Professor Inger Torhild Gram Epinor

1. WHAT SHOULD A POSTER CONTAIN ?
EPINOR
Tromsø March 17th 2014
Professor Inger Torhild Gram , M.D., PhD.
Department of Community Medicine
Faculty of Health Sciences

2. OUTLINE
In general (there can always be exceptions….)
• Content of a Poster
• Recommendations and what to avoid
• A few examples
• Examples of posters
• Questions and answers

3. PREPARING A POSTER
Recommended
• Plan ahead - Time schedule
• Follow guidelines - Size of poster
• Vertical flow
• Think about – Audience, Colors, Fonts
Avoid
• Too much text,
• Too small font size,
• Not utilizing the available space

4. THE OUTLINE OF A POSTER
TEXT
• Title - Headings
• Objective
• Material/Methods
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusion
RESULTS
• Tables
• Figures
• Pictures
• Drawings
IF SPACE
• References
• Abstract

5. TAKE HOME MESSAGE FROM
YOUR POSTER
• What is your take home message ?
• What is the story you want to tell ?
• Have this in the back of your head when
you work on the poster

6. THE TITLE OF A POSTER
Recommended
• Catchy - Sell your study
• 10 - 15 words
• Label the content of your study
• One subject
• Describe your study
Avoid
• Too short /long

7. TITLE – 2 EXAMPLES
“Smoking before first childbirth may explain
some of the increase in breast cancer diagnosed
before 50 years of age. The Norwegian Women
and Cancer study 1991-2010 ”
“Smoking before first childbirth and the
association with breast cancer risk is
independent from alcohol use and does not
seem to differ across ethnic groups: The
Multiethnic Cohort Study”

8. THE INTRODUCTION
Make it interesting
• Background – short and to the point
• Summarize problem to be addressed
• State hypothesis
• Purpose of study including material and
methods
Avoid
• Telling everything you know about the issue

9. INTRODUCTION – EXAMPLE 1
“The main purpose was to
utilize the Norwegian Women and Cancer study,
a nationally representative prospective cohort,
to estimate the effect of cigarette smoking before
first birth on breast cancer risk and estimate the
corresponding population attributable fraction ”

10. INTRODUCTION – EXAMPLE 2
“The main purpose was to
prospectively examine whether active smoking
increases the risk of breast cancer overall
and among non-drinkers of alcohol,
according to onset of smoking in relation to first
childbirth, and according to race/ethnicity in the
MEC, a mature cohort that enrolled older women
of five ethnic groups who are predominately
non-drinkers of alcohol”

11. THE MATERIAL/METHODS
Bullet points in chronological order
• Study population
• How you conducted the study
• Approval for the study by relevant ethics committee(s)
• Informed consent
• Methods used
• Variables used
• Statistical methods
Avoid
• Write about results

12. THE RESULTS
Recommended
• Present main results
• Same chronological order as in methods
• Tell a story
• Only key findings in text
Avoid
Interpreting the meaning of the results

13. THE TABLES AND FIGURES
Recommended
Tables and Figures understandable on their own
• Tables: Numerous / Complicated data
• Figures: Reveal trends/ patterns
Tell a story
Avoid
• Too many decimals

14. THE DISCUSSION
Recommended
• Summarize your major findings
• Strengths / Limitations
• (Biologic plausibility-if space)
• Short section
• You want to discuss with your audience
Avoid
• Too comprehensive section
• Audience will read instead of discuss with you

15. THE CONCLUSION
Recommended
• Summarize the findings
• Generalize their importance
• Be short and to the point
• State if the results support the hypothesis or not
Avoid
• Statements not supported by the results
• Findings not related to purpose of the study

16. FINALIZING A POSTER
Recommended
• Check guidelines again
• Keep to your outline
• Think about – Grammar, spelling
• Revise for clarity and brevity
• Use short sentences (15-20 words)

17. ABSTRACT
Recommended
• Must cover all the important points
• State hypothesis and method used in first
sentence
• Condense and highlight the major results
Avoid
– To have methods, results and conclusions
that differ from the poster text

18. TAKE HOME MESSAGE
Recommended
• Preferable with a manuscript ready for
submission as a basis for your poster
• Let your poster tell a story
• Use visuals/ Text/ Bullet points
• Make it simple – Edit – Edit – Edit
• Practice your presentation
Avoid
• Long paragraphs of compact text

20. WHAT SHOULD A POSTER CONTAIN ?
QUESTIONS ?