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Poster Primer Step Two: Get Organized

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Make an outline of all the information that you want to include. The basic elements:

TITLE:  The title concisely summarizes the idea of your research. Use the same title that you used for your abstract. Keep it to about 10 or fewer words.

NAME OF INSTITUTION, SCHOOL, AND AFFILIATIONS: Include your name and the names of the people who contributed to your project (such as your research advisor.)  It is appropriate – and usually expected – to acknowledge the institution where the research took place as well as the affiliation(s) of all who contributed to the project.

ABSTRACT: A paragraph-long summary of your research project. This is very similar, if not identical, to the summary that you submitted for admission to the forum.

INTRODUCTION: A short paragraph that summarizes why you did this work, and why the work is important. The introduction includes background information on the project, what others have found, etc.

METHODS: Describe how you did your work. Let your audience know if you interviewed historians, if you used specific assays to analyze microbial samples, if you traveled to another country to observe a threatened species, if you conducted a survey, etc.

RESULTS: What did you find? Many students use graphs and images in addition to text to help interpret their findings. Accompany each graph or image with a one- to two-sentence summary that describes the information. If your research is still a work in progress, make sure to present findings to date.

CONCLUSION: A concise summary of your interpretation of the results, plus suggested directions for the future of this work.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Here is where you give credit to additional people and/or organizations that assisted you, such as funding agencies, an administrative associate who edited your copy, etc. Keep in mind that the people included in the acknowledgements did not actually conduct the research.

 

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