- 1. Kyushu University Office for Strategic Research Planning
Seminar Series Session 1 Presenting Your Research 11 January 2014
Jeffrey Robens, PhD Senior Editor
2. Seminar seriesSession 1 Session 2 Session 3 Academic
publishingJournal selectionEffective writingPoster
presentationsManuscript structurePeer review and revisionOral
presentationsCover lettersNext steps 3. Section 1Academic
publishing 4. Customer Service Academic publishingWhy publish?
Exchange ideas globallyCommunicate on a global stage One
publication per year Your research is not complete until it is
published 5. Customer Service Academic publishingWriting a
manuscript 4 common mythsMy manuscript is a written record of my
findings My findings speak for themselves, even if the manuscript
is written poorly SComplex words makes my writing more
impressiveGood English means only grammar and spelling 6. Customer
Service Academic publishingWriting a manuscript 4 common mythsYour
manuscript is to communicate your findings My manuscript is a
written record of my You need a well-written themselves,to
effectively My findings speak for manuscript even if the manuscript
is written poorly communicate your findings SComplex words makes
your writing Complex words makes my writing more impressive more
difficult to understand Good English means clear English Good
English means only grammar and spelling with high readability 7.
Customer Service Academic publishingPeople want to hear from
Japanese researchersInternational language of academicsWhy English?
International reputationFundingCareer advancement 8. Customer
Service Academic publishingWhat do journal editors want? High
quality research Increase impactOriginal and novel research
Real-world applicationsClear and concise EnglishInteresting to
journals readership 9. Customer Service Academic
publishingQualities of a wellwritten articleRelevant topicAddresses
an important problem researchers are facingSignificant
resultsFindings that advance the knowledge in the fieldLogical
presentationInformation and results clearly presented in a logical
mannerHigh readabilityIdeas are easily understood 10. Customer
Service Academic publishingJournalsIdentifying research trends Most
viewed/cited Special issues Editorials Review articles SMeetings
Section topics Oral presentations Testing ground for appeal 11.
Customer Service Academic publishingJournals Most viewed/citedS 12.
Customer Service Academic publishingJournals Special issuesS 13.
Customer Service Academic publishingJournals EditorialsS 14.
Customer Service Academic publishingJournals Review articlesS 15.
Customer Service Academic publishingConferences Section topicsS 16.
Customer Service Academic publishingConferences Attendees
reactionsResponse to others oral and poster presentations Which
topics are of current interest S Response to your oral and poster
presentationsHow interesting is your topic?Many people present at
conferences before writing their manuscripts 17. Section 2Poster
presentations 18. Coverage and Poster Staffing Plan
presentationsBenefits of poster presentationsGives you the
opportunity to interact with other researchers in your field Allows
you to share pre-published results with your peers Allows you to
discuss one-on-one with other researchers about your study More
interactive than oral presentations Improve discussing your
research in English Help build international collaborations 19.
Coverage and Poster Staffing Plan presentationsPoster layoutPoster
size and layout can change depending on the conference Can be
either landscape or portrait (usually A0) Organize sections based
on a grid layout Organize in columns, not rows (easier to read in a
crowd) Put important information at eye level 20. Coverage and
Poster Staffing Plan presentationsLogoPoster layout Short
Descriptive Title of Your Research Authors and Affiliations
ResultsResultsFig. 1IntroductionDiscussionFig. 4 ModelAimsFig.
2Fig. 5 ReferencesMethodsFig. 3Fig. 6Acknowledgements 21. Coverage
and Poster Staffing Plan presentationsWhats wrong with this poster?
Title and AuthorsAsymmetrical Not practical for reading Not
aesthetic (pleasing to the eye,) 22. Coverage and Poster Staffing
Plan presentationsPoster layout SymmetryTitle and AuthorsTitle and
AuthorsHorizontal symmetryHorizontal & vertical symmetryTitle
and AuthorsTitle and AuthorsDiagonal symmetryAsymmetry 23. Coverage
and Poster Staffing Plan presentationsPoster formatting Font Read
from 1.5 m Use sans serif font (Arial, Calibri) Title: 85 pt
Authors: 50 pt Headings: 3644 pt Text: 2434 ptColors 23 colors
maximum Light background with dark letters 24. Coverage and Poster
Staffing Plan presentationsPreparing your posterImportant points to
includeNot necessaryBrief introduction General methodology Results
Brief DiscussionAbstract Detailed methods Many references 25.
