflyandvisually(Hofmann2014).Otherwise,aposterwillsufferifitincludestoomuchinformation.Everycomponent,therefore,shouldindicatekeypointsratherthantediousinformation.Thefollowingsectionswillbeintroducedseparately.

2.Components

PostershaveaverydifferentorientationthanwrittenpapersbutstillfollowthestandardscientificformatinresearchpapersexcepttheDiscussion.Postersthereforecontain:TitleIntroductionMaterialsandMethodsResultsConclusionAcknowledgmentsAbstractandReferences(Optional)2.Components

1.1Title

Atitleisundoubtedlyoneofthemostimportantpartofposters.Thepurposeofatitleistoattractbusyviewersduringposterssession,sothattheywillwanttoaccessandreadyourposter.Themorerevealingyourtitleis,themoreeasilyyourpotentialviewerscanjudgehowrelevantyourposteristotheirinterests.

Advices:A.Usekeywordspreferentially

1.1Title

Advices:Usekeywordspreferentially

Atitleshouldbeveryeffective,brief,informative,andwithkeywordsplacednearthefront.Thusitisimportanttodecidewhichwords(keywords)willcapturetheattentionofviewerslikelytobeinterestedinyourposterandtoplacethemnearthefrontofyourtitle(CargillandO’Connor2013).Intheseconditions,titlesshouldavoidbeginningwithvagueterms

suchas“theresearch…,”“Theeffects…”andsoforth.Forexample,

1a.“EffectsofsubstanceAonproteinB”;1b.“SubstanceAinhibitsproteinB”

1.1Title

Advices:B.KeepconciseAtitleshouldconveythetopic,theapproach,andtheorganismbutkeepconciseatthesametime.Reduceanyredundantinformationdowntoatmosttwolines,whichmeansdonotmakeyourtitlespillontothethirdline.AnotherpointisthattheTitleisusuallycombinedwithalogoofyourworkinginstitution.Seetheexample:1.2introductionTheruleyouneedtofollowisnottooverwhelmyourreaderswithbackgroundinformation.Provideonlytheminimumbackgroundinformationneededtocapturetheirattention.Describeexactlywhatyourinterestingquestionisandwhyitreallyneedstobeaddressed.Inaddition,provideabriefdescriptionandjustificationofthegeneralexperimentalapproach.Itisbettertokeepitwithin150words

andifyouwanttocreateamoreattractiveIntroduction,youcouldalsomakeacombinationofpicturesorfigureswithwords.

1.2introduction1.3Materialandmethods

Inthissection,youshouldsummarizeyourexperimentalapproachverybriefly.Useillustrationssuchasflowcharts,photograph,drawingorschematicstopresentyourexperimentalproceduresratherthanwords.Researcheshaveshowedthatverbositywoulddrivereadersawayinapostersession.TwooppositeexamplesofMaterialandMethodssection.

1.3Materialandmethods

Examples:1.4resultsResultssectioninapostersharesthesameobjectiveandfunctionswiththesectioninatraditionalpaper.Itfunctionsinhighlightingtheimportantfindings,locatingthefigure(s)ortable(s)wheretheresultscanbefoundandgivingcommentsontheresults.

Forbasicscientificposters,thissectionisthelargestportionoftheposter.Forthesakeofconciseness,however,itshouldbrieflydescribequalitativeandquantitativeresultsusingbulletsorlimitedtext.Mostofyourfindingsshouldbepresentedintheformtablesandfigures.Usefigureswithfigurelegends,graphsandtablestoenhancethepresentationofyourresults,whichcanstandonyourownandinterpretyourfindings,notjustatextualdescription.Readersarefarmorelikelytostopataposteriftherearecolorful,highqualityimages.

1.4resultsExample:1.5Conclusion

Youneedconcentrateonyourmainfindingsandtheirinterpretationratherthanalistofallyourresearchfindings.Donotforgettorelateyourfindingstootherpublishedresearchinthefield.Thismovementwouldgiveyourresearchmoreimpactonyourreadersandshowyourprofessionalismatthesametime.Tellyourreaderswhyyourresearchisinterestingorsignificant.Usethesamekeytermsyouusedconsistentlythroughouttheposter.1.5Conclusion

Itisbettertomaketheuseofbullets,numberedlists,arrows,italics,orcoloredtexttoemphasizemajorpoint.Keepitbriefandwithin200words.KeepinyourmindthattheConclusionsectionisusuallythefirstpartconferenceaudiencewillstartreadingbesidestheTitle,whichmeansyoureallyneedtohookthemtoreadmoreaboutyourposter.1.5Conclusion

Example:1.6Referencesandacknowledgments

Ifyouciteinformationwithinpostertext,referencesshouldbeincluded.However,keepreferencestoaminimum(nomorethanfive)andkeepthembrief.

Intheinterestofacknowledgments,ifapplicable,thankindividualsforspecificcontributions(equipmentdonation,statisticaladvice,laboratoryassistance,commentsonearlierversionsoftheposter);mentionwhohasprovidedfunding;besincerebutdonotreleasetoomuchinformationanddonotlistpeople’stitles.

