Poster presentation characteristics: a controlled experiment.
Poster Number
30
Format
Poster Presentation
Abstract/Artist Statement
Professional conferences often consist of poster sessions, which allow for researchers to share their findings relatively soon after completing the research. In order for this method of sharing information to be successful, people must remember pertinent facts from the posters. In a previous study designed to determine what factors contributed to a poster being remembered, we conducted a field research project that evaluated posters at the 1999 WP A conference and asked people attending those sessions which posters they remembered. That study found that several factors, including font size and use of bullets, were associated with many people naming the poster as memorable. As a follow up to that study, we conducted a controlled lab experiment to determine how some of the previous findings held up in a lab setting. We focused on two factors: format (bullets versus paragraphs) and font (small versus large). We hypothesized that the poster that contained large font and bullet format would receive the highest ratings. Participants were asked to read four different posters about memory research, and were then given a questionnaire and asked to rate each poster on how much they could remember about it. Using a 2 x 2 ANOVA, we found no significant main effects but found.a significant interaction between format and font such that the poster containing bullet format and small font received the highest ratings. These results, along with those found in previous studies, will impact the presentation of posters at professional conference by increasing poster effectiveness.
Location
DeRosa University Center
Start Date
1-5-2001 9:00 AM
End Date
1-5-2001 5:00 PM
Poster presentation characteristics: a controlled experiment.
DeRosa University Center
Professional conferences often consist of poster sessions, which allow for researchers to share their findings relatively soon after completing the research. In order for this method of sharing information to be successful, people must remember pertinent facts from the posters. In a previous study designed to determine what factors contributed to a poster being remembered, we conducted a field research project that evaluated posters at the 1999 WP A conference and asked people attending those sessions which posters they remembered. That study found that several factors, including font size and use of bullets, were associated with many people naming the poster as memorable. As a follow up to that study, we conducted a controlled lab experiment to determine how some of the previous findings held up in a lab setting. We focused on two factors: format (bullets versus paragraphs) and font (small versus large). We hypothesized that the poster that contained large font and bullet format would receive the highest ratings. Participants were asked to read four different posters about memory research, and were then given a questionnaire and asked to rate each poster on how much they could remember about it. Using a 2 x 2 ANOVA, we found no significant main effects but found.a significant interaction between format and font such that the poster containing bullet format and small font received the highest ratings. These results, along with those found in previous studies, will impact the presentation of posters at professional conference by increasing poster effectiveness.