Creating and Presenting Scientific Data
One of the biggest obstacles faced by scientists today is the communication of their results to a larger, non-science community. While scientists often have no problem discussing their results with other scientists, many struggle to present their work so that it can be understood by communities at large. One way that scientists attempt to achieve this communication is by giving presentations during which they detail all the important aspects of their work. Scientific posters and digital slide presentations are two forms of presentation that are commonly used to communicate – both with one another and with non-science communities.
The main purpose of a scientific poster or presentation is to provide a clear and concise visual representation of experimental results and if the presentation is constructed properly it can be extremely effective. When they put together presentations, scientists are always thinking about their audience. The way you build your presentation will change depending on what group of people you are trying to communicate to. Who will you be presenting your data to? How do you want your audience to engage during the presentation? Do you want then to engage in a discussion with you about the content or do you want them to learn enough from just looking at the content to move on without asking any questions? How much information should you provide in your presentation? Do you want lots of words or would it be better to use pictures and visual representations of your data?
The big idea is that the presentation contains all the crucial information about the experiment and that this information is appropriately organized and explained. You must consider both the content and the layout. Scientific presentations can be both informative and fun!
Go back through the experiments we’ve covered this semester. Find an experiment that you particularly enjoyed or made you curious about a topic. Recall the important components of the experiment and carefully consider how you solved the puzzle. Your job now is to prepare and present a slide presentation detailing your chosen experiment.
The puzzle:
- Your presentation should contain all of the following components:
Rules of the game:
3. Remember that the presentation you give is a visual representation of your experiment so:• Graphics rather than text should constitute the bulk of your poster.
- Use color to inform on your results, not detract from them.
- Use simple shapes, tables and graphs to illustrate your results.
- Layout and format are critical – make sure all text is legible.
- Content is important but keep it both simple and concise. Make sure you do not have
too many words in your presentation or on your poster. Use a minimal amount of text
containing short, easy to read sentences.
• Keep it simple! Don’t load your presentation with acronyms, excessive text, or
complicated figures.
• Your presentation should have your own personality, so style it accordingly!
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