Poster presentations will be held throughout the week and will be scheduled based on the research category. Please consult the Research Week Schedule.
Poster presentations must follow the guidelines below.
Poster Categories
Poster presentations will be entered into one of the following categories. Click on the category for a description of the type of research that it addresses and to see the judging rubric.
Remote Poster Guidelines
Remote posters must:
- be on one PowerPoint slide. (No extra slides or supplements are allowed.)
- follow one of the templates provided below, which includes the university logo and red or blue color scheme. (Undergraduate posters must use the red background and graduate posters must use the blue background as shown in the templates. The font sizes and layout formatting may be modified.)
- use a legible and professional font such as Times New Roman, Helvetica, or Calibri.
- have the title across the top in large letters. (A 60-point font is recommended, but a 36-point font is the minimum.)
- use a 24-point font or larger for the main text.
- include the following sections, using the appropriate terms for the discipline:
- Abstract or Background
- Introduction and/or Research Question
- Methods
- Results and/or Conclusion
- Future Work
- References and/or Acknowledgments
- include citations for any images or creative displays of information (Written permission from the owner must be secured for any copyrighted materials included on the poster.)
- reflect the approved final products. (Once the final product has been approved, minor changes to charts, graphs, and text are allowed, but changes to the template format or adding new pictures/images are not allowed. If any changes are made, a copy of the new version must be provided to the moderator.)
Remote Participant Guidelines
Students must:
- review the Research Week Schedule in advance to ensure availability to participate at that time. (Rescheduling of presentation times is not allowed due to the availability of judges.)
- install Microsoft Teams onto a computer.
- use the link sent upon final product approval to schedule a technology test. (This test is required. You will not be given a presentation time until you schedule the test.)
- carefully review and follow the Microsoft Teams instructions sent to remote presenters.
- have a professional backdrop such as an office, church classroom, library, etc.
- dress professionally.
- be prepared 10 minutes prior to the assigned presentation time for someone on campus to start the meeting in Microsoft Teams. (JFL reserves the right to cancel a presenter’s poster session if the participant is not present in the Teams Meeting at the start of the session.)
- be prepared to give a 2-3 minute summary to judges and attendees and to answer questions.
- Other presenters will also be in the meeting.
- The moderator will let each participant know when it is their turn to present.
- Participants will be able to share their screen; project their digital poster; and interact with judges, guests, and other presenters who are in the same Microsoft Teams meeting.
- remain in the meeting for the duration of the assigned presentation time. (The moderator will let presenters know when the session has concluded.)
Best Practices
The ideal poster is designed to attract attention, provide a brief overview of the work, and initiate discussion. Best practices for poster design include:
- covering the key points while avoiding excessive details. (Additional details can be provided during the poster presentation discussion and/or with a handout.)
- using pictures, diagrams, cartoons, figures, etc. rather than text wherever possible.
- using bullets instead of paragraphs wherever possible.
- having an understandable flow that the audience can comprehend.
For best presentation quality, it is suggested that participants use a USB headset and ensure that their internet has an upload speed of 5 Mbps or faster.
Helpful Resources
Students are strongly encouraged to view the following brief videos: