Creating Effective Conference Abstracts and Posters in Biomedicine: 500 Tips for Success

158 Pages·2016·7.62 MB·English

by  Dunbar

Creating Effective
Conference Abstracts and Posters
in Biomedicine
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Creating Effective
Conference Abstracts and Posters
in Biomedicine
500 TIPS FOR SUCCESS
JANE FRASER PhD
Independent Scientifi c Communications Consultant
Jane Fraser Associates Ltd
Altrincham, Cheshire, UK
LOUISE FULLER MA, PhD
Independent Scientifi c Writer and Writing Skills Trainer
Witney, Oxon, UK
and
GEORGINA HUTBER MA, PhD
Independent Scientifi c Writer and Writing Skills Trainer
Southampton, Hants, UK
Foreword by
CATHERINE DUNBAR
Manager of the Interactive Education Unit
The Institute of Cancer Research
Sutton, Surrey
CRC Press
Taylor & Francis Group
6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300
Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742
© 2009 by Jane Fraser, Louise Fuller and Georgina Hutber
CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business
No claim to original U.S. Government works
Version Date: 20160525
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-138-03093-0 (eBook - PDF)
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Contents
Foreword vii
Preface ix
About the authors xi
Acknowledgements xiii
1 Why you need good conference abstracts and posters 1
2 Your abstract: fi rst steps 6
3 Your abstract: planning, structure and title 11
4 Writing your abstract 16
5 Submitting your abstract 24
6 Your poster: fi rst steps 30
7 Typography, headings and bullet points 38
8 Poster design and layout 45
9 Colour and backgrounds for your poster 51
10 Writing your poster: general guidelines 55
11 Writing your poster: banner components 59
12 Writing your poster: the main text 64
13 Writing your poster: bits and pieces 71
14 Tips for tables 75
15 Tips for graphs 83
16 Tips for bar charts, pie charts, fl ow charts and
line drawings 91
17 Tips for photos 97
18 Editing and proofreading your poster 102
19 Printing your poster 109
20 Transporting, displaying and presenting your poster 113
21 E-posters: the future? 121
Appendix 1: Example of a structured abstract 127
Appendix 2: Abstract checklist 128
Appendix 3: Examples of style for poster headings, main text and
fi gure and table captions 129
Appendix 4: Sample landscape PowerPoint poster template 131
Appendix 5: Sample portrait PowerPoint poster template 133
Appendix 6: Example of a creatively designed landscape poster 135
Appendix 7: Example of a simple but effective portrait poster 137
Appendix 8: Poster checklist 139
Index 143
Foreword
As a researcher and academic, you need to be able to disseminate and communicate
your research work and fi ndings. While many will view writing for peer-reviewed
journals as the pinnacle of the academic communication hierarchy, being able to
write and present conference abstracts and posters is also extremely important.
Taking your work to conferences allows you to meet experts from all around the
world, to exchange ideas in person and to network with potential employers and
collaborators.
While many of you will have been through the process of submitting a conference
abstract and preparing and presenting a poster several or even many times before,
there are always ways to improve the process and reduce the level of stress involved!
This book is a mine of useful, practical tips covering the entire process – from reading
the abstract submission guidelines, through to writing and laying out your poster
and creating e-posters. If you are a novice, this is the ideal book to guide you through
every step. And even if you consider yourself an expert, there is bound to be some
useful information you can glean from the 500 or so tips.
There will be tips you have never considered before that may make the process
easier for next time and/or improve the quality of your work. For example, do you
know what the protocol is for submitting the same abstract to several conferences ?
Or when you should and should not use a ‘funny’ title for your poster? Or how many
bullet points you should use in a list on a poster? Or how to ensure your poster is
printed as you want it to be? Read on to fi nd the answers to all of these questions
and many, many more.
At the Institute of Cancer Research – a specialist research organisation and higher
education institution – we pride ourselves on leading the way in training our research
students, postdoctoral fellows, scientists and clinicians. Part of this work is ensuring
our students and staff have the necessary transferable skills throughout their
academic careers and beyond. We are especially keen to promote excellent verbal
and written presentation skills (Dr Louise Fuller of Jane Fraser Associates, one of the
authors of this book, has run successful courses on writing and publishing skills for
the Institute), as it is vital that our scientists can communicate their work with peers,
students, funders and the public. Indeed, this is the case for all biomedical researchers
and academics. The authors of this book ensure that the practical advice needed to
vii
FOREWORD
develop these skills is conveyed clearly. Through reading this book, in sequence or
by dipping into relevant chapters, you will have all the necessary help with preparing
abstracts and posters right at your fi ngertips.
Catherine Dunbar
Manager of the Interactive Education Unit
The Institute of Cancer Research
Sutton, Surrey
October 2008
viii
Preface
For most biomedical researchers and academics, preparing conference abstracts and
posters is an important part of professional life. The fact that you’re reading this
book suggests that you are already aware of the importance of good conference
abstracts and posters in science. You know that your conference abstract can make
the difference between acceptance for an oral presentation, a poster presentation – or
no presentation at all. You also know that your poster can infl uence how you – and
your research – are perceived by your peers, superiors and potential employers or
grant-awarding bodies. This is particularly true at the outset of your career, when
you are striving for recognition of your research in an increasingly crowded and
competitive arena. So it pays to make sure your conference abstracts and posters
are as good as possible.
Abstracts and posters have come a long way since any of the authors were research
students – at least in terms of technology. We now have online abstract submission
and electronic abstract books, and we have computer programs to help us prepare
professional-looking posters with the minimum of effort. Increasingly, posters are
presented electronically, as e-posters. We even have digital technology that makes
it possible to include video and sound as part of our poster presentations. Much as
we may enjoy these tools, we should bear in mind that scientists are sceptical, and
a fl ashy poster cannot conceal dubious data. On the other hand, a well-thought-out
abstract or professional-looking poster will help to give your work the best chance
of reaching its target audience.
We believe that, with good preparation and practice, all scientists can produce
abstracts that act as effective ambassadors for their research. We also believe that
a well-designed poster can enhance your professional reputation in addition to
communicating your data. This book aims to help you achieve these objectives.
We recognise that scientists have varying needs, so this book is designed for you
to use when you are actually preparing a conference abstract or poster. It is intended
to answer the most frequent questions and to help you avoid the most common
problems and pitfalls. You do not have to read it straight through from beginning
to end – just dip into any chapter and you will fi nd a range of tips relevant to the
abstract or poster you are preparing right now.
We hope that everyone who reads this book will fi nd useful hints that they can use
ix