Each student will create a poster that reviews a topic relevant to the course material. The topic should address a current research question or psychological disorder, and its relevance to abnormal psychology should be evident. Poster topics must be the same topic as your research paper.
The purpose of the exercise is to gain familiarity with the selected topic area by conducting a reasonable search of the literature, reading a number of academic papers, and synthesizing the information in a meaningful way.
Formatting and Constructing a Scientific Poster
The format will be that of an APA-style conference presentation poster (many examples of this type of poster can be found online). Typically, these posters outline an experiment or set of experiments, but the same format can be used to review a given topic.
When researching for your posters, a minimum of 5 references to scholarly sources must be included. The referencing format will be APA style. The in-text citations and reference section of the poster should follow APA guidelines.
Suggestions for Researching
Use the WGTC library to access Galileo to locate academic journals. Note: WebMD, Mayo Clinic, and Psychology Today websites are NOT peer-reviewed scholarly sources.
Electronic Submission of Your Presentation
A 6 Step Guide to Creating Poster Presentations
1. Know Your Stuff
Clearly identify your research question/topic
Why is this relevant/important to explore?
Information – What is out there? Who said what?
Integration - How does it relate to abnormal psychology?
Conclusion
2. What are Your Main Points?
Organization – Easy to follow flow of information
Content Flow – Relationship among points
Keep it simple – Synthesize the information
Presentation – Show vs. Tell
3. Planning
Start Early – Once you have done all your research it will take at least one week to put it together
How will you present the information?
Two RULES:
Artistry does not substitute for content.
The fancier the poster, the greater the time investment. Simplicity is elegant.
4. Layout
Visual presentation of 3-5 figures, tables, and/or images; text provides support
Generally 20% text, 40% graphics and 40% empty space
Sketch it
The title will appear across the top.
Segment areas for information
Easy to follow flow of poster (e.g. columns or rows)
5. Text
Use active voice: “It can be demonstrated” becomes “The data demonstrate”
Use bullets to summarize main points, be concise
Use APA style for references (in-text citations and a References list)
Title should be readable from about 6 feet away
Size of font
Titles 54-80, subtitles 40-54 , Text min 20-point
Title should be readable from a long distance and include your name
Colors- contrast, off white text on dark background or black text on white background.
6. Illustrations
Brevity is the companion of clarity
Use 3-5 self-explanatory graphics
Tables or figures or images
o Provide a number and title for each figure or table following APA style o Graphic materials should be visible easily from a minimum distance of 6 feet. o Restrained use of 2 - 3 colors for emphasis is valuable; overuse is not.
