The details of your specific project should dictate what type of content to include on your poster, though all posters should include a title, author information, background, research question, and a conclusion. To determine what additional items to include, think about what is most important for your audience to learn.
- Title: Something interesting and catchy that will grab people's attention. Avoid lengthy titles, and the use of technical terms or discipline-specific jargon when possible. Most people will determine whether to come learn more about your research based on its title, so try to come up with something that will pique their curiosity. The title should be legible from a distance, so use a large font (around 72 point).
- Authors: Include the names of all authors, your institutional affiliation, and your contact information. Do not use titles like "Dr." or "Professor."
- Background/Introduction: Provide some background or introductory information that provides context for your project. This will help those unfamiliar with your field better appreciate the significance of your research.
- Research Question: Include your research question or hypothesis. What question were you trying to answer? What claim were you trying to test?
- Findings/Conclusion: What was the answer to your research question? Did your research support your hypothesis?
- Methods: How did you go about answering your research question? How did you test your hypothesis? Although we typically associate research methods with the sciences and social sciences, all researchers employ methods of some kind. If you're having trouble figuring out what your method was, ask yourself, "How did I carry out my research?" Perhaps you analyzed 19th century literature, or visited an archive to examine primary source documents.
- Observations: These could be observations from a laboratory setting, or field observations. Whatever might be applicable to your research.
- Data: In many disciplines, it's important to show your data. Consider using visualizations to make it easy for people to take in your results.
- Images: If you've taken photos during your research, you may want to include a couple on your poster.
- Recommendations for future research: How will you continue developing your project? How might others build on your work?
- Acknowledgements: It's particularly important to acknowledge any funding you've received, as well as support from advisors and colleagues.