3.formatTheformatofaposterissovitalthatcandeterminatewhethertheposteriseffective.Inthispart，wewillprovideinformationabouthowtotackleformatdetailsofaposter.Itincludes:LayoutHeadingsTextColors3.1layoutUnlikeatraditionalresearcharticle,apostercanadoptvariouslayouts.ThemostimportanttextsectionssuchasIntroductionorConclusionsareusuallyplacedinthetopleftandbottomright.Themostimportantvisualsshouldbeplacedinthemiddleofaposter.Theleastimportantsectionsandvisualsareoftenplacedontheverybottom.Oneofthefirstthingsyouneedtofigureoutisthathowmuchspaceyouareallowedtouse.Generally,presentersareallottedaspaceas1m×1.3moraslargeas1.3m×2m.Youcan,usually,makeyourposterinthesetwosizes:A1(841mm×594mm)andA0(85cm×120cm).Thesizeofaposteryouusedependsontherequirementoftheconferenceyouattend.

3.1layoutThelayoutofsizeA0.

3.1layoutThelayoutofsizeA1.

3.1layoutHerearesevenpiecesofadvicefromotherexperts:Useavisualgrammartoguidereaderstotheimportantpartsofyourposter.Formaximumvisuallayoutandimpact,aimforabout20%text,40%graphicsand40%emptyspace(Hofmann2014).Usedifferentsizesandarrangementsforthevariouspostersections.Useheadingsintelligentlytohelpreadersfindyourmainpointsandkeyinformation.Balancetheplacementoftextandgraphicstocreatevisualappeal.Useacolumnformattomakeyourpostereasiertoreadinacrowd.Use"readinggravity"(阅读重力)whichpullstheeyefromtoptobottomandlefttoright(Wheildon1995).Usewhitespacecreativelytohelpdefinetheflowofinformation(sourcefrom).3.2headingsHeadingsasanorganizationalconstructionorientsreadersandconveykeypointsandhelpviewersfindwhattheyarelookingfor.TheHeadingshereincludesTiles,sub-titles,sectiontitles,andFigurelegends.

3.2headingsTherearesomerulesyouneedtofollowwhenyouaredealingwiththeHeadings.A.Useheadingsasopportunitiestosummarizeyourworkinlargelettersandmakeitasaflowthroughoutthepostersothatcanguideyourreader.Ahurriedreadershouldbeabletogetthemainpointsfromtheheadingsalone.Letyourheadingsbehierarchical,whichmeansthatthemoreimportantthepoint,thelargerthetype.Makethestrongstatementsbold,andfontsizesofeachheadingshouldbelargeenoughtobereadfrom1.5metersaway.

3.3textThemainobjectiveinpreparingtextforaposterpresentationistoedititdowntoveryconciselanguage.Knowthatpeopleareattractedtopostersthathavegoodgraphics,acleartitle,andfewwords.Itisnodoubtthataneffectiveposteriscorrespondingwithtextformat(fontsandsizes).Suggestionsareshownbelow.

3.3textSuggestionsareshownbelow.

Minimizetext-useimagesandgraphsinstead.Fontsizesshouldbelargeenoughtobereadfrom1meteraway.Useasans-seriffont(无衬线字体，匀称字体)(e.g.Arial)formosttext,whichiseasiertoreadthanseriffonts(衬线字体，非均匀字体)(e.g.TimesNewRoman).Usephrasesratherthanfullsentences.Useanactivevoice(主动态).Left-justifytext;avoidcenteringandright-justifyingtext.Usefontsizesproportionaltoimportance(Hofmann2014).Usesentencecase(仅第一个字母大写)fortheTitle;lowercaselettering(小写字母)fortextwithinitialcapitalswhereneeded.Payattentiontotextsizeinfigures—Itmustalsobelarge.Useitalics(斜体)orbold(粗体)toaddemphasis.4.colorsThecolorsdesignisimportantinthepresentationofyourdata.Therefore,youneedtobeverycautiouswhenusingcolors.Useacoloredbackgroundtounifyyourposterandyoumayalsouseasecondbackgroundcolortoframeindividualsectionsoftheposter,orusecoloredtextboxesonawhiteorlightcoloredbackgroundtoaddvisualinterest.Usemutedcolorforthebackground,whichareeasierontheeyeandofferthebestcontrastfortext,graphicandphotographicelements.Itisbettertousecolorsinaconsistentpattern;otherwise,yourposterwillbedistractiveratherthanattractive.Ifyouwanttomakeyourpostercolorful,thensticktoathemeoftwoorthreecolorssincemuchmorewilloverloadandconfusereaders.

5.Software

ItwouldbemoreprofessionaltogenerateaposterelectronicallybyusingavarietyofsoftwarepackagessuchasMicrosoftPowerPoint,AdobePhotoshop,Keynote,andPages.Wewil