Advice on Designing Scientific Posters

A scientific poster is a large document that can communicate your research at a scientific meeting, and is composed of a short title, an introduction to your burning question, an overview of your trendy experimental approach, your amazing results, some insightful discussion of aforementioned results, a listing of previously published articles that are important to your research, and some brief acknowledgement of the tremendous assistance and financial support conned from others. If all text is kept to a minimum, a person could fully read your poster in under 10 minutes.

Purrington, Colin. Swarthmore College (2007). Design>Presentations>Posters>Scientific Communication

A Brief History of the Role of Technical Communication in Developing Environmental Literacy  

This paper introduces a two-part grouping of papers on “Ecological Literacy and Advocacy through Technical Communication.” Both technical communication and environmental rhetoric have historical roots in the professionalization of science and government in the late 1800s. The association of technical communication with “patrons” in industry has limited the roles of technical communicators to purveying ecological literacy within the relatively tight constraints of “risk communication.” But with the blurring of contemporary communication genres and the growth of ecological consciousness, technical communicators may follow science writers into roles more closely associated with environmental advocacy.

Killingsworth, M. Jimmie and Jacqueline S. Palmer. STC Proceedings (1998). Presentations>Scientific Communication>Environmental>Civic

Careful Scientific Writing: A Guide for the Nitpicker, the Novice, and the Nervous  

Writing scientific documentation has a unique set of caveats, pitfalls, and red flags that other types of writing do not have. The very nature of scientific writing demands the precise use of words and phrases, however, this precise usage is often discounted as being pedantic by many people. The reason for this precision is to communicate sometimes highly technical information to others who may, or may not, be as knowledgeable as the author, and who may, or may not, be a native speaker of the language in which the author is writing. To do this, accurate words and phrases must be used, especially in light of globalization and sciences that involve multiple disciplines.

Firestone, Elaine R. and Stanford B. Hooker. STC Proceedings (2001). Presentations>Scientific Communication>Editing

A Communications Renaissance: Developing Tomorrow’s Developers  

Mathematics and computer science can be difficult subjects for the communications teacher to penetrate. In 1997, the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Waterloo initiated the development of a pilot course in communications for Mathematics and Computer Science students. This paper explores the research and discoveries that built a successful course: a definition of “numeracy” that equates with academic “literacy” as knowledge creation; perceiving the students as “end users” and doing ongoing “usability tests” during the pilot course; and using case studies as social action to empower students and envision math and technology as dynamic, socially rich fields through communications.

McKenzie, Andrea. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>Education>Scientific Communication>Mathematics

Review: The Craft of Scientific Presentations: Critical Steps to Succeed and Critical Errors to Avoid  

As the word craft in the title of the book suggests, the ability to give good presentations is not a genetically linked trait but a craft that can be learned.

Armbruster, David L. Technical Communication Online (2004). Articles>Reviews>Presentations>Scientific Communication

Effective Presentations

An essential aspect of any research project is dissemination of the findings arising from the study. The most common ways to make others aware of your work is by publishing the results in a journal article, or by giving an oral or poster presentation (often at a regional or national meeting). While efforts are made to teach the elements of writing a journal article in many graduate school curricula, much less attention is paid to teaching those skills necessary to develop a good oral or poster presentation - even though these arguably are the most common and most rapid ways to disseminate new findings. In addition, the skills needed to prepare an oral presentation can be used in a variety of other settings - such as preparing a seminar in graduate school, organizing a dissertaton defense, conducting a job interview seminar, or even addressing potential philanthropic sources!

University of Kansas. Articles>Presentations>Rhetoric>Scientific Communication

Environmental Design Matters  

Each of us has some opportunity to make the environment part of our consideration when designing technical communication. The environment is not something “out there” beyond our concern or our ability to respond. Rather it is a part of our everyday life and can be a part of our everyday decision making process. This paper explores how environmental considerations can and should be a part of design matters in technical communication. The paper elaborates a set of environmental guidelines that can be used by professionals working in the field and made a part of technical communication teaching. Even small changes can make a difference. Environmental design matters!

Gordon, Myra. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>Scientific Communication>Environmental

Health and Safety Information for Specialized Vocational Audiences  

Using examples from commercial fishing and farming, this article shows how models of health beliefs and risk communication can inform the creation of health and safety materials and campaigns for specialized vocational audiences. These models state that risk communication efforts must balance strong statements of risk with equally strong statements of ways to reduce or avoid risk if they are to motivate change. Audience research can help communicators address attitudes that impair workers’ perceptions of risk, as well as workplace practices, norms, and conditions that the limit the methods that can be used to reduce risk.

Freeman, Krisandra S. STC Proceedings (2001). Presentations>Communication>Scientific Communication>Risk Communication

Insights on the Poster Preparation and Presentation Process    

Dissemination of research findings and effective clinical innovations is key to the growth and development of the nursing profession. Several avenues exist for the dissemination of information. One forum for communication that has gained increased recognition over the past decade is the poster presentation. Poster presentations are often a significant part of regional, national, and international nursing conferences. Although posters are frequently used to disseminate information to the nursing community, little is reported about actual poster presenters' experiences with preparation and presentation of their posters. The purpose of this article is to present insights derived from information shared by poster presenters regarding the poster preparation and presentation process. Such insights derived from the personal experiences of poster presenters may assist others to efficiently and effectively prepare and present scholarly posters that disseminate information to the nursing community.

