30.4.

2007 Alina Leinonen

HOW TO MAKE A SCIENTIFIC POSTER: TIPS FOR BEGINNERS

The aim of the poster

The aim of the poster is to describe one’s research and main results shortly and concisely
as well as to stimulate scientific discussion. A poster is also an interactive way to
communicate, through it a researcher can receive feedback from his/her research and
generate new contacts.

Structure of a poster

A poster usually includes the following short sections:

Title, authors, author affiliation

A title is relevant; an apt and concise title stimulates people’s interest
Introduction/Background
A short introduction to the topic, a few references; a short description of the aim
of the study and main hypotheses
Methods
A precise and short description of used methods and stages of the research; avoid
too much details, use figures if possible
If the study is not finished, describe the methods you are planning to use
Results
Describe the results from your study shortly, preferably with figures
If the research is not finished, describe the results you expect to get
Discussion/Conclusion/Summary
Discussion of the results in relation to the introduction and the theories described
Discussion of the possible results etc.
References
All references used in the poster
Acknowledgement
Acknowledgement of the financier of the research
Correspondence to
Own e-mail address or web page

Planning the poster

Decide on one concept or question. Think what things are absolutely essential for
conveying your message. One of the biggest problems is too much concentration on the
methods. Minimize the size of the text, use figures and tables instead. Think how you
could describe the things in your poster in a few sentences. Make it easy to read. Make
it easy to understand. People only have a few minutes per poster. Poster should stand
alone.

Choose poster style

one large poster (A1)
individual pages (such as 8 x A4)

Poster layout

- Typically, use 3 to 5 columns

- Arrange material vertically from top left corner to bottom right corner
- This makes it easier for people to read, without having to move back and forth
- Determine logical sequence for material
- Organize material into sections
- Arrange material into columns (e.g. text might be in the first and third column, figures
can be situated in the second column) (see Figure 1). Size of the column might be about
40-60 characters.

Figure 1. Example of a poster layout

Some tips:

- Left align text

- Double space
- Pick one font and stick to it
- Avoid italics
- Use larger/colored font for emphasis

Recommended font size:

Title: 96 pt
Authors: 72 pt
Affiliations: 36-48 pt
Section headings: 36 pt
Text: 24 pt
Acknowledgements: 18 pt

Making a poster using Power Point

Making one large poster (A1):

1. Start PowerPoint: Make a New presentation – a blank one.

2. Choose the size of your poster: File>Page setup > Slides sized for > Custom.
Width: 84.1 cm, Height: 118.9 cm (for A1 sized posters). Choose Portrait.
3. Adding text: In order to add text, the text needs a "container" – a Text Box. Make
a text box by clicking on the Text Box tool or selecting Text Box under the Insert
menu.
4. Adding images: The two ways to add images are with Insert/Picture>From File

Making a poster using single A4 sheets (see Appendix 1)

For more information about making a poster, click the following links:

http://faculty.washington.edu/robinet/poster.html
www.cmer.wsu.edu/~yonge/ce465/poster.pdf
http://www.helsinki.fi/atk/av/posteriohjeet.html
http://www.ncsu.edu/project/posters/examples/
http://www.ncsu.edu/project/posters/NewSite/
Liite 1. Posterimalli (koko A1)

8*A4 (A1)
Tit le
(logo)

aut hor(s)
author affiliations

Introduction (Results cont.)

text...

Aim(s) of the study

text...

Methods Conclusions
subtitles, text, diagrams text...
etc...

Results References
figures with legends,
text...
tables, text etc...
Acknowledgements
text...
Correspondence to:
e-mail address etc.