Organize your project in a way that identifies the research questions and methodology you will use.

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2 Step 1- Content Organize your project in a way that identifies the research questions and methodology you will use. Collect and analyze data using accepted scientific and statistical methodology. Think about the ideas/data you want to emphasize. Try to condense these items into two or three main points; this will probably be the most difficult part of the task. Are there photos you can take or include that will illustrate the research ideas or methods? The old adage of a picture is worth a thousand words applies here. What do you want to talk about when you are standing in front of your poster? You may want to exclude some details from the poster so that you can talk about them when you give your presentation. If you are not standing in in front of your poster, does the written content follow a logical progression and clearly explain your research ideas and findings? What are the future steps, conclusions, or recommendations gleaned from your research?

3 Basic Content Outline Follows the same scheme as a manuscript for most journal publications I. Abstract II. Introduction III. Methods IV. Results V. Discussion VI. Conclusions and/or Recommendations VII. References

4 Step 2 Page setup Click on: Design > Page Setup (v. 2007) File>Page Setup (v. 2003) Maximum width = 54 inches (Landscape) Choose from one of two heights inches inches

5 Layout Margins should be 1.5 inches all around Use no more that two font types in the entire document Title Try to use at least 90pt font size 72 pt for authors 48 pt for headings 24 pt for text body

6 Title Authors University of Connecticut, Center for Public Health and Health Policy Abstract Results and Discussion Introduction/ Background S 1 S 2 S 3 Methods Subject Participants Chickens Turkeys Peacocks Conclusions Preparation reduced chickens and turkeys Prescription increased peacocks References (may be optional)

7 Layout If you can work on your poster directly in PowerPoint, it will save you a lot of time. You may want to work on your ideas in MS Word or another PowerPoint file; then, copy and paste into poster file. You will have to reformat the text when you import it from another file into your poster. You can zoom in and out using the tools in the View menu. Introduction Subtitles should be 48 to 60 pt Text should be a minimum of 24 pt.

8 Resolution of Pictures If you are including pictures, you need to scan them or prepare them for printing using Photoshop. They need to be at least 150 dpi (dots per inch) to print out well on the large format printer. Using pictures downloaded from the Web generally does NOT work. They print out blurred and pixelated.

9 Graphs Format all graphs using the same font that you choose for your poster. Excel graphs usually work best with PowerPoint With other graphing software, for example SPSS, the graph has to be inserted as a picture file Food Gas Motel Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun

10 Use of Color On, paper, we re used to reading black text on a white background. If you choose a different text color, make sure there is enough contrast so that it is clear and easy to read. RED is NOT a good text color on a DARK background. There is not enough CONTRAST here for easy reading. One can read this, but not from a DISTANCE. Yellow is NOT a good text color on a LIGHT background. Yellow is the best color to use for drawing attention to a subject. Complementary color schemes can work Contrast is more important Blue versus Orange Red versus Green Yellow versus Purple Blue versus Orange Red versus Green Yellow versus Purple

11 Use of Color Use color to emphasize important points or data Food Gas Motel Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun You can draw from the colors/shapes in a photo to create a color or design scheme for emphasis or contrast.

12 A few tricks Use the drawing tools - if they are not on the screen, go to View > Toolbars and click on Drawing (version 2003) Right click on the object you want to format. Use format picture to size your picture, or hold down the shift key when dragging to preserve the aspect ratio of your picture. Right click on the edge of a text box to change the format of the entire content of the box. Format the text box for color and use the internal margins within the text box do not put auto shapes behind the text unless you have to. The align tool is very handy. Hold down the shift or ctrl key to select multiple items, then align them.