The Composition of a Scientific Poster
The scientific community has a concept of ‘poster’ that may differ from the concept normally associated with student work. In the professional scientific world, a poster has the following important components:
TITLE (5 Points)
Introduction (5 Points)
What problem are we examining? Problem Statement should take no more than 25 words.
Who is working on this project? Names, photos, class titles, ages of participants are all valid here. Using school colors or logos is also valid. They are acceptable; however, remember that this is a research deliverable, not a banner for a pep rally!
Objectives (15 Points)
This should be simple, brief, statements that explain the objectives or goals of the project. They may even be segments of sentences and numbered into a list. No more than 3.
Materials and Methods (10 Points)
This category provides the opportunity for you to list the materials used, e.g. (personal computers, software, Global Positioning System, Digital Camera, Data Collection Sheet, Web Site, etc.).
You should also include the methods that you employed for your project, e.g. (water samples, field trips, lab analysis work, trip to conferences or to research lab, discussions with scientists, etc.) This is not a step-by-step procedure listing, merely list the main resources and procedures that you believe helped you develop the project the most.
Results and Discussion (20 Points)
Data sets may be graphed, depicted in charts or maps. You may choose to display photos of the videoconferences or presentations. You may wish to utilize original drawings or artwork. Since scientific research is very creative, this section may also be very creative.
This category provides you with an opportunity to display your research data and/or the dialog that the data created. Be sure and tell who discussed the data. Was it just you, your team, or others that were involved in the discussion?
If you or your teammates are building a web page, this is an appropriate section to list that URL. It is inappropriate to use your own URL as a reference for a research project.
Conclusions (25 Points)
This section can be either a brief narrative or perhaps a graphic display of what your research has indicated. Choose wisely. This section is the meat of the research project and therefore, the meat of the poster.
References (15 Points)
What books, magazines, articles, thesis papers did you use in the project? What presentation did you attend that provided information for your project?
Reference material should be listed in the following manner:
Last name of Author, first name or initials of Author. And first name or initials of co-author, last name of co-author. Year of publication. Title of article or chapter. Title of Project. (Traditionally, no parentheses, underlining, or other punctuation are used here. Capitalization is used for the book or manual only, not for the chapters. Italics are used only if the title is in a foreign language.)
If your reference is a web site, the same material is still true. Only citing the web site (URL) will not be sufficient because anyone can put material onto the web. The author for the research material is critical because that establishes the value of the information being disseminated. Therefore, if sufficient information is not available on a web site you have found, it can not be used as a reference. The scientists or researchers must list who they are, what research or academic organization they are associated with, and must have dated the material. Why do you think the date is important? Put my email address here.
Some examples:
Hicks, R.A. and W.A. Dugas. 1996. Relationship of ashe juniper leaf area to tree and stem characteristics. Seco Creek Water Quality Demonstration Project-1996 Annual Project Report.
Boldt, Paul E., Charles R. Tischler, Bruce A. Young, and Ralph A. Hicks. 1995. Persistence, biomass yield and spread of ten grasses on a disturbed site in Central Texas. Proceedings Native Plant Society of Texas Symposium. The Tall Grass Prairies. pp: 113-124.
Gibbens, Robert P., Ralph A. Hicks and William A. Dugas. 1996. Structure and function of C3 and C4 Chihuahuan Desert plant communities. Standing crop and leaf area index. J. Arid Environments, 34: 47-62.
(Many more examples and information articles may be located within the USDA Grasslands Agricultural Research Service and TAES Blackland Research libraries.)
Date (5 Points)
The date of your poster should be in the bottom right-hand corner of your poster in the following format:
22 November 1999. Use smaller cpi for the date.
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Last Edited: 02/28/00