Conference Formatting Requirements
Most national professional organizations hold a yearly conference and invite submissions for workshops, session presentations, and poster sessions (Becker, 2014). As a PhD scholar, consider membership in the premier national organization(s) in your profession or research area of interest for numerous reasons. By attending the annual national conference, you have the opportunity to present your research, hear colleagues present their research, network and collaborate in person, and satisfy professional development and scholarly output requirements for employment at your academic institution. While you are a doctoral student, many national conferences offer student rates for attendance, and some conferences allow students to attend free if you volunteer to be a conference helper—it is never too early to get involved and network!
Conference workshops or session presentations consist of you presenting typically a 20 to 30-minute presentation on your research using Microsoft PowerPoint or participating in a round table discussion with other researchers. Submission requirements for a workshop presentation are similar to that of a journal submission in that the requirements usually include an abstract, several subtitles with presentation information, and a total word count allowed. Applications must be submitted anywhere from 3 to 9 months ahead of the conference. This allows the conference committee to select and schedule the workshop presenters and include the presentation abstracts in the conference materials. When you are accepted to present your workshop, you then create a presentation using Microsoft PowerPoint from the workshop application requirements that you submitted to the conference (Weiss, 2015).
Applying to present at a conference, either for a workshop or poster session, requires thorough planning. Identify the conference at least nine months in advance, note the submission deadlines, decide if you will apply to present a workshop or poster session, compose your application, and submit it by the deadline date. Usually, at least 60 days before the conference, you will receive a notification if your application has been accepted. If accepted, prepare your slides for your workshop presentation or your poster for the poster session. Do not be disheartened if you are not accepted the first time you apply. The process is competitive. Keep applying!
Conference poster sessions are typically held in a large meeting room with many poster boards set on easels around the room. Researchers stand by their poster board at a designated time and answer questions from conference attendees as they peruse the posters. The poster boards are either 8.5 x 11 sheets of paper arranged on a large whiteboard, or one single printed sheet adhered to the board that contains all the poster slides, explaining a researcher’s study and findings in a logical sequence. Some conferences have moved to digital poster sessions where the “poster” is a digital presentation; however, most conferences still have traditional poster sessions.Some conferences will specify requirements for each section of the poster, while other conferences will have general requirements for an overall poster size.
An academic poster is usually a combination of brief text with tables, graphs, and/or pictures. General guidelines are: 1) use a catchy title to draw interest, 2) all font should be easily readable from 10 feet away; avoid white font and keep font sizes for slide headers and bullet points consistent throughout, 3) use bullets and numbering, use color in graphics but adhere to APA table formatting, and 4) include references (Gundogan, Koshy, Kurar, & Whitehurst, 2016). Graphics are used in slide presentations to keep the reader’s interest in the topic, while tables and figures convey important information for the visual learner.
When selecting graphics, tables, or figures, you must always have permission to use the material or use permission-free materials. Carefully review the student copyright facts in the SUU Library. To use free images, conduct an Internet search with the phrase “free images” or access websites like Unsplash, Pixabay, Flickr, and Creative Commons. Microsoft PowerPoint also has smart art features to create basic charts and other graphics in which you can add your specific text.
Note: It is sometimes easier for young academics to have their research accepted as a poster session, though you are still encouraged to apply to present as a workshop presenter. Typically, conferences only let you submit to present at one or the other. Sometimes, if a conference representative does not think a proposal warrants a full presentation, the representative may issue an invitation to present the material as a poster. Once you earn your PhD, in addition to submitting your research to an academic journal for publication, select a national conference and apply to present. And remember, you may not need to wait until after you graduate to start publishing and presenting!
References
Becker, L. (2014). Presenting your research: Conferences, symposiums poster presentations and beyond. SAGE.
Gundogan, B., Koshy, K., Kurar, L., & Whitehurst, K. (2016, November).
How to make an academic poster. Annals of Medicine and Surgery, 11, 69–71.
Weiss M. (2012). Presentation skills: Educate, inspire and engage your audience. Business Expert Press.
Resources
How to make an academic poster
Gundogan, B., Koshy, K., Kurar, L., & Whitehurst, K. (2016, November). How to make an academic poster. Annals of Medicine and Surgery, 11, 69–71.
Six Insights to Make Better Academic Conference Posters
Sousa, B. J., & Clark A. M. (2019). Six insights to make better academic conference posters.International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 18, 1-4. doi:10.1177/1609406919862370
Visual Design Tips to Develop an Inviting Poster for Poster Presentations
Tomita, K. (2017). Visual design tips to develop an inviting poster for poster presentations. TechTrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning, 61(4), 313-315.
Assignment
Assemble a Presentation for a Conference
In this assignment, you will use the same topic you identified earlier in this course to practice creating a conference presentation using the template in this week’s resources. As in Week 5, you are practicing the preparation of a conference presentation; you will not have conducted research on which to prepare the typical slides included in a conference presentation.
Based on the work you’ve completed thus far, create a narrated presentation using the template available in this week’s resources. In the presentation, be sure to:
– State the title of a potential presentation based on your narrowed topic
– Describe how you narrowed the topic using the Week 5 template
– Explain why this narrowed topic interests you
– Describe the context for the narrowed topic (e.g., type of educational organization)
– Summarize what you have learned about the topic (cite resources)
– Describe 2-3 things you want to know about the narrowed topic
– Justify why this topic is worth exploring
– Identify two relevant conferences
– Justify why those two conferences are appropriate for a presentation about your narrowed topic
Add a graphic, table, or figure on each slide except for the References slide. You need to cite the source of all graphics or photos; check out sites like Unsplash, Creative Commons, Pixabay, and Pexels for photos you can share without violating copyright restrictions.
Length: Each slide should have 150-250 words in the speakers notes, complete with proper APA in-text citations.
References: Include a minimum of 5 scholarly resources that are seminal resources or published within the last 5 years.
The completed assignment should address all of the assignment requirements, exhibit evidence of concept knowledge, and demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the content presented in the course. The writing should integrate scholarly resources, reflect academic expectations and current APA standards, and adhere to SUU’s Academic Integrity Policy.
Hayden Coombs 