GUIDELINES FOR THE PREPARATION OF POSTERS
(Adapted from the AERA Annual Meeting poster instructions)
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
Plan to set up your display either the night before the conference between 5 and 8 p.m. or the day of the conference between 7 -9:45 a.m. Judging will take place beginning at 11:30 a.m.. You will be assigned a number ahead of time that will indicate where you should place your poster. Your job will be to find that number (which will be posted on a table) and set up your poster. Judging will take place from 12:15- 2 p.m., during which presenters should not be present to allow judges freedom to do their work. From 11:30-12:15 we will have an informal feedback session at the poster area to coincide with the lunch break.
Your material may be mounted on tri-fold poster board or cardboard. If it seems appropriate, it can be helpful to mount conceptually related portions of your display on backgrounds of the same color, as this will help viewers scan the display efficiently.
The poster should be as self explanatory as possible. The poster format provides a mechanism for in depth discussion of your research-dev, but this is possible only if the display includes enough information.
Keep in mind that all your text and illustrations will be viewed from a distance, so make your lettering sufficiently large that it can be seen. Figures and tables should be kept as simple as possible, so that viewers can readily take away the main message. A brief large type heading of no more than one or two lines should be provided above each illustration, with more detailed information added in smaller type beneath the illustration.
Deadlines
- Conference Registration – April 28
Arrangement of Materials
While some fasteners will be available, we cannot guarantee that there will be enough for all participants. It is up to the participants to make sure that they bring their own supplies with them.
Prepare a sign containing the paper title and the authors’ names and affiliations. This information should appear at the top of the poster.
A copy of your Abstract of Introduction (100 words or less) should be placed in the upper left portion of the poster, with a conclusion in the lower right hand corner. Although there is considerable room for flexibility, it is often useful to have panels indicating the Aims of the Research, the theoretical background, and the Methods and Subjects involved. Another panel might highlight the important Results, with a few panels being used to present the main points in tables or Figures.
When working on the arrangement of your display on the poster, be aware that it is preferable to align materials in columns rather than rows. Audience members who are scanning posters have a much easier task if they can proceed from the left to right rather than having to skip around in the display.