Coverage and Poster Staffing Plan presentationsBrief
introductionWhy your work should be doneCurrent state of the field
Identify knowledge gaps State your objectivesKeep it short23
paragraphs 200300 wordsIllustrationsUse schematics or models to
help explain your hypothesis 26. Coverage and Poster Staffing Plan
presentationsGeneral methodologyBriefly describe techniques in
logical order Dont include specific details (e.g. what
concentration buffer was used) Use flow charts and illustrations
for clarity 27. Coverage and Poster Staffing Plan
presentationsResultsMost of your posterLarge and clearly labeled
figuresFigure legendsShould explain technical details as well as
factually explain resultsImage quality300 vs 72 ppi CMYK vs RGB 28.
Coverage and Poster Staffing Plan presentationsImage qualityppi
(dpi): pixels per inch (dots per inch) For printing, use 300 ppi
Most images are 72 ppi, so you need to change it to 300 ppi (e.g.,
Photoshop)http://www.nature.com/nature/authors/gta/3c_Final_artwork.pdf
29. Coverage and Poster Staffing Plan presentationsImage qualityRGB
Primary colors of light Used in monitorsCMYK Colors used for
printing RGB CMYK can be unclearCheck image quality (Photoshop,
Ctrl+Y for CMYK preview)
http://www.nature.com/nature/authors/gta/3c_Final_artwork.pdf 30.
Coverage and Poster Staffing Plan presentationsFigures Clear figure
legend Kindlin-2 knockdown and focal adhesion localization.
Confocal immunofluorescent microscopy with anti-1 integrin and
anti-paxillin on C2C12 cells transfected with RNAi and then changed
to differentiation media for 2 days. Control cells show linear
staining consistent with localization to costameres (arrows), as
well as punctate focal contact staining (arrowheads). Focal contact
proteins in the kindlin-2 RNAi cells fail to form linear structures
and instead are concentrated in unusual appearing puncta (*).
(Scale bar = 20 M).Title of the experiment Brief methodology Key
findings Clear indicators Dowling et al. (2008) BMC Cell Biol 9:36.
31. Coverage and Poster Staffing Plan presentationsTable
formattingClear and concise table captionData aligned and
formattedAbbreviations definedMuoz et al. New Engl J Med.
2003;348:518527. 32. Coverage and Poster Staffing Plan
presentationsIs this a good table?Alignment and formatting problems
Alignment of textAlignment of parenthesesData similarityAlignment
of decimals LinesTumor size 3) before (mm treatment Mean (SD)Tumor
size (mm3) after treatment Mean (SD)% decrease423.2 (6.23)232.8
(3.18)44.994 monthsGroup 2286.43 (4.8)157.32 (2.29)45.0814
weeksGroup 3342.7 (6.88)218.4 (5.2)36.273.5 months404 (3)302
(4.21)25.24790 daysGroup 1Group 4Treatment time 33. Coverage and
Poster Staffing Plan presentationsMaking a good tableTumor size 3)
before (mm treatment Mean (SD)Tumor size (mm3) after treatment Mean
(SD)% decrease423.2 (6.23)232.8 (3.18)44.994 monthsGroup 2286.43
(4.8)157.32 (2.29)45.0814 weeksGroup 3342.7 (6.88)218.4
(5.2)36.273.5 months404 (3)302 (4.21)25.24790 daysTumor size (mm3)
before treatment Mean (SD)Tumor size (mm3) after treatment Mean
(SD)% decreaseTreatment time (weeks)Group 1423.20 (6.23)232.80
(3.18)44.9916Group 2286.43 (4.80)157.32 (2.29)45.0814Group 3342.70
(6.88)218.40 (5.20)36.2714Group 4404.00 (3.00)302.00
(4.21)25.2512Group 1Group 4Treatment time 34. Coverage and Poster
Staffing Plan presentationsGraphs353530302525ng/ml20 1520 Drug A
1510105Drug B500 01h2h3h4h5h6h01h2h3hUse high contrasting colors
Clearly label axes Clear legends4h5h6h 35. Coverage and Poster
Staffing Plan presentationsGraphs30 25 20 15 10 5 0 01hDrug B
2h3h4hDrug A 5h6hNEVER use 3-D graphs for 2-D data 36. Coverage and
Poster Staffing Plan presentationsConclusionsSummarize important
points Use bullet points for emphasis Illustrate your model with a
schematic Do not place too low on the poster 37. Coverage and
Poster Staffing Plan presentationsAdditional tipsExport your poster
as a PDF to ensure there are no formatting issues at the printer
(make sure A0 size) Print out A4-sized copies of your poster for
distribution Put your contact information on your poster Prepare a
30-second speech to get peoples attention Be able to present your
poster in 35 min Encourage discussion Ask them questions about
their research Pause between figures to give them time to ask
questions 38. Poster exercise 1Your colleague has prepared three
different posters, but he is unsure which one is the best for
presenting at a conference he is attending next month. Please
