Research Poster Session

Research Poster Session
For this assignment you need to:
design a unique, realistic, but ‘fictional’ methodological research study. In other words, you will become a research psychologist who wants to design a study to answer some burning research question/hypothesis;
create and analyze some fictional data to test your research hypothesis;
present your findings from your fictional study in a poster that could be used at a psychological conference; and
Guidelines for preparing the research poster
The research poster should be, when applicable, in APA format, and be between eight to twelve slides in length. This page limit does not include the title and reference page.
The following steps, which you should have become familiar with during the term, will help you complete and do well on this assignment.
Step 1. Use the library and other sources to search the literature (e.g., PsycINFO) for ‘primary’ research on a topic of interest to you.
Step 2. Find and read the “primary” references or primary research material in the psychology journals on your topic.
Step 3. Organize, summarize, and draw conclusions regarding the information in the primary references.
Step 4. Think critically about the information in the primary references. Were there any problems with the research? What needs/should to be done next?
Step 5. From the critical thinking in step 4, develop a specific and ‘unique and testable’ hypothesis based on your primary references. See your notes and textbook for more information on hypotheses.
Step 6. Design a methodologically sound study to answer your unique and testable hypothesis. Remember, the focus of this research poster is on methodology. Thus, one strategy may be to prepare the methodological part of the poster first. This will ensure that you have the correct focus. Once the method section is complete, prepare a 3-4 page/slide ‘Introduction’ to your topic that logically leads the reader to your detailed methodology. The final sentence/bullet point of your last slide in your introduction should include your unique and testable hypothesis. The ‘Methodological’ section (3-4 slides) is next, followed by a 2-3 slide ‘Results’ section where you include at least two charts and/or figures showcasing your fictional results (yes, you will use SPSS to create the variables in your study, enter some fictional data for those variables, and analyze the data with SPSS. Once you report the main fictional results, you will need a one slide discussion/conclusion slide and the reference section slide. Finally, you will create an Abstract slide (see notes on APA abstract in your textbook) that immediately follows the Title Page Slide. Usually, the Abstract is created last since it summarizes your entire study.
Step 7. Reread your background research and proposed methodology again and again. It should end up being a very ‘logical’ poster that is easy to follow.

Research pointers
Pick a topic you are interested in – read some articles and take notes.
To get full marks on Primary Reference Coverage (see example marking rubric) your poster should have at least three primary references, and two of these references should not be more than 15 years old. All the references you refer to in your poster must be cited in the reference section of your poster in APA format.
Be sure to follow APA guidelines for the title page and reference section. Review Appendix A in your textbook.
When preparing your Introduction slides, try to tell a research story in bullet points that logically leads to your testable hypotheses. Try to integrate the ideas from each reference and present them in a logical fashion.
Since this is a course on methodology, the introduction section should include brief descriptions of the researcher’s methodology, experimental techniques, and experimental results. Do not just report the conclusions of each reference.
Be sure to make notes as you first read each primary reference. This will help you to organize the information being presented in each article. Only begin preparing the poster when you believe you have a good grasp of the research arena you are exploring.
Write clear bullet points. Have a parent or friend or classmate read it. If they understand it—great, if not, it might be time for a few revisions. Another strategy is to read your poster aloud to yourself—try it, you will see what I mean.
I have included a sample marking key below that we have used in the past to grade posters. I am not saying this will be the exact key we will be using—things change—but it is a template from which you can structure your poster.
Having trouble getting started with a topic? This is often the toughest part. If you have an Introduction to Psychology text – flip through it to see if anything jumps out at you. Use a search engine with the key words psychology and hot topics or current trends.
Guidelines for preparing the poster session
There are lots of great examples of academic posters (and APA academic posters) online and I will post a few too, in about a week or so. I want you to first look online and maybe get a sense of what you would like to create. There are no hard and fast APA rules for posters with the title page and reference section maybe being the exception. We want you to be semi-creative with the poster – but remember, this is meant to be something that, if not for its fictional nature, could be presented at a professional conference. So it needs to look professional.
The poster should include the following:
Title of the poster, your name, and your research affiliation
Abstract (1 slide, bulleted, see textbook for what needs to be included in an APA abstract).
Introduction (3-4 slides, bulleted, and include methods/conclusions of your primary references. Maybe a slide for each primary reference?)
Method (3-4 slides of your design, detailed and bulleted; flowcharts are nice)
Results (2-3 slides, detailed and bulleted; graphs, charts, and tables with captions are nice and required)
Discussion/Conclusions (1 slide, brief and bulleted)
References
Presentation style guidelines:
Use font large enough so that people will be able to read it from approximately two metres away (12-point font will NOT do, usually 20 is nice).
Use bullets. Only provide the necessary details!
Limit the amount of text to just what you need to get your point across.
Use tables and figures to present the results of each group from your fictitious data.
Don’t forget to include captions that describe your figures/tables.
Most students use either Word or PowerPoint to create their posters.

