# Helping Give Away Psychological Science/Standard Operating Procedures/Making a Poster

HGAPS is finding new ways to make psychological science conferences more accessible!
Here are examples from APA 2022 and the JCCAP Future Directions Forum. Coming soon... ABCT! ~ More at HGAPS.org ~

# Making a Poster for a Psychological Conference

"A good poster is not just tacking a standard research paper on a poster board," says Kathryn Tosney, PhD, "An effective poster helps you engage colleagues in conversation and gets your main points across to as many people as possible".

## Structure
###### Heading

Same as on the abstract
* Title: let people know what your poster is about in one brief sentence.
** Focus on the findings of your research.
*** For a poster on HGAPS, your findings can be what did we find was the effectiveness of HGAPS.
** Sometimes this may be in the form of a question.
* Contributors and affiliation: use superscripts to designate an affiliation for each person (school, organization, hospital, etc.)
** E.g., Caroline Vincent$^{1,2}$ $^1$University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, $^2$Helping Give Away Psychological Science
** Logos: Include the university emblem and HGAPS logo or any other university affiliation

###### Body

Use short, declarative sentences, you can even present information in bullet points.
* Intro: A simple, effective message that draws people in with background information about the topic of your poster.
** This usually includes citing sources.
** Typically, there are a few sentences of background on the topic, a sentence or 2 on the gaps in the field, and a sentence of 2 of the aims you will be addressing in your research.
* Method: A few sentences about how the study was conducted & participants.
** This includes mentioning materials such as assessments used.
** Basic demographic information of the participants should be included.
** A line or 2 about the statistics ran should be included.
** It is okay to be brief here and not mention every detail of the methods; if someone is interested in knowing more, they will ask you.
* Results: Should be presented in clear, short statements that present the findings.
** Use visuals like colorful charts and graphs or tables when possible.
** In presenting the results you should include numerical values of findings.
** The results section is not where you explain what your findings mean- this will come in the discussion.
* Discussion: Discuss your findings, interpret results.
** Here you should explain what the findings in the results section mean and in context of your topic.
** It is important to have a line or 2 about the implications of your findings.
** You should have a line or 2 about limitations of your research.
* Conclusion: Conclude results of the study and discuss future directions.
** You should include thoughts for future directions in this research.

###### References

(if any were used)
* Using footnotes can be helpful and informative.
** You can also say references are available upon request if space does not permit. If you do this, you should have a handout available with a list of references.

### Add ons

* Include QR codes and bit.ly links.
** Use qrcode monkey to create QR codes.
*** The QR code can link to supplemental information that didn’t fit in your poster or to the OSF project with your poster.
* Create an OSF project or component for the poster and create a QR code that links to that OSF page.
* Using QR codes for your resources and supplemental information will help save space on your poster.

# Tips

Emphasize graphics. Charts, graphs and pictures will make your poster stand out. "There is power in turning your information into simple, clean graphical representations to communicate data relationships."
* Focus on the findings of your research.
* Use headings to separate sections.
* Keep text clear and concise.
* Use bullet points and limit how long your sentences are.
* Have clean charts and graphs.
** Simplify labels and have no lines or grids.
* Choose colors wisely.
** 2-3 colors that stand out but also go together.
** Do not pick colors so bright that they are difficult to read.
* Leave white space.
* Aim for symmetry.
* Design for your readers' eyes.
** Make text clear, easy to read, and easily digestible.
* Include your full contact information on a business card or small print out.
** You can also include your email address at the bottom of the poster.

# Examples

* HGAPs posters at FDF 2017.
** Note these posters were created before HGAPS began using QR codes.
* ABCT Special Interest Group (SIG) poster example.
* Psych 525 student poster examples.
** Note these posters show what a QR code on a poster should look like.
Resource
* Some poster-making help can be found here (from NCSU professor)