review each of the three posters and give advice on how he can
improve its readability. 39. Poster exercise 1 Poster 1 Figure
legends are too long Figures are too smallIntroduction is too
longConclusions should be bullet points, no modelMethods should be
more graphicNo contact information Too much text! 40. Poster
exercise 1 Poster 2 Unclear title Figure legends are too short
Conclusions should be bullet points Methods should be more graphic
Font has low readability 41. Poster exercise 1 Poster 3 Figures are
too large No: Methods References Acknowledgments Contact
infoConclusions should be bullet points, not placed at the bottom
42. Poster exercise 1 Clear title Concise Introduction
SchematicsLarge figures with clear figure legends Bullet point
Conclusions with modelGraphical Methods Contact info 43. Poster
exercise 2Your colleague has prepared a poster, but she is unsure
how it would be best organized. With the provided slides, logically
organize them for a poster presentation. You will likely need to
remove some slides because of spatial constraints. 44. Poster
exercise 2 Earthquakes Affect the Physiology and Behavior of
Laboratory Mice Shuichi Yanai, Yuki Semba, and Shogo Endo Tokyo
Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan 45. Poster
exercise 3With this poster, prepare a 30-sec speech to get peoples
attention. Each group will designate one member to give this speech
aloud. 46. Section 3Preparing slides 47. Keep your audience in
mindPreparing slidesWhat do they want to know?What do you want to
tell them?Keep it simple! What will be interesting for them?What
will keep their attention? 48. Preparing slidesComparing
manuscripts and presentations ManuscriptPresentationTimeNot limited
Readers can take their timeLimited Limited attentionFlow of
informationNo control Readers can skip sectionsControl Audience has
to listen to everything 49. Preparing slidesFontLayoutSlide layout
Sans serif (Arial, Calibri, etc.) 40 pt for titles 30+ pt for major
points 24+ pt for minor points Limit 8 lines of text per slide Use
bullet points, not sentences High contrast colors 50. Preparing
slidesBullet pointsUseful, better than plain text Often best way to
list information But, can be boring Lose your audience
attentionBullet points can suggest hierarchy One large block of
text more difficult to read 51. Preparing slidesGraphicsUseful way
to list informationCan be boring for audienceBullet pointsMay
suggest hierarchyCan be difficult to read 52. Preparing
slidesGraphicsSimple and organizedContrasting colors, easy to read
Lack of contrast = difficult to readDistractingFor information, not
decorationGraphics For pictures, use compressed images 53.
Preparing slidesSimple and clearAvoid jargonWord Choice spellingUse
words you can pronounceCheck speling and grammar 54. Preparing
slidesKeeping your audiences attentionFocus the attention of your
audienceAudience cannot read aheadAnimationKeep it simple: appear,
fade, wipeDo not distract from your information! 55. Preparing
slidesTelling a
storyBeginningIntroductionMiddleMethods/figuresEndConclusion 56.
Preparing slidesBeginning Brief introduction Background information
Aims of your studyUse pictures and diagrams 57. Preparing
slidesBeginning example slideActomyosin ActivityIntracellular
tension can position cellular structures Actomyosin Activity 58.
Preparing slidesMiddle of your presentation Methods Flow chart or
schematicFigures Important results 59. Preparing slidesExperimental
design ExampleSeed primary rat hepatocytes (d1) Collagen overlay
(d2) Treat cells with inhibitors (d3) Fix cells (d4) Confocal
microscopy 60. Preparing slidesFiguresMain limitation?Space!Only
choose most important data Organize clearly 61. Preparing
slidesSelecting important dataColocalization of tyrosine
phosphorylated cortactin and active Src at focal adhesions
Localization at focal adhesionsLocalization at the leading edgeWant
et al. BMC Cell Biol. 2011;12:49. 62. Preparing slidesSelecting
important dataColocalization of tyrosine phosphorylated cortactin
and active Src at focal adhesionsLocalization at focal
adhesionsLocalization at the leading edge Want et al. BMC Cell
Biol. 2011;12:49. 63. Preparing slidesSelecting important
dataChronic Kidney Disease and the Risks of Death, Cardiovascular
Events, and Hospitalization Important result: Patients with kidney
disease have higher rate of cardiovascular eventsGo et al. New Engl
J Med. 2004;351:1296. 64. Preparing slidesSelecting important data
Kidney diseaseNot cardiovascular Go et al. New Engl J Med.