Weaver Moore, Linda, Phyllis Augspurger, Margaret O'Brien King and Charlotte Proffitt. Applied Nursing Research (2001). Design>Presentations>Posters>Scientific Communication

Interactive Media to Communicate Environmental Research Findings  

An emerging body of research suggests that interactive multimedia presentation technologies offer unique advantages for technology transfer and training programs. A research and development team is evaluating this claim by developing and testing an interactive multimedia tutorial on a complex environmental research topic: in-situ capping of contaminated sediments. A World Wide Web site has been created using text and animations to illustrate basic processes about capping technology. The tutorial’s effectiveness will be tested through evaluations of subject-matter experts and end users. Supplemental technical information will be added before the site is promoted widely.

Hodges, Mark H. and William Evans. STC Proceedings (1996). Presentations>Scientific Communication>Environmental>Multimedia

Putting the Science into Technical and Scientific Communication Classes  

Although programs and courses frequently are titled “technical and scientific communication, ” often the scientific part is shifted to the science classes many students are required to take. All technical communication students, but especially those who are targeting a career in scientific communication, should be made aware of scientific principles and practices that apply to technical communication. Educators might add information about technical proposals, empirical research reports, regulations, basic abbreviations and definitions of statistics, research methods used in the sciences, and the scientific style described in style manuals to the materials they regularly teach.

Porter, Lynnette R. STC Proceedings (1995). Presentations>Education>Scientific Communication

Scientific Writing: An Editor’s Overview

How you write a paper depends on where you want to submit it.

Szuromi, Phil. AAAS. Presentations>Scientific Communication>Publishing

Slides to Teach Scientific Presentations

Given here are free PowerPoint slides from The Craft of Scientific Presentations (Springer, 2003). These slides have been requested by more than 200 instructors around the world.

Alley, Michael. Virginia Tech (2003). Academic>Course Materials>Presentations>Scientific Communication

A Study on Collaborative Invention of Discourse among Disciplinary Experts: The Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr. National Program for Countermeasures to Biological and Chemical Threats as an Activity System  

Few studies have addressed processes of collaborative invention of discourse among experts. Experts engaged in a collaborative process of invention will express ideas, thoughts, and attitudes that shape other contexts. These other contexts may include those that engage risk communication and policy formation. If this process contributes to discourse formation in other areas, then it becomes critical to study the interactions of these experts.

Gooch, John C. STC Proceedings (2001). Presentations>Scientific Communication>Workflow

Technical Writing

Plan; know your purpose, audience and scope; leave enough time to write and edit several drafts; don't bore the reader.

Kirk, Elizabeth J. and Mary Wiberg. AAAS. Presentations>Scientific Communication>Writing>Technical Writing

Using the Web to Bring Space Science and Technology Down to Earth  

At JPL, the World-Wide Web has become an invaluable educational outreach mechanism. In the area of space flight mission operations, for example, we have been able to make publicly accessible two workbooks found to be of much wider interest than their original internal training purposes would have suggested. These electronic documents, by using simple language and illustrations, andfocusing on pithy content and good writing style, have met with great success not only in disseminating important scienttjic and technological concepts to a society pittjuily behind the curve in these areas, but also in promoting understanding and enthusiasm for NASA ‘s unmanned space exploration programs.

Miller, Diane F. STC Proceedings (1997). Presentations>Scientific Communication>Engineering

Visualizing Science Writing  

Science writing is an aspect of Technical Communication which tends to be overlooked. Traditionally, science writing includes images that, while effective, tend to merely act as points of reference for scientists already in the field. Art in Science has the potential to spark reader interest, facilitate learning, develop public awareness of the sciences and to make science writing accessible to readers with little or no scientific background. As a profession, scientific and technical writing needs to consider the implications and possibilities for art and images in the sciences, as well as learning to effectively incorporate them into science writing.

Fuller, Carlye C. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>Scientific Communication

Writing a Scientific Paper

What is a scientific research paper? When should you decide to write a research paper? How do you prepare to write a paper?

Gallin, Elaine K. AAAS (1999). Presentations>Scientific Communication

Writing About Science For General Audiences  

As the pursuit of new scientific knowledge is exploding with discoveries in every scientific field, there also needs to be a similar explosion in scientific and technical communicators’ abilities to convey these new discoveries to the general public. Since the bulk of scientific information is contained in scholarly studies written in language for specialists, writing about science can be a daunting task for writers who are non-scientists. Using some techniques from journalism, the purpose of this presentation is to help writers learn how to decode important information from scientific studies and translate the information for general audiences.

Heba, Gary M. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>Scientific Communication

Scientific Poster Design  

A poster can be better than giving a talk. It’s just an illustrated abstract.

Graves, LiLynn. Cornell University (2009). Design>Presentations>Scientific Communication>Posters