Virtual Quest allows us to "gather" to share work and ideas but does bring the challenge of how to present your poster virtually. This guide will discuss content, formatting and presenting.
GENERAL FORMAT AND DESIGN
In your Quest virtual poster presentation, you will be assigned to a Zoom breakout room. The room assignment will be found on the Quest schedule that will be posted to the Attendify App. Attendees can enter and exit your breakout room at any time. Please be prepared to review the content of your poster with any attendees in the room. If someone comes in while you are in the middle of your poster, no need to start from the beginning. Keep going and they can ask questions when you are done. Your attendees may ask questions verbally or using the Chat function in Zoom. Keep you eyes on that chat box!
While posters are not uniform most generally include the following:
- Title telling the name of the project, the people involved in the work, and their affiliation. The title should be large font, descriptive, and concise.
- Abstract stating what you set out to do, how you have done it, the key results, and the main findings and conclusions.
- Introduction that includes clear statements about the problem you are trying to solve, the new ideas or items you are trying to discover or create, or the proofs that you are trying to establish. Note the background work that has led up to the current status of your research of creative work in this area. These should then lead to the declaration of your specific project aims and objectives.
- Theory or Methods section that explains the basis of the techniques that you are using or the procedures that you have adopted in your study. You should also state and justify any assumptions so that your results can be viewed in the proper context.
- Results section that discusses the main findings of your investigation and their value.
- Conclusions section that discusses the main findings of your investigation and their value.
- Further Plans section that contains recommendations and thoughts about ow the work could be continued. What kind of things could be done next? What are some possible long-term goals or outcomes?
- Acknowledgements section that allows you to thank organizations that might have provided financial support of the individuals who donated time to help with the project.
- Keep the material simple and concise with plenty of clear white space for ease of reading.
- Use colors sparingly to emphasize, differentiate, and add interest. (In general, it is better to keep the background light.)
- Pictures, graphs, and charts can be helpful in communicating a message quickly. Equations should be kept to a minimum, be large enough to read, and accompanied by definitions to explain the significance of each variable. Label any diagrams and drawings. Clipart may be used for interest as long as it’s not distracting.
- Font size should be such that a reader can stand at a distance of 5 feet and read the text.
- Use underlined text, bold face, italics, or combinations to emphasize words and phrases.
- Proofread carefully. Spelling counts. (Typographical errors do not reflect well on credibility or the presenter.)
- A poster is “the story” of your research. Hint: Make draft versions of your poster sections and check them for mistakes, legibility, consistency in style, and various layout arrangements. Ask your mentor, professor, or peers to review to make sure it’s your best work.
Poster Format
When you present your poster over Zoom in your live session, you can use whatever software, program or format you find most comfortable. Simply bring up your poster on your computer and share your screen in Zoom so attendees can see your work.
If you have additional materials you'd like attendees to see such as citations, videos or other media, please upload to your profile in the Attendify App. You can direct attendees to view your profile in order to view these files.
The Oswego Digital Library
All Quest materials will be uploaded as PDFs or .MOVs to the Oswego Digital Library for archiving. Please save a copy of your work as a PDF for this purpose or a .MOV if your poster includes narration or other audio features. Quest presenters will receive an email with a form to grant permission to host your materials in the Digital Library. Embargo information can be entered into that form to protect your work. For more information, please contact us at [email protected].