2004;351:1296. 65. Preparing slidesCharacteristicSelecting
important data Total Cohort (N=1,120,295) 60 ml/min/1.73 m2
(N=924,136)< 60 ml/min/1.73 m2 (N=196,159)*52.2 16.349.1
15.166.6
13.054.653.460.2White50.947.268.6Black7.47.25.3Hispanic5.96.34.1Asian8.18.56.7Mixed2.42.42.8Other25.328.412.5Coronary
heart disease6.34.517.8Stroke2.61.78.3Peripheral arterial
disease1.81.16.7Chronic heart failure2.11.019.8Age (yr) Female sex
(%) Ethnic groupNecessary?Medical historyImportant * estimationsGo
et al. New Engl J Med. 2004;351:1296. 66. Preparing slidesOften
graphs are better than tablesPercent of patients with at least one
cardiovascular event252015 Healthy 10Kidney disease50 Coronary
heart diseaseStrokePeripheral arterial diseaseChronic heart
failureGo et al. New Engl J Med. 2014;351:1296. 67. Preparing
slidesEnd of your presentation Conclusions Summary and
implicationsFuture directions How is this being further developed?
68. Section 4Presentation skills 69. Presentation skillsBefore you
presentMost important thing you can do Practice Learn your
presentation, dont read itDont memorize, these are your
ideasPractice alone and with others, record yourselfPractice builds
confidence! 70. Presentation skillsGetting readyArrive early,
everything working? Have backup copies of your presentation (USB,
Dropbox) Take a deep breath and relax 71. Presentation skillsAlways
face your audiencePresentation tips appear confident Make eye
contactStand uprightNon-verbal Smile!Use hand gesturesDont be
stiff, move naturally 72. Presentation skillsSpeak
slowlyPresentation tips Speaking style Pause for emphasisVary tone
and pitchVerbal Show enthusiasmAvoid filler words (eeto)Dont talk
to the screen 73. Presentation skillsStart positive Thank the
organizers I would like to thank [organizer] for kindly inviting me
here today.IntroductionOpening comments Im very happy to be able to
speak to you today.Never apologize for your English or being
nervousStart your presentation Today, I would like to talk about...
74. Presentation skillsDevelop your story Introduce the sections As
you can see, my presentation is divided into four sections.Body of
presentationStarting the sections First, I would like to
discuss...Summarize each section Id like to summarize the main
findings from this section. 75. Presentation skillsFigures Guide
the audience Introduce the figures Now, Id like to show you data
from our recent experiments.Describing data/figuresTalking about
the data Here, you can see...Focus on important information Id like
to draw your attention to... 76. Presentation skillsFinishing your
presentation Main conclusions In conclusion, the main findings of
this study are...Thank the audienceConclusionsThank you for your
attention today.Acknowledgments Id like to thank the people who
were involved in this project.Invite questions Id now be happy to
answer any questions that you may have. 77. Presentation
skillsHandling questions Understand the questionCould you hear it
clearly?Could the audience hear it clearly?Do you understand the
question?What do they want to know?Is the question appropriate for
the audience?What is the most relevant question? 78. Presentation
skillsHandling questions Ask them to repeat Would you mind
repeating your question, please?Understand the questionAsk for
clarification Excuse me, I dont understand your question. Are you
asking about?Repeat the question Okay, so this question is about...
79. Presentation skillsHandling questions Difficult questionsUnsure
of the answerYou are the expert, answer with confidenceYou dont
know the answerBe honest, but give your expert opinionUnrelated
questionsPolitely address the question 80. Presentation
skillsHandling questions Tentative answers Im afraid I cannot give
you a definite answer, but I think thatDifficult
questionsUnanswerable Unfortunately we dont have an answer at this
time, but probably...Unrelated questions Im sorry, but we didnt
look at that in this study.Checking your answers Does that answer
your question? 81. Presentation skillsAdditional tips time
managementStay within your time limitUse a clock, watch, or mobile
phoneRushing and skipping slides make you look unorganized Practice
often and keep track of each section 82. Presentation
skillsAdditional tipsB key makes the screen blackW key makes the
screen whiteHold the laser pointer against your body to prevent
shakingRemember, you are having a conversation with your audience
83. Any questions? Thank you! Jeffrey Robens:
[email protected]/kyushu_20140111 Download
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