Sample Marking Key: Research Poster (25 marks)

APA Usage (2 marks)
Are the following in APA: title page / abstract (content) / reference page?

Grammar and Readability of Bullet Points (1 mark).

Content
Primary Reference Coverage (3 marks)
Are there sufficient primary references? Are they current and/or appropriate?

Conceptual Organization of Primary References (Introduction) (7 marks)
Is each Introduction slide organized (i.e., does it have an intro, method, results, & conclusion sentence bullet)?
Are the Introduction slides organized logically? Do they tell a research story that leads to testable hypothesis? Are the transitions between the slides smooth? Are the conclusions accurate? Does the last slide have a testable hypothesis?

Proposed Methodology (7 marks)
Is method section organized properly according to APA (i.e., headings and subheadings)?
Are the sampling methodology and participants sufficiently described?
s the design type named and described? Does it effectively test the hypothesis?
Are there statements related to ethical standards?
Are the measurement tools described and operationally defined?
Is the procedure clear and clean (i.e., no confounds)?

Results and Discussion Section (5 marks)
Results: Is the main result reported? Are there tables/charts/graphs with captions?
Discussion: Are the results summarized? Are results compared/contrasted with other research findings?
Is the designed critiqued (pros and cons of current design)? Speculate on future research?

Some Common Questions

Where can I find the 3primary articles for my paper?
It is recommended that you use a scholarly search engine. You can also use tools such as Google Scholar and Web of Knowledge. Avoid using basic search engines like Google or Yahoo, as many of the articles you’ll find there are not empirically validated or peer-reviewed.
TIP: Make sure you locate the title of the journal you are viewing online, and not the name of the host website. The journals usually have titles such as “Canadian Journal of School Psychology”, or even short ones such as “Pediatrics”. Do NOT put the name of the host website as the name of the journal (e.g. Elsevier, EBSCOhost).

Can I base my paper on a study that has been done before?
Yes and No! A lot of psychological research is replication of previous research. However, we want you to design your own unique study methodology. So if you want to base your methodology on that of another researcher, please cite the source, and explain in detail how you are modifying their original design.

What statistical methods should I use for this poster and how many fictional participants?
Try to include between 24-30 fictional participants in your study. Since this class is for the most part not a statistics class, we do not recommend using any complicated statistical model that you’re not familiar with. The most straightforward way to conduct your research would be to do a correlational study, a simple linear regression, or a study that has 2 or 3 groups where you compare the means of the groups (i.e., t-test). We are more interested in the graphs/tables you provide rather than statistical accuracy.
TIP: Keep your research question and method as simple as possible! The more variables you add in, the more difficult this poster and the analysis will be. Remember that this is an introductory class and we do not expect you to do a masters-level research project, even if what you are creating is fictional.

Should I have any graphs, tables or charts in my Poster?
Yes! It is required to have tables or charts. This is a poster – so making your results as visual as possible is important.

Can I pull my tables or graphs directly from SPSS?
Please do not directly cut and paste tables and/or graphs from SPSS. This can cause formatting issues and the tables from SPSS do not look professional. Instead, please transfer the information from the table/graph you obtained in SPSS and create a new table/graph in your word or excel or powerpoint.

How do I make an academic poster?
PowerPoint is commonly used to make academic posters, but you can use whichever software you choose, as long as you are able to upload it as a PDF.

How should my poster look?
Your poster can be one page divided into multiple sections or a series of slides. Take a look at the following links for some ideas and templates for structuring your poster. https://www.posterpresentations.com/free-poster-templates.html or https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa6_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/images/APAPoster09.jpg

It is recommended that you have some sort of visual aide in your poster like a graph. Posters that are all words are not enjoyable to read!

Can I write in point form on my poster?
Point form is not only fine, it’s recommended! Large paragraphs can be difficult to read on a poster, so stick with point/bullet form or short